Well, it was a strange one, to say the least. In the Spring/Summer of 2020, my cohort and I were trying to qualify as nurses, and complete our degrees. The University was all but closed, and we were wondering what the fallout would be to our last placement. We got through it though and learned some extra skills along the way - who knew what a 'Teams Meeting' was prior to this?

Life as a community mental health nurse was challenging. Advice was given, understandably, to cut face to face contact to a minimum. This was not easy. Service users were reporting increased anxiety and isolation. Medication still had to be administered in people's homes and we were unsure as to who was infected and who was not. This meant we all donned PPE on visits. I would often wonder how adding an additional physical barrier interfered with the therapeutic relationship of service user and CPN, let alone communication. However, if covering up protected the service users we were all willing to do it.

An additional worry came though when you were in the home of a confirmed or even a suspected COVID-19 positive service user. Many of us were concerned about spreading it to loved ones at home.

When the vaccine arrived it was like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day. I, and many of my colleagues, attended the vaccination site. There was a buzz in the hall like it was a real turning point and a buzz that we were going somewhere other than work, even though it was to get a needle in the arm.

Overall my abiding memory is the way all my colleagues pulled together. There were tears of sadness and frustration but ultimately everyone just got on with it and adapted. When one colleague was down there was another to pick them up, and this was reciprocated.

One thing I learnt, or rather confirmed in my mind, is what an awesome bunch I work with. Big respect and love to all my colleagues.