portraits photography by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

Primary Care Director Operose Health
What I found the most challenging was keeping frontline services going during the pandemic. Dealing with uncertainty for staff and patients and rapidly changing guidelines and directions.
I am truly grateful that I could use my skills and expertise as a doctor and senior leader. It is a privilege to be a doctor - to be able to meaningfully serve.
Since then time has flown by. Life challenges continue. I am in a good place. Proud of my team and organisation and the NHS.
The lasting memory I have is of my team and organisation stepping up to provide a service at extremely short notice to serve patients with COVID. The risk to staff was unknown yet we did it.

By far the most emotionally exhausting part was juggling childcare and family life. My partner maintained our family life and initial home-schooling, he dealt with the kids’ emotions as I drove off to work and then wasn’t home for bedtime. A few weeks in, the reality hit that my 7-year-old daughter was petrified I would catch COVID and die; for days after that I cried driving into work. An emotion in my daughter that would reoccur and manifest itself in different ways in all subsequent waves.
I definitely overcompensated on my days off at home! Trying to be an amazing Mum and give our family as much fun as we could. I will look back fondly on those days though where we had some of our best ever family times despite the constraints of the pandemic. I contracted COVID in December 2020. I narrowly avoided hospital admission, but had nearly five months off work. I have long Covid. Every day for me is a challenge of balancing my symptoms with normal life. I have grown and life has changed as a result of long Covid.
In those early days when this photo was taken I look tired, but that was because I had just finished a 13-hour shift. But I had energy, I had vigour and I could embrace everything that was thrown at me, and I think I did.
My strongest memories will be around everyone just rallying and getting stuck in. The small things got set aside and we worked together as teams to do the best we could in the situation we faced.

I found the isolation from friends, family and colleagues the most challenging. It was hard to maintain the drive to continue during what felt like Groundhog Day. Work, shower, eat, isolate and repeat. Being involved with the care of the worst affected patients on Critical Care made you feel as though you were constantly contagious, carrying the virus wherever you went, fearful you could pass it on and be responsible for the consequences of that.
It was a terrifying time; we knew so little and could only hope ourselves and our loved ones would survive. We showed determination and courage in the face of an invisible enemy. I feel dramatic writing that now, but that is how it felt. We placed the care of our patients first, they needed help and we rose to the occasion, no matter the risk. My NHS family = Selfless.
I was involved in the rehabilitation of a gentleman in his thirties with my fellow Critical Care physiotherapist David Rowe. The patient had required a lengthy stay sedated and ventilated, a period on ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) in Leicester and back to us. He was unable to speak due to a tracheostomy in place as part of his weaning from the ventilator. Following his first stand in months using our standing hoist he was placed into a supportive chair. We asked if he felt up to trying a speaking valve on his trachea. When he agreed I asked his nurse if she would FaceTime his family. His first words to his wife and young children were ‘Love you’. The squeals of delight and ‘I heard him! I love you’ were amazing. I was crying, David was crying, his nurse was crying. Tears of joy during dark times.

Part of 'Physicians for Africa' project in association with The Royal College of Physicians.

Part of 'Physicians for Africa' project in association with The Royal College of Physicians.

Uganda

Uganda

by Jessica van der Weert, in collaboration with freeze motion specialist Neal Grundy

by Jessica van der Weert, in collaboration with freeze motion specialist Neal Grundy

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert, part of the 'Seaside' project

by Jessica van der Weert, part of the 'Seaside' project

by Jessica van der Weert, part of the 'Seaside' project

by Jessica van der Weert, part of the 'Seaside' project

Part of the 'Seaside' project

by Jessica van der Weert, part of the 'Seaside' project

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

Part of 'Physicians for Africa' project in association with The Royal College of Physicians.

Part of 'Physicians for Africa' project in association with The Royal College of Physicians.

Planes destroyed by 'Operation Entebbe' a successful counter-terrorist hostage-rescue mission carried out by commandos of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) at Entebbe Airport in Uganda on 4 July 1976.

London Gorilla Shoot

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

La Rosiere

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

Part of the'Tribe' series

Part of the 'Seaside' project

Part of the'Tribe' series

Part of the 'Seaside' project

Part of the'Tribe' series

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert

by Jessica van der Weert