DR LEANNE ARMITAGE

JUNIOR DOCTOR

Medway Maritime Hospital

I’m a newly qualified junior doctor working on the Cardiology Ward at Medway Hospital in Kent. In my spare time I run The Armitage Foundation, a charity I founded committed to increasing diversity across UK medical schools. I am also, in general, very passionate about inspiring people to be the best version of themselves, whether it be through health or through elevating their thoughts about themselves and their place in the world.

Over the last six months a lot has happened for me. I graduated from medical school in a way that I could have never imagined possible…an online graduation during the midst of a global pandemic. Almost immediately afterwards, we were given the option to start working on the frontlines, as interim foundation doctors before our formal training programme started in July.

Personally, I decided that I would not start immediately, instead I would work on developing my charity for the few months I had before July. This decision was challenging but easy at the same time… It was challenging because I worried that people might judge me negatively for not going straight to the frontline where many of my colleagues were. However, it was an easy decision because I was planning to use the few months I had to pour my heart and soul into building a sturdy foundation for my charity. I reasoned that it was very unlikely I would ever have this much time to work on my charity and so I need to harness the moment. In addition, Covid-19 has widened disparities that already exist within our society. As such, if there was a time that the beneficiaries of The Armitage Foundation needed us most, it is now!

Now that I am working full-time as a junior doctor, I can say that overall, I am really enjoying it! I work in a very busy hospital in a relatively deprived area. As such, we tend to see patients presenting to hospital late and with multiple health problems. What is also interesting, is that the hospital serves quite an insular community. As such, at Medway Hospital we have not experienced an overwhelming number of Covid-19 cases compared to other hospitals in the country. However, we have still encountered a number of challenges and even though things are starting to quiet down, there is the possibility of a second wave and uncertainty surrounding how exactly we will navigate through the next few months.

What was the hardest or most frustrating part of your job?

I love my job, however, as with all things in life, nothing is perfect! What I find most frustrating about my job is the, sometimes, poor communication/ synergy between departments and teams. If there was a more robust system of communicating and working with different departments (both in hospital and out of hospital) I think this would allow us to work more efficiently.

How do you think the country coped with the pandemic?

I think the country was put under an immense amount of pressure –responding to a global pandemic that it had not foreseen and initially, understood little about. It seemed that this was reflected in many of the decisions that were made, particularly at the initial stages of the pandemic, and the subsequent confusion that ensued from many of the messages that were being communicated to the general public.

However, in spite of this, I think there are many reasons to be proud of our country’s response – the NHS have been phenomenal, particularly in creating the capacity needed to respond to the surge of patients and by generally providing a sense of hope in very uncertain and challenging times.

In addition, the government and charity organisations have provided various forms of financial support for those placed in economically vulnerable situations. At present, there is also the hope of a vaccination which may take us closer to the end of this pandemic.

Was there anything they could have done better or were you impressed by how they handled it?

I think our country could have responded better to the pandemic by considering, to a greater extent, the response of other countries who appeared to be dealing more effectively with the pandemic.

The UK, amongst other European countries, was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. It had the highest levels of excess mortality during the most crucial months of the pandemic. The reasons for this are, of course, multifactorial. However, I think there was a lot to learn from those who seemed to have not been hit as badly.

Did you experience lockdown and if so, to what extent? How did that impact your work?

Initially, I found it challenging adjusting to lockdown as it totally transformed my normal routine. I’m a very active person and I spend more time out of the house than I do inside! As such, experiencing lockdown was a total lifestyle transformation. However, I feel like I quickly adjusted to this and actually started to enjoy many of the benefits. Prior to lockdown, I could spend up to three hours a day in total commuting. Having fifteen hours extra per week was very valuable and for the most part, I feel like I used this time productively. I had a number of really useful virtual meetings and managed to do a lot of work for my charity.

What has been the biggest impact on your personal life and why?

The lockdown experience provided me with a major paradigm shift in my thinking. Faced with a global situation that was totally out of my control, I had to remind myself to focus on that which I could control. This helped to empower me and give me a sense of stability, during a time of great uncertainty. The lockdown experience also helped to deepen my faith as trusting God through such uncertain times gave me a deep sense of comfort.

When do you see things returning to ‘normal’? Or do you think they never will? I don’t think things will even return to ‘normal’, instead, there will be a ‘new normal’. When exactly this will happen, I do not know. I hope it happens soon as I really want to go on a holiday that involves getting on a plane!

Are you keen to return to life the way it was before the pandemic, or have you reconsidered a change in your lifestyle or even career as a result of it?

I’m excited for the new normal as I think our society will function more effectively because of it. For example, many institutions were quite resistant to virtual meetings and workshops, but as a result of the pandemic, they’ve been forced to accept this, and in doing so, have seen the great benefits!

What do you miss most about MHS?

I miss the student life. Although it sometimes felt stressful, it was great studying and developing as a person whilst at Mill Hill. I enjoyed boarding at Ridgeway, and I loved having all of my meals cooked for me!