The Covid-19 frontline: diary of a respiratory doctor

Part 4

Dr Neda Hasan (DH 2008), a respiratory doctor at the Royal Berkshire Hospital, shares stories from the frontline against the virus.

3 July 2020

More stories from the frontline

Dear all,

Apologies for the radio silence. With very few days off I have been quite lazy and welcomed some sleep and terrible telly.

As we are beginning to enter the tail end (I hope!) of this pandemic – I would like my last piece to consist solely of ‘good bits’:

The good bits

  • As of last week, our hospital had only 25 inpatients with COVID-19 and none of them were in intensive care.
  • We were able to applaud our last staff member out of the COVID ward after 2 months of fighting for their lives in intensive care and the respiratory ward.
  • More and more patients who have been too scared to attend hospital are doing so and receiving treatments long overdue.
  • Sometimes it takes a pandemic to bring about change! Various teams within our hospital alone are communicating more effectively, supporting each other and welcoming transformation. I, for one, am looking forward to having a buddy Medical Registrar to work with on night shifts. As you can imagine – being responsible for every single medical patient alone overnight can be a bit of an ask.
  • I was forced by my husband to cut his hair this week. I’m not sure what was worse, his whining, or him considering a ‘man- bun’. I was quite proud of my efforts, until my father likened the back of the new cut to a duck’s behind. I might stick to the day job.

Thank you all for indulging me over these last few weeks, it has been a privilege.

I hope you continue to stay safe and vigilant. Our lives (and my annual leave) depend on our collective efforts.

All the best for the future,

Neda

About Dr Hasan

Dr Hasan (DH 2008) studied Chemistry, Biology, Economics, Maths and AS Level Physics before heading to Imperial College, London to study Medicine. After completing her medical studies, she spent two years at the Royal Berkshire Hospital and Wexham Park Hospital as a Foundation Doctor, moving around departments including adult medicine, neonatology, A&E and surgery. In August 2016 she moved back to the Royal Berkshire as a Core Medical Trainee where she became a Medical Registrar.

Liked what you read?

Back to top