Your stories…

In March 2020 our worlds seemed to shrink. Suddenly, we all had the same fears, but all faced the fears in such different ways. As NHS workers the one thing we had in common was our commitment to working together to simply try to “help”, whether in a frontline role or working from home. This tree will be planted in our garden 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,…

Brave, courageous people, standing side by side in a battle where we didn’t know what we were fighting.

I qualified to be an OT just as the pandemic started. I worked within the hospital team and to start and had a great experience. I went on to get a position in the community team where I took my skills and increased my knowledge through a very difficult time. The best part of the journey so far is the people who I have worked with and the patients that I have helped.

My memories of the pandemic were I lost my father, which was very sad, and like a lot of people, COVID got in the way of everything, so I really found it hard because I couldn't see my family members.

A very hard time for everyone, but I found this very hard as I lost my dad to this dreadful virus.

I worked throughout the pandemic, I lost both my Grandparents at this time, I am planting a tree in memory of them.

My reflections on the pandemic... As a people leader during this time, and chairing the Lincolnshire Workforce Cell, I have very mixed reflections... Like many other stories I have read on here - we didn't know what we were actually facing. People stepped up like never before but with huge anxieties - some they shared, some they didn't. I am so humbled to read the stories on this site and thank everyone for their honesty and vulnerability. The mechanism the NHS had in place to 'step up' a…

I started the pandemic working in the local surgery where everything changed for staff & patients alike. I saw the good in the Community and received lots of support from my friends at work. The hard work meeting the demands of the COVID vaccination programme was the light in the dark days and gave us all hope for the future. Now in my role as a Social Prescriber, I get to help people through their concerns coming out of lockdown and to enjoy the future. This tree will be in memory of…

I was fortunate enough to join the NHS during the COVID Pandemic, and shortly after transferred to Digital Health to work in Digital Inclusion. Whilst COVID has been a trying time for many of us, it also highlighted how technology can be an asset to so many people's lives. Our work started with the Cardiac Rehab team, who had started holding virtual exercise classes as an alternative to the physical classes that ran prior to the pandemic. We held phone calls with patients, walking them through…

Thank you for the opportunity to have a sapling and watch it grow. This is in memory of my mother, who passed away from COVID in May 2020 at the worst time possible as she was in a care home and it was the start of the height of the pandemic when you couldn't visit your loved one. I hope to enjoy watching this tree grow, not just for me to appreciate but also for my children and grandchildren (and hopefully future generations to come). Thank you and much love, Jennie

I was interviewed and taken on in April 2021 when we had the tail end of the first wave/initial variant of COVID - and then came the second variant. Throughout all of these times, I was made to feel welcome (even though there was minimum staff working in the office to maintain good health/hygiene etc - my colleagues would alternate working from home) and safe. Management ensured at all times that rules were adhered to and PPE rules complied with to ensure the safe working of all staff, and as…

I have chosen the Wild Cherry Tree (Prunus) as a memorial to my late parents. They are both remembered under a Wild Cherry Tree back home, just outside London where we originate. I have chosen this to plant at home to remember and have them with me. I am also collecting my sapling on what would have been my Dad's 99th birthday. I would also like to share my short story of the pandemic. I was working in general practice and contracted COVID-19 without even knowing. It was the post-COVID-19…

Joining the trust at the start of the pandemic has shown me how versatile the trust can be, quickly adopting new ways of working to keep our patients and staff safe, whilst trying to maintain patient care. We have seen the challenges our clinical colleagues have risen to and our corporate teams taking on new roles for the first time, all hands on deck. It has been a true honour to work alongside you all.

As a nurse who took early retirement but continued to work, I knew that I had to put my skills to the best use I could. I continued to work in theatre recovery and also became a bedside buddy to the ICU team. I learned so much and worked alongside so many incredible, lovely people. This was one of the most difficult periods of my 40-year nursing career and one which I will remember forever.

Being a student nurse in the pandemic tested me physically, mentally and emotionally.. but when I qualified in January 2022 and started my job as a community RGN, I realised it was all worth it! What a privilege it is to be a nurse. With great teams, great things happen! ❤

The speed with which our services for our communities were affected from the norm was shockingly quick! However, our Veterans Team worked really quickly to plan how we could best continue to support our veterans across the East Midlands. The fantastic use of Zoom, Teams and telephone not only continued our valuable work but also enabled our ability to be more economic with our time and reduce our travel costs. We were brought into the modern world by using technology wisely.

The first few weeks were very scary, the unknown all that planning then the arrival of deployed staff to support our teams. New skills shared friendships made. The love and support showed to each other, the community spirit.

I would like to thank our patients and our small MS team who have gone above and beyond to maintain the service our service. The patients have been so understanding and the team have worked tirelessly to ensure the patients have received treatment in a safe and timely manner.

I have undergone my nurse training through the pandemic as well as looked after my terminally ill mum. It has been an experience. To join a hospital that are so compassionate about all they do was a very inspiring step for me and the best choice I could of made at the time .

As the manager of a team that offers Physiotherapy Services to patients in local clinics and GP Practices, the hardest thing was expecting my team to not only offer a service over the telephone - never before been done - but to also be working from home myself, and to not be seeing the team to encourage and offer counsel. Thank goodness for Zoom, cats, and University closures (allowing my daughter to be safe with me). Gradually, the team found a way to support each other, to 'treat' patients,…