Your stories…

The first week of lockdown back in 2020, my two colleagues were on leave. I still remember all the telephone calls coming through from our patients who were so scared due to being extremely vulnerable to infection. I remember travelling to work on empty roads and having no problems parking at work due to the amount of staff working from home. The empty hospital corridors belied what was going on behind the ward doors where patients were struggling so much with the symptoms of this awful virus. I…

The wild cherry tree will be planted in my garden, in memory of all those people that have lost their lives and the hard times we all have been through. The tree will represent our willingness to grow and go forward.

I remember many years ago in a previous role, being involved in developing the Trusts Pandemic Flu Plan - we knew globally we were 'due' to have something like this but never, ever, did I imagine it to be the way it has been. I have lurched from feelings of utter fear to incredible pride, from bottomless sadness to humble gratitude throughout the last 2 years, working alongside the most amazing colleagues and every day being reminded just how many lives we touch when we work within the NHS. To…

I have only joined ULHT in October 2021 - I previously worked in the North East in a Trust, so the majority of my time during COVID has been spent in another NHS Organisation. I worked as Deputy Patient Experience and Governance Manager, Freedom to Speak Up Guardian and Accessibility Lead. The most relevant story from my experience is the lack of visiting during the pandemic and the effect that had on patients, families, visitors and staff. To help ease the pain this caused we set up a virtual…

When the first lockdown happened, I was in the final couple of weeks of recovery from surgery. I returned to work on 31 March 2020 to support the redeployment cell and assist deployment of staff into front line services to help in any way they could. Coming to terms with TEAMS was interesting at first, but now a work tool that we simply can't live without. Adjusting to working from home has become the norm and it's hard to think of how things used to be. I am so thankful that as an NHS employee…

I have been working in the Perinatal Community Mental Health Team throughout the Pandemic. When COVID-19 first hit the country, it took a while to adapt to the imposed changes to the service. Video appointments suddenly became a thing and working from home became the norm, but whilst many other people were being furloughed or working fully from home, many of our patients were feeling increasingly distressed and isolated and it was therefore important to priorities and see these individuals in…

I started working for the Trust on 6 April 2020. I had never used MS Teams until the morning of my arrival. All of my training was undertaken remotely. I felt completely lost! In truth, I have had it easy, working from home for two years, and I've achieved a connection with my family that I never had before. Many interruptions from the kids doing their home working! My heart goes out to all those clinical staff who had to keep up business as usual on the wards and in their community teams.…

Semi-retired but still serving as an Army Reserve Nurse when COVID struck, I was initially on standby with the military to assist in the Nightingale Hospital. Luckily the hospitals were not overwhelmed with patients, so I was able to pick up more Bank shifts with LCHS. Donning PPE out of the back of the works vehicle at 3am down a country lane was challenging when the wind was fierce! Communicating with patients whilst masked, gloved and gowned initially felt awkward, but it has now become…

I remember all the posts of nurses getting upset because they couldn't get their shopping, leaving work from their shifts and there being nothing left on the shelves! What was it all about! The toilet roll buying!! I will never understand that. I actually got COVID pre-vaccination and post-vaccination. I would like to thank the dedicated staff who found the key to the vaccination programme, and the many people who volunteered to work at the vaccination centres! What an amazing achievement,…

The COVID-19 pandemic response by the NHS was swift and pressured. Immediate changes were needed to the way we consulted with patients and the way that we interacted with our colleagues in the building. NHS England told GP practices to stop all but the most clinically necessary face-to-face appointments to avoid spreading the virus which would cause more strain on the wider NHS. Staff in the practice were busy, working in isolation in separate offices, but the building was almost empty of…

It has been a very challenging few years for us all. We found out that my wife was pregnant in February 2020, so it was certainly an interesting time. She is amazingly resilient and we are a great team, and it was a pleasure to support her, whilst balancing work pressures. My wife continued to amaze me every day and keep me going, as I was stretched myself outside of my comfort zone and beyond anything I thought it possible I could achieve. The overwhelming pull on technology and delivery was…

Redeployment was probably the biggest challenge faced by most NHS staff members I spoke with. I work in the specialised services as part of a multi-disciplinary team full of speech therapists, occupational therapists and technicians. It was difficult to find a position where I could most effectively contribute to the pandemic response. Initially I was supporting clinical commissioning of medical devices which were sent to local community hospitals to support the valiant efforts of ward staff.…

I remember working in the Incident Command Centre throughout COVID. I remember how hard it was, the long hours and the tough decision we had to make, but I also remember the friends I made, the laughs we had and the bonds that can never be broken.

I happily worked as a speech and language therapist in the children's therapy team for many years. At the start of the pandemic, I was redeployed to work on the stroke unit at Pilgrim Hospital. It was a scary time and I prayed every day that my manager would email or call me and say she needed me back in children's therapy!!! However, the speech and language therapy team at Pilgrim were such a lovely group of people that I eventually started to enjoy my work there, so much so that I have taken…

I remember it being hard going ,carrying on and on with no let up! There were lots of lows! Everyone trying to keep up each other’s spirits! Lots of tea & coffee had by all! I was a high risk so didn’t have to go on the wards but was always thinking of others who had worked tirelessly throughout (including colleagues/friends who had) and being grateful for their hard work and dedication. Thank you to all for what you have done!

I joined LCHS a few weeks before the pandemic hit. It would be fair to say that I hadn't expected to be networking in the way that transpired! Being redeployed to Archer Ward in Louth meant working on a ward for the first time since being a student, but I was glad to be able to step up. I worked with some great people and there was a real camaraderie between staff who, under normal circumstances, would never work together. It felt that we all helped patients to cope with being separated from…

The first pandemic, the panic on everyone's faces, the news stories - it was terrifying. We were training in wearing full COVID PPE, trying to identify people that were symptomatic and isolating - there is only so much isolation. Then, in a heartbeat, the entire ward overnight is COVID positive. You are one small team of 5 or 6 in full protective equipment. It’s hot, it’s tiring, and staff are dropping. Then came the negative swabs that were positive - this is how I contracted the virus. A…

Online meetings, face masks, telephone and video consultations becoming a part of life. Online exams. Home schooling. Isolation. Big Lincolnshire skies. Stories of loss, loneliness and anxiety.

In March 2020 our worlds seemed to shrink. Suddenly, we all had the same fears, but faced them in so many different ways. As NHS workers the one thing we had in common was our commitment to working together to simply “help”, whether in a frontline role or working from home. This tree will be planted in memory of my father, who died in May 2021. My world is so much smaller without him, but this tree will be a way of recognising how the skills he passed to me enabled me to contribute during…

I remember at the very start of the pandemic, the first lockdown, where we knew very very little about the virus, I was actually quite scared. I remember having my two very young children aged 18mths and 3.5 yo over, and only allowing them to have a short period of time to play outside then shutting the double doors when they had finished playing, thinking they are at least now safe indoors, as we had no idea if it was transmissible in the air outside. I remember how eerily quiet the roads were…