Dorset County Hospital's Chief Medical Officer reflects one year on from COVID-19
The first cases were confirmed in Dorset on March 8th last year
Dorset County Hospital’s Chief Medical Officer says he’s immensely proud of staff there after a year of coronavirus cases in Dorset.
He’s been reflecting on the impact of the pandemic on the anniversary of the first confirmed cases appearing in Dorset, 12 months ago.
Alastair Hutchison recounted to Greatest Hits Radio Dorset preparations for the pandemic last year before anyone knew how hard the country would be hit. During the first wave around 100 people died in Dorset. During the most recent wave, four times that figure lost their lives.
“I can remember this time last year, the anxiety and huge concern in the hospital about what we were about to face and were we ready, or what did we need to do to get ready?
"I remember feeling momentarily acutely anxious as I stood in the operating theatres with a group of staff who were planning how these could be converted into intensive care rooms if we needed them.
"It suddenly made the whole thing feel very real, and very concerning.”
Alastair says at the same moment he was struck by the realisation that Dorset County Hospital was absolutely capable of making all the right decisions.
“As things developed the staff here demonstrated that they could do all that, and all the right things were done and we coped through the first wave really well, didn’t actually have that many patients in the first wave by comparison to other hospitals, but then used the time between the first wave and the second wave to really put all of the changes into place in a longer-term way.
“When the second wave came along we were absolutely ready for it and even though we were really stretched, everybody coped once again.”
Alastair says he’s very proud of staff there, as well as staff across the NHS.
“As time has gone on, everybody has felt weary of the whole thing and looking forward to it ending, but at the same time not forgetting all of the people who’ve died during the pandemic and the huge toll that it’s taken on individual lives and families who’ve been caught up in the whole thing.”