There's a patient I'll never forget. Their burns and screams still haunt me

Summary

"The night shift in A&E started off as normal: routine heart attacks, head injuries, road traffic accidents, an array of minor injuries. It was what happened next that has stayed with me for 25 years, long after I left my job as a doctor in the NHS."

In this blog for the Guardian, a doctor reflects on the impact a traumatic night in A&E has had on them and their concerns for the mental health and wellbeing of all frontline staff during this global pandemic.

Their hope is that immediate funding for a national framework of in-house support and counselling will stem the tsunami of mental ill health among frontline workers that is coming, and shed light on the ultimate medical taboo that is the mental health of our healthcare staff.