In copyright
It is possible this item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You may be able to use this digital item under a copyright exception, otherwise you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). These may be identified elsewhere in the catalogue record. Read more about copyright.
Read further guidance on copyright exceptions in the UK.
Credit
Arun Mahay's film - Final edited version with audio description and transcript. In copyright. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Arun Mahay, Junior Doctor at Newham University Hospital, filmed in artist's studio in August 2020.
Dr. Arun Mahay was a Foundation Year 2 doctor when COVID‑19 arrived in the UK, working on the acute medical take team. The job entails assessing patients arriving in A&E who require admission, acting as the bridge between the Emergency Department and the medical wards, and sometimes between A&E and ITU.
Dr. Mahay recalls that although staff knew COVID‑19 was coming, nothing prepared them for the speed and intensity of its arrival. At first, only the occasional suspected case appeared, one or two every few days. But within a week, half of all admissions were COVID related, and a week after that, it was almost every patient coming to the hospital. The hospital’s entire structure changed daily. One day, the resus bay was divided into “hot” and “cold” areas; the next day, everything swapped sides. Wards opened in the morning to cope with demand and closed again by the evening. PPE protocols changed so fast, even the oxygen infrastructure struggled, as it wasn’t built for so many people requiring high-flow oxygen at once. It was chaotic.
Before COVID reached the hospital, reports suggested that most people dying had serious pre‑existing conditions. Yet Dr. Mahay recalls patients in their fifties or younger, previously active and well, arriving severely breathless and deteriorating rapidly, some with only mild hypertension in their medical history. Not being able to do much for patients was incredibly frustrating for Dr. Mahay. One case was especially challenging, and he still thinks about that patient. A slightly older lady with learning disabilities. He spent hours with her in resus, in full PPE, trying unsuccessfully to stabilise her. The team discussed her treatment, and senior colleagues advised palliative care. He accepted their judgment, but Dr. Mahay continued to question himself: Was it the right decision? Would more treatment have helped? Will we ever know? These ethical uncertainties will stay with him.
Dr. Mahay reflects that living with other doctors during that time helped him cope. Each evening, they would decompress together and talk through the impossible situations they were facing. It was one of the few things that kept him grounded. Doctors carry certain memories, faces, names, moments, and he still thinks about many of the people he met during COVID. Dr. Mahay is only a couple of years into his career, and senior colleagues, he notes, have been carrying memories like these for decades.
Keywords: Death from Covid, Moral injury, Accident and Emergency (A&E), Teamwork, Ethics