THE MEDICAL STUDENT
Harriet Loney, 24, from Middlewich, cheshire, completed her medical finals at the university of oxford on Friday, March 13 — and minutes later, volunteered to help admit covid-19 patients at John radcliffe Hospital.
AFTER six years of studying to be a doctor, I was due to be packing my swimsuit and stethoscope this week and flying to Australia for the final placement of my study, the chance to work abroad.
Instead, I’m reporting for volunteer shifts at the A&E department at the John Radcliffe Hospital.
It feels slightly unreal, as I stand at the doorway and assess patients as they arrive, that I only sat my final exam ten days ago. New patients are coming in every few minutes, many in respiratory distress and everyone is scared — particularly the families who arrive with them.
As a volunteer, I have the time to sit with relatives, explain what is happening and talk to them about symptoms.
Yesterday, one woman burst into tears. She’d come into hospital with her elderly father, who was ill with a blood infection. She told me her mother — who remained at home — was displaying symptoms of Covid-19. She was terrified her mother’s condition could suddenly worsen, but I reassured her that she was doing a good job of nursing her at home. So far I have completed four shifts and I’ve learned not only about medicine but so much about the interaction with patients and their families. I am convinced this experience will make me a better doctor.
It took me just a few minutes to decide to volunteer. Straight after our final prescribing paper, we were called in to a lecture hall for a meeting.
The university medical team asked if anyone wanted to volunteer to help in A&E as the NHS had released a call-out for help from medical students to be healthcare workers. I’m interested in emergency medicine, so I didn’t hesitate, and 24 of us signed up to help.
Our training was on our first shift, six days later. I was nervous, because nobody knows what to expect, and I still wake up each day and don’t know what’s going to happen.
When I told my parents what I was going to do, they were proud. They weren’t afraid of me being exposed to the virus because I reassured them that any patient with symptoms is given a mask. And because of all the precautions, I’m not much more worried about catching the virus in hospital than when I go to the shops.
Since my first day volunteering, I’ve been at the door of the
A&E department, greeting patients as they come in, and assessing them. I have a list of questions to ask them, to identify possible Covid-19 patients.
If they display the symptoms, they’re given a mask to wear and sent into the respiratory section, to keep them from infecting other patients. I’ve not yet tended patients on the respiratory side of A&E, where staff wear masks and gloves.
General A&E is quieter than normal, but we’re still seeing accident victims, very sick children and patients raced in with other ailments. I think everyone is treating the NHS with new respect, and I hope that’s something that stays with us when this crisis is over.
I’m working four to eighthour shifts with healthcare assistants to take blood and put up drips. I think my most useful role is comforting and informing relatives. Volunteers are often the only ones who have time to console them.
I am scared because nobody knows if they’ll catch Covid-19, or how ill they may become. But we’re trained to cope under pressure.
Every day, there’s so many more cases, but retired staff are coming back and with research moving so fast, our guidelines change every day.
At the start of each shift, I check to see what new symptoms to look out for. I became a doctor to save lives — that’s what I hope I’m doing now, just sooner than I expected.