Bearing Witness to a pandemic

Bearing witness to a pandemic BUPA | SANITAS

A traumatic night shift

MADRID — SPAIN

mª eugenia fernández Healthcare Supervisor Sanitas Healthcare Funding

«I work in management and when the Covid crisis got worse I saw that they didn’t have enough staff in the hospitals and I volunteered to cover shifts where it was needed. I was at the Virgen del Mar hospital. Now I just need to rest, be with my family, read a book or just sleep. I feel such pain because I have seen terror on people’s faces, like in a war. I won’t forget them, and I have my memories in a journal, because each one had their own story and they touched my heart. I remember a woman who was widowed. She hung around days after she had been discharged. She was afraid to go home because her husband wouldn’t be there».

Bearing Witness to a pandemic

Articles inside

I love what I do – I always wanted to be a nurse

A time of fast learning and great camaraderie

I got Covid

Psychological support

I wouldn’t change what I went through

I volunteered to help my colleagues

I never lost my strength

I remember how lonely the patients felt

My small part in the fight against the pandemic

When you are the patient you feel vulnerable

Facing the crisis as a team

I enjoyed learning a new role during the pandemic

I was lucky to be a nurse

Mama, when is this going to end?

People were anxious when they called

When you are caring for people you don’t feel any fear

I take my hat off to my team

A traumatic night shift

We care for each patient, as if they were the only one

Today we value our team and apreciate life more

We just hoped for a miracle

Patients did not die alone

We are not heroes, we are committed professionals

Being surrounded by death makes you value life more

Unprecedented tsunami

We transform our capability to help others

Things you never forget

I kept my promise

Your mother was never alone

The hardest winter in Madrid

All he wanted was a hug