With the scars of the pandemic

‘I remember the exact meeting where Wuhan and Covid were mentioned for the first time. The date was January 21, 2020. My feeling was that this new infection was so far, it is unlikely that we are affected. How wrong he was.

‘Quickly, in a matter of days, seeing the news and scanning emails and websites was essential. There was a fervor to discover the most recent and most recent information, but the scale of the new information we received almost per hour was overwhelming.

‘Seeing the difficult scenes of Italy brought it home how vulnerable we could all be, and it gave me a sense of need to be part of the planning of support and solutions to keep the general practice open. It may sound too sentimental or rude, but the sense of the importance of medicine as a vocation and less work focused for me.

‘Just before the blockade, I remember having difficult conversations with my parents about how to stay safe and sob while driving home, without knowing when it would be safe to hug them again.

‘I remember talking with a local radio exit to advise the general public that we were trying to deal with the best we could, and asking the public to respect the health advice, not only for the individual, but for the community and all our families. Fortunately, that feeling of nervousness and urgency almost feels like a distant memory now.

‘Medical care in Northern Ireland was fragile even before pandemic. The waiting lists for attention have been the norm for some time, but the pause of attention during the pandemic has definitely caused even more interruptions.