I was teaching part-time in a university when the pandemic started. There was a drive from the NHS with the slogan ‘Stand up, step forward, save lives’ to encourage medical staff, initially retired people, to return to work. When this campaign came out, I thought I need to go and do something, I need to be a part of it.

My background is as an ICU nurse, but I have ended up working in all the general wards in the hospital. For someone who is used to working one-on-one, to suddenly be thrown into a situation where you are treating 30 Covid patients while wearing full PPE, was very different. I had to start re-learning everything and find things out as we went along. Many NHS staff were redeployed into the acute areas from other departments and were in a similar situation. To start with it was all a bit ‘the blind leading the blind’. I’m lucky, because my academic background is in health psychology, so I’ve got an awareness of how to take care of myself during a time like this. While I haven’t felt the need for any formal intervention or psychological support, it has been helpful to have great people around me who are very supportive.