Covid one year on: January was 'horrific'

A senior doctor in emergency medicine says the midst of the latest wave of the Covid-19 pandemic was the toughest.

Dr Gareth Hampton is the Emergency Department Clinical Director in Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry.

He spoke exclusively to Downtown Cool FM as part of a special series of interviews marking one year since the virus was first detected in Northern Ireland:

"Currently thankfully, because people are following the guidance we're seeing a decrease in the level of Covid in people attending however, January was absolutely horrific , it was a real challenge."

Reflecting on a relentless 12 months, he paid tribute to his staff:

"Every day there were more patients who had Covid, every day there were more patients who needed to be on oxygen and every day was an even bigger challenge, there was a point where we thought is it ever going to stop?

"We're used to emergencies, we're used to pressures at winter but it's that sense of can I cope?

"That, I think was a big personal challenge for me and for my whole team but thankfully we met that challenge and I'm so proud of them."

As part of the Southern Trust's surge plans in response to Covid-19, Gareth's department in Daisy Hill Hospital closed and staff were transferred to a non respiratory ED at Craigavon hospital, in a bid to keep Daisy Hill Covid free.

Then it became the first ED in the UK to re-open within months- all at a time when community transmission rates were high in the local area.

Gareth said it was a mammoth task:

"We had to make new waiting areas so we could socially distance, we had to make large changes to our resus area with ventilation and closing cubicles off.

"We had to make a lot of changes with regards to how our Emergency Department actually worked, not only for the ED but also all the wards we opened up a lot of medical beds.

"So these were fundamental, big, building changes and it was a big challenge to do that."

Asked about the future of the Department at the hospital he said he is confident he reopening is a permanent fixture:

"Covid has been a big challenge to Daisy Hill Hospital but I see its future more secure than ever.

"We've had more Consultant Emergency Medicine staff, more respiratory Consultant staff and we've been able to look after patients who've been more ill than we ever would have expected in the past.

"So I'm really encouraged at how the team have performed."