"I will never get over seeing whole families and healthcare workers die": Bearing witness to the experiences of NHS staff during the first pandemic year (12 November 2023)

Summary

The pandemic is not gone but it is largely forgotten. Especially the first year, with its two devastating waves in which over 140,000 people died. The NHS reorganised itself completely to deliver care to the thousands of very sick Covid patients, alongside continuing care for other patients throughout. The system strained and buckled and staff were pushed to their limits and beyond. The impact continues today as the NHS is weaker, less resilient and with much longer waits than before.

In this article, Christina Pagel looks back at the reality of the first year and its aftermath and hears anonymous testimony from staff at the NHS front line.

“Staff sitting in literal cupboards crying alone because staff weren’t allowed to sit together & we couldn’t take all the death around us. It was utterly traumatising”