Interview: May Parsons

Journalist AMANDA CHALMERS interviews the NHS nurse who administered the first Covid-19 jab to a member of the public.

On 8 December 2020, Nurse May Parsons made history.

Moreover, she lit a beacon of hope across the world as she administered the first Covid-19 vaccination outside clinical trials to 91-year-old Margaret Keenan.

This year marks two devoted decades of a career in the NHS for May, who, up until recently, worked as a matron at University Hospital Coventry after moving to Britain from the Philippines in 2003.

She said: “That day was the biggest honour and privilege of my lifetime. The vaccination was a welcome light in such darkness. It felt like the beginning of the end of a long tunnel. It was huge and something we were all looking forward to because we knew how the pandemic had affected us.”

But 43-year-old May, who is also a mum of two, was also among the first to publicly acknowledge the pandemic’s mental and emotional toll on herself and her peers.

She said: “I’d be lying to myself most profoundly if I said all this hadn’t affected me in a way that still makes me cry every time I think about it. I’ve been fortunate enough to have had the support of my family and friends and I knew I wasn’t the only one going through this.

“It was a time when people were united, a community looking out for each other.”

“I made sure the psychological support and pastoral care was in place for my team. We all looked out for each other. You wouldn’t know when it was going to come, but you would just suddenly hit a wall and, as a leader, it was incumbent on me to make sure that when that happened, that support was there to get them through it.”

She added: “I know of nurses who resigned during Covid because they were scared. Not everybody can take that risk of putting themselves in harm’s way. You had to have that honest reflection of what you’re willing to give and can’t give. It’s a difficult balance between your own safety and other people’s.

May Parsons

“I had to balance my own guilt of working in an Intensive Therapy Unit and potentially endangering my family with my responsibility to help in the community. People needed to do what they had to do to make themselves and their families feel safe. We all had to make that personal decision.

“Front line healthcare workers did have the opportunity to say no to going into the workplace but obviously the vast majority didn’t. They stayed true, they stayed committed and throughout the uncertainties and fear and danger that was posed to them and their families, they still went ahead and did what they are passionate about, not just because it was their job but because they were passionate about serving the community.”

It’s that same passion that drives May in her new role today as ambassador for the NHS, using her high profile to continue championing the work of her cherished peers. Their work has also been recognised through a series of distinguished awards, including the George Cross.

“There was an immense number of healthcare workers who were dying because of their commitment to serve their communities and people were saying “they are just doing their job” but actually they were doing more than their job. When they signed up to be healthcare workers they didn’t intend to die in the workplace. It’s not the same as going to a war zone because you’re a soldier.

“It is a huge responsibility to represent the nurses, upholding their values and what they mean to the community and elevate their profiles. There is pressure on me to do them full justice,” she said.

“I’m relentlessly proud of being a nurse and of my peers. I think they are truly wonderful people. They play such a huge role, not only in our community’s health, but through their contribution to society.

May was chosen to administer that historic jab, two-and-a-half years ago, when, as part of the hospital trust’s peer vaccinator programme for the flu jab, she set the record for the most vaccines given by an individual for three consecutive years … 140 a day!

Now, determined that her name (and her message) won’t be confined to the history books, May pledges to continue working hard to ensure her colleagues are given the platform, and recognition, they deserve. She uses her new role as Associate Nurse for Governance, to amplify her voice as a spokesperson for the profession, overseeing policy, law and procedures compliance.

May Parsons being honoured

“Working in an Intensive Therapy Unit and seeing first-hand what that devastation looks like every day, was heart-breaking. We all picked ourselves up and showed up every day, did the scary stuff and looked after our people, despite being surrounded by loss and grief.

“One of the main things that I’ve learned about is the compassion and courage to do the right thing … and forgiveness. These qualities all clearly demonstrate what the NHS stands for.”

She’s also working hard to inspire the next generation with her school volunteering and as one of the contributors to a new children’s book in which more than 40 nurses and midwives share their career journeys and experiences.

But her heart is never far from her former frontline colleagues in respiratory care.

“The pandemic has shown the country and the world what valuable work they do and I am proud to be able to give them that voice in places where decisions are being made about them and for them,” she said.

“I want to continue to do the best I can to represent the NHS. Ultimately, I am trying to get people to realise what highly trained and skilled people nurses are. They undergo vigorous training to enable them to be experts in their field. I want people to recognise the expertise they provide.”

May in full PPE