Eighteen-year-old Marium fell ill at the same time as her brothers and sisters – whilst they all recovered she just got worse and a week into the illness she was struggling to breathe and couldn’t get out bed. An ambulance was called and when doctors assessed her they considered putting her straight onto a ventilator because her oxygen levels were so low. In the end the decision was made to attach her to a smaller, less intrusive breathing device and to place her one of the treatments being...

Doctors in the UK are developing new ways of helping patients as they leave the hospital covid wards. Many will require medical follow up as they continue to recover at home and a new system provides that via virtual wards; with nurses in the community overseen by staff in the hospital to ensure the best care possible. It is an effective way of helping patients and also family and friends, many of whom are worried that their loved ones might still be infected and capable of transmitting the...

As the death toll continues to rise across the world, doctors are keen to learn from the spread of the virus so far and particularly how it took hold in large gatherings, with huge ripple effects across wider communities. With England on the brink of easing restrictions, the patterns of infection hold important lessons that might help keep people safe. In Britain, sporting events, concerts and even funerals held weeks ago have caused local spikes and the ripple effects continue, with patients...

Dr John Wright has been recording on the wards for BBC Radio 4 – starting on March 16th, the day the Prime Minister gave his first televised address about the danger of Covid-19. This is week seven of his diaries, recorded as the number of cases continues to increase and the pressures on the frontline team intensify. These recordings with frontline NHS staff at all levels, take you behind the scenes on the wards as they plan for what is to come and then cope as the patients arrive. They let...

Dr John Wright has been recording on the wards for BBC Radio 4 – starting on March 16th, the day the Prime Minister gave his first televised address about the danger of Covid-19. This is week six of his diaries, recorded as the number of cases continues to increase and the pressures on the frontline team intensify. These recordings with frontline NHS staff at all levels, take you behind the scenes on the wards as they plan for what is to come and then cope as the patients arrive. They let...

Dr John Wright has been recording on the wards for BBC Radio 4 – starting on March 16th, the day the Prime Minister gave his first televised address about the danger of Covid-19. This is week five of his diaries, recorded as the number of cases starts to increase and the pressures on the frontline team intensify. These recordings with frontline NHS staff at all levels, take you behind the scenes on the wards as they plan for what is to come and then cope as the patients arrive. They let us...

In this programme Dr John Wright and doctors at the Bradford Royal Infirmary are recruiting Covid-19 patients into the largest study of its kind: it's a race against time in the search for possible treatments for those made gravely ill by the virus and people are all too willing to help. John Wright has been recording on the wards for BBC Radio 4 – starting on March 16th, the day the Prime Minister gave his first televised address about the danger of Covid-19. This is week four of his...

Dr John Wright has been recording on the wards for BBC Radio 4 – starting on March 16th, the day the Prime Minister gave his first televised address about the danger of Covid-19. This is week three of his diaries, recorded as the number of cases starts to increase and the pressures on the frontline team intensify. These recordings with frontline NHS staff at all levels, take you behind the scenes on the wards as they plan for what is to come and then cope as the patients arrive. They let us...

Dr John Wright has been recording on the wards for BBC Radio 4 – starting on March 16th, the day the Prime Minister gave his first televised address about the danger of Covid-19. This is week two of his diaries, recorded as the number of cases starts to increase and the pressures on the frontline team intensify. These recordings with frontline NHS staff at all levels, take you behind the scenes on the wards as they plan for what is to come and then cope as the patients arrive. They let us...

A senior NHS doctor has been recording on the wards for BBC Radio 4 – starting on March 16th, the day the Prime Minister gave his first televised address about the danger of COVID-19. These recordings with frontline NHS staff at all levels, take you behind the scenes on the wards as they plan for what is to come and then cope as the patients arrive. They let us share in the pressures, personal and professional, and in the decisions being made in the face of this unprecedented threat....