Written stories

Submitted by Sharon Deputy Director of Infection Prevention December 2019 – we heard rumblings of a faraway disease………we’re fine, it’s thousands of miles away! January 2020 – the rumblings became little storms that we now had to prepare for. I’ve never sprinted from meeting to meeting before, with very little time to eat/digest food! I sat in board rooms with people I didn’t know well but within a matter of days it’s like we were never distant colleagues. Everyone had a voice and was respected for their knowledge and problem solving approaches. The number of times red/green pathways were discussed ...

Having been a clinical photographer for 40 plus years, I have seen many things in my career and faced many difficult and interesting situations.

Reflection and images from Michelle. Her story begins last spring when my daughter was at the end of her first pregnancy.

A year of Research on the frontline of the fight against COVID-19

Submitted by Carrie Research Team The Research teams across University Hospitals Sussex made a huge contribution to the global knowledge of COVID-19 during the pandemic response. Staff at Worthing, St Richards and the Royal Sussex County Hospital ran the Recovery trial which has made a significant contribution to the overall global knowledge on the treatment and management of patients with COVID-19. Across University Hospitals Sussex hundreds of patients participated in this trial, which has provided a vital evidence base to show efficacy (and non-efficacy) of treatments including steroid, tocilizumab, aspirin, remdesivir and many others. The impact of this knowledge ...

Deborah, Clinical Specialist Respiratory Physiotherapist at St Richard’s hospital, shares her reflections of supporting colleagues in Covid-19 intensive care.  

Submitted by Juvi Critical Care Nurse I worked in St Richard’s Hospital since 2003 in the Cardiac Unit and moved to Intensive Care Unit four years ago. Of all these years at St Richard’s Hospital, the past year has been the most challenging one. I’m so grateful for other staff from other units who came to help and tried their very best to support us even though they were very frightened too. Hope the next months will be better for us all.

When we heard the first time about covid it seemed to be just an incident in China and it wouldn’t bother us at all...

I am a retired Midwife at Worthing, and have worked bank shifts on Delivery Suite throughout the pandemic and also in the Vaccination Hub.

I was asked early on to be part of the COVID team. I was happy to do this despite being deemed medium / high risk myself.

I will never forget how it felt donning for the first time. My hands shaking and the tension in the air palpable as I pulled down my visor and took a deep breath and pushed the ITU doors open....

My COVID-19 story began in January 2020 with PHE bulletins informing laboratories in the UK of an “evolving situation”....

Having known about MERS and SARS outbreaks from over a decade ago, I understood the potential gravity but only when I saw a video from a Wuhan hospital did it become clear what was happening & potentially how underprepared we may be.

We decided in September of 2020 to send Pulse Oximeters to our clinically extremely vulnerable haematology patients who tested positive for Covid, to help us spot signs of a drop in oxygen levels.

Colleagues and team working - I have learned to look out for each other during these unprecedented times.

I joined the NHS a year before COVID-19 and even then, we shared memories and moments that will stay with us forever however the pandemic was like nothing we've ever experienced before, it was scary and confusing to say the least.

Submitted by John Administrator Famously quoting Boris Johnson and his new year’s tweet on the 1st January 2020.”This is going to be a fantastic year for Britain.”(How wrong was he!!) 2020 hasn’t been the easiest year for many of us, but we are incredibly proud to be doing our bit to help the people in need. At the start of the pandemic many if not all of our staff were being re-deployed to other parts of the hospital where they were needed most. We are proud of how well we adapted to maintain essential services in an ever changing ...

My lasting memory of the year is not a hospital memory but of the first urgent Covid-19 related application we had at the Brighton and Sussex Research Ethics Committee....

One morning I arrived at work to be told that all frontline staff were required to wear scrubs. I had no idea how to obtain scrubs, but one of my physio colleagues suggested I ask at ITU......

As chaplains our team has been present on the wards throughout the pandemic. Our role has been to support not only the patients but also relatives and members of staff.....

I would like to share my side of covid. I work as an Outpatient Receptionist at St Richards Hospital.....

My story is not big or life changing, but to me it was a very kind gesture.....

Today was very poignant... Standing beside my physio colleagues in critical care, alongside nurses, doctors, pharmacists, OT's, Ward Clerks, and our patients... Holding a minute silence.......

March 2020. Three-week holiday in Canada visiting my sister on Vancouver Island, what a treat except the signs of a pandemic were brewing as I departed Heathrow.....