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Amid the scarce positives of the virus crisis, perhaps the most poignant one has been the outpouring of support for ‘frontline’ workers giving their all to protect islanders every day.
Embodied by the weekly applause emanating from doorsteps and out of windows across Jersey, the global health emergency has triggered a new-found appreciation for essential workers.
It’s with this in mind that this month’s special online-only edition of CONNECT magazine has placed these individuals front and centre, so that readers can meet the people working to keep them safe.
Pictured: This month's Connect cover and contents are a tribute to the faces on the frontline.
In a new series ‘Meet the frontline’, Express asks the same questions to a number of different ‘frontliners’ about their experiences in the midst of this health crisis.
First up is Dr David Howell, a GP working in the Urgent Treatment Centre at the Hospital...
No day is the same – my typical day now bears no similarities to what it was a month ago.
For the last couple of weeks I’ve been helping set up the Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) with some incredible people – Valter, Lindsey and Ann (who has come out of retirement) have been so inspiring, and that is just 3 of the people I’m working with – there’s so many more!
My day currently starts at around 05:30 – it’s in the early hours when I have the opportunity to have some time without interruption to focus on the ever-growing list of jobs that need doing.
Pictured: Dr Howell works in the Urgent Treatment Centre at the Hospital.
I’ve been getting to the hospital at 07:30 and for the last week, the UTC has been open. There is not a moment throughout the day when we are not all running around, problem solving, to try and ensure the people of Jersey are, and will, get the best possible care. Days aren’t finishing till late into the night – so many of us are doing this.
It is such a privilege to work with so many, from all professions, who are giving so much and putting the best interests of Islanders above all else – I wish I could list them all, but I would rapidly go over the 500 words I’ve been asked to write! But all the GPs, nurses, hospital doctors, health care assistants, physiotherapists, paramedics, domestics, porters, security, primary care administration team and reception staff have been amazing (sorry if I have missed anyone!) – I’ve met so many incredible people, new and old! Friendships for life are certainly being forged.
I would love more time with my family (I know we all would). It is hard to explain to a four- and a seven-year-old what is going on, and why dad is not around, especially when their mum is trying to work from home as a probate lawyer, helping the sadly growing number of families who have lost a loved one. But as health care professionals, this is what our duty-of-care is.
I would love to see less negativity on social media which is so hard to escape. I promise everyone is trying so hard to do their best in a horrendous situation, and unhelpful comments, to my mind, serve no purpose.
Cycling into work has meant I have watched the Nightingale Hospital develop from a grass field to such an impressive structure in days – it is a true example of teamwork, and we have to be so proud of all those who have pulled together in such a tough time.
Pictured: Dr Howell describes the construction of the Nightingale Hospital as "a true example of teamwork".
One just has to reflect on those who have suffered so much already in this crisis all over the world, and how lucky we are with what we have. I’ve also managed to sneak in for a quick surf (twice!)
I think it has given the world and planet earth, and on a personal level, me, the chance to re-set, and focus on what is truly important in life - family and loved ones.
It has been incredible to see how health care professionals have all come together, barriers have come down, and we all are just doing what we can to make a difference in this impossible, unprecedented situation that we are all faced with.
Tomorrow: meet Sasha Baker, Teacher at La Moye
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