Thought it was time for some perspectives from the bedside about the state of the COVID pandemic in the UK. The strain on the healthcare system is increasing daily, & what we are facing is in no way the same as that we face every year. These are not usual winter pressures 1/n

No other winter have I had to comfort exhausted colleagues who have no idea how they can keep going for even another day. No other winter have I needed to tell relatives via telephone that their loved ones are dying & the entire family cannot be there. It is heartbreaking 2/n

The narrative that COVID is not a real pandemic & the restrictions are not needed is vile and pernicious. It is often accompanied by comments that “it only affects x” type of people & the rest of us shouldn’t be inconvenienced. Where do we draw the line about who matters? 3/n

This divisive narrative is wrong. Every single one of us, across the globe, matter. The sacrifices made by so many people this year matter - everyone who has lost their job, struggled to home-school their kids, been lonely, tried to do the right thing to keep us all safe. 4/n

Every time the naysayers write/speak about it being a fake pandemic or unnecessary restrictions, they belittle the sacrifices of every single person who has put others before themselves this year, including my clinical colleagues who have died whilst trying to save lives 5/n

For 2021, my plea is that people think about the consequences of the things they say and do - that they consider their impact on others. COVID is real, people are dying, the impact of it is huge & will be long-lasting. Pretending it doesn’t exist will not change reality. /end.