Dr. Dan O’Carroll salutes colleagues and friends 

As the first wave of the corona virus pandemic appears to be easing, it’s worth reflecting on what the NHS has managed to achieve in such a short space of time.

Whole system approaches, with adoption of new ways of working has meant that Emergency departments up and down the country have not been overwhelmed by the patients suffering from COVID-19. Every single member of staff has stepped up, from porters and domestics, without whom we couldn’t do our jobs seeing the patients, to the surgeons who took on training to help to care for the tickets patients being ventilated on Intensive care.

When the first ‘clap for carers’ took place, I was indifferent towards it, and didn’t expect it to take off and to be embraced by the general public with such enthusiasm, but as it seemed to have grown in scale back week, you can’t help but be touched by the long overdue outpouring of appreciation for the NHS staff, who really have risen to this greatest of challenges.

All of the staff have been deeply touched but by the incredibly kind donations of food from local businesses, which surely must be struggling to keep afloat, and from private individuals, including children, donating essential provisions for staff, when the supermarkets were struggling in the early days of this crisis.

It means a great deal to the staff to know that the public are thinking about them and are appreciating the work that is being done, this is particularly poignant when colleagues and friends have fallen ill and even died from this virus.

I’ve never been prouder to work for the NHS and with these exceptional people, they really are inspirational, and it shows what we can achieve when they are given the appropriate resources.

Dr. Dan O’Carroll – A&E Consultant, Birmingham