News

Nottingham journalists paint picture of life on the intensive care frontline

Posted on: February 4, 2021 by admin

NottinghamshireLive were granted access to one of Nottingham’s intensive care units to report on the huge stress the NHS is now under.

Photographer Joseph Raynor spent time at the ICU at Queen’s Medical Centre, speaking to medics are the forefront of the battle against Coronavirus, with reporter Ben Reid speaking to medics to create harrowing dispatches published on the website and in the Nottingham Post paper.

The access was granted amid rising number of hospital admissions for Covid, with the number of beds being used by Covid patients rising from 500 to over 600 in less than a week in early January.

Journalists, particularly local journalists, have come in for criticism of local reporting of Coronavirus cases, with some critics accusing reporters of scaremongering.

Natalie Fahy, senior editor at NottinghamshireLive and the Nottingham Post, said: “Covering this pandemic has not been easy for our journalists. We believe in being responsible in what we show you and what we report and that is always at the front of our minds.

“Over recent weeks, we’ve all heard that the strain on the NHS is increasing — after all, that’s what this lockdown is all about — protecting the NHS.

“We’ve worked hard behind the scenes to get access into the ICU and Covid wards at the Queen’s Medical Centre so we can show exactly what medical staff are up against.

“Sending a photographer into those wards is not a decision we took lightly. We undertook a rigorous health and safety risk assessment, our photographer Joe Raynor was happy to do the job, and he was fitted with PPE to the same standard as clinical staff. Equipment used on the job was cleaned with clinical wipes.

“We respected patient confidentiality at all times and we never interfered with medical staff who had urgent work to do.

“We hope these images and the words hit home. Our job is to lift the lid on corners of society we think people need to see — and at a time when we’re locked down at home, we think this is the story that needs to be told.”

This article first appeared on Behind Local News.