South London NHS workers describe life during coronavirus

As the Surrey Comet reported at the time, the first case of Covid-19 was confirmed in Kingston on March 3, 2020.

In the days that followed, a student nurse, borough GP and occupational therapist found themselves at the heart of the NHS nationwide struggle with Covid-19 and the ongoing fightback in the form of the vaccination programme.

Below are collected remarks they shared with the Surrey Comet following a campaign launched on Twitter by Kingston record shop and label Banquet Records.

Erin, 22, student nurse

When the pandemic hit, I was just trying to get through my final 6 months of university. Going from normal deadlines and plans to do a 12 week unpaid nursing placement before graduating, to being told that they need student nurses in their final 6 months to work on the front line. How could I say no to being part of something that seemed so massive!

At the beginning it was really chaotic, no one really knew if I was there as a health care assistant, a student, or to be an actual nurse. All I wanted to do was learn enough to make me feel somewhat qualified by the end of my degree!

My ward were really amazing, I managed to experience most things I needed to tick the boxes for my graduation, as well as being an extra pair of hands. I remember, pretty early on, some of the protocol changed regarding PPE, meaning anyone who had worked in a particular bay that week had to go and self isolate as a precautionary measure - so we were about 5 nurses down for 2 weeks! I had to take on a bay with minimal supervision, to help out.

I remember the first Thursday of clapping, I joined in! It was amazing, like everyone was rooting for us. But then as the weeks went on, I was working most Thursdays. At 8pm, we are right in the middle of handover and could hear distant clapping and whooping as we were explaining to the night staff about our unwell patients, it didn't really feel like the claps were for us anymore.

In three years of being a student nurse, I somehow managed to never experience death. By June 2020, I had watched my patients have negative tests, then positive tests, and then eventually die from respiratory failure. The way I felt when I was packing up belongings to send home, I'll never forget.

Erin, a student nurse with the NHS in Kingston.

I was working on the COVID recovery ward, so we had all the ITU patients coming to us for rehabilitation. Some people would come to us unable to speak, walk, even eat, after weeks of being intubated and having machines breathe for them. Whenever someone was ready to go home, we would line the corridor and clap as they walked down the ward to the exit.

In July, we had a suspected norovirus case, and the response was: 'That's still a thing? We can't isolate them, our isolation rooms are full with a COVID patients!'.

Throughout the first wave, and the second wave, the hospital received lots of meals for the staff made by people in the community. It was amazing, it would mean that after 12+ hours, I didn't have to go home and worry about making lunch for the next day, or that I had to eat a big meal before a night shift, because I could grab one of these meals at the hospital!

I was a student for 6 months of the pandemic, and now I've been qualified for 6 months. Throughout this year, I have been pushed to my limit and cried down the phone to my mum on countless occasions, unable to see her because she's in Birmingham. I've had days where I've cried at work, behind my mask and goggles, luckily people can't easily see past all the PPE. I knew that being a nurse was hard work, but qualifying straight into the middle of a global pandemic, literally diving into the deep end, has been more draining and difficult than I could ever have imagined. Staff shortages, insane patient to nurse ratios, having to move to areas of the hospital I've never worked in before just to help with staffing needs, having 31 patients on the ward when you've got 30 beds, and on top of this we are only getting a 1 per cent pay rise. Every single nurse I know has had COVID and can trace it directly back to the hospital. We put our lives at risk, we don't even get paid for our lunch breaks. We do it all, because we care. I just wish we could see that the government cares as much as we do.

Dr Richard Van Mellaerts, Kingston GP

I addition to managing patients with Covid we've helped set up the big vaccination centre at Kingston University.

I speak to a couple of hundred patients a week, many of whom have been affected directly by Covid, but many indirectly too, whether by losing their jobs, their family having been ill. I've spoken to a lot of people who have suffered mental health problems as a result of Covid, as a result of the isolation that has come about or as a result of the loss of work, the separation from family. It is absolutely all pervasive.

On the flip side, the positive, is that my site has been involved in vaccinating about 12,000 people, who are universally delighted to have been vaccinated. It's interesting because I get to see the negatives but also the positives as people start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Richard Van Mellaerts, a Kingston GP

The announcement of a proposed one per cent pay rise is a real kick in the teeth for all kinds of professionals and workers in the NHS. My colleagues who work in the hospitals in dreadful circumstances, watching patients suffer day in and day out, for months and months. It disproportionately affects women, it disproportionately affects international workers in the service.

For an organization like Banquet Records to pick up on this with the offer of vouchers and responses to our selfies really gives a sense of hope that 'yes, there are people out there who feel that there should be some equity and support for people who've tried their hardest'.

I think we've all got to push back on this and make sure there is appropriate support for these kind of people and that they feel valued.

Rebecca Power, Occupational Therapist

Rebecca Power, occupational therapist in Kingston.

My experience hasn’t been an a acute service, I work in a community team for people with learning disabilities.

I am an Occupational Therapist and our client group in my opinion has been forgotten and marginalised throughout. Which has been seen with the DNR’s, the original use of frailty scales and most recently Jo wieley campaigning for people with learning disabilities being prioritised for vaccines.*

I wonder if the effects of this pandemic will continue to effect our guys for a great number of years to come, who I expect will continue to experience occupational deprivation long after restrictions are lifted.

At work we are pretty much back to operating as we did before covid, but we have had to be quite flexible throughout and do new things as part of our job, as member of staff I have felt very well supported throughout the pandemic by my trust.

*DNR stands for 'Do Not Resuscitate'. Orders to not revive people with learning difficulties who succumbed to Covid-19 prompted anger from campaigners including Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley.