DR ALEX MENTZER

INFECTIOUS DISEASE REGISTRAR AND ACADEMIC CLINICAL LECTURER

University of Oxford and John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford

I have two job roles that I have been in since 2017 which I balance simultaneously. The first is being a doctor in infectious disease and microbiology where I give advice on patients with all sorts of infections. The second is a research role where I try to understand how differences in our genetics influences how we may respond differently to infectious disease.

Over the last six months these job roles have collided in an intense way! Firstly, I’ve been working on the Covid-19 wards looking after patients with suspected or confirmed Covid-19 and attending to them as they become very unwell. I’ve seen the hospital overwhelmed day and night with all staff members rushed off their feet. The lowest point was certainly when three hospital workers sadly died from the infection in a very short time-span.

Secondly, I became nominated as the University lead for blood sample collection from patients with Covid-19 for various research studies that are being conducted in Oxford. Although it has been difficult to juggle both aspects of my job, and I’ve had to work harder than I have ever had to work before, in some ways it’s been exciting to be immersed in a field I find so intriguing. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.

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

Juggling both aspects of my job and trying to see my family. Working intense hours with demanding schedules without knowing if there would be any respite to look forward to.

How do you think the country coped with the pandemic?

In retrospect I cannot help but think there could have been ways that we could have improved coordination and preparedness, but undoubtedly I have been overwhelmed by the motivation and unity of the frontline and support staff (including those family members at home) both across the health service and the country that helped us all get on with our day job.

Was there anything they could have been done differently?

A lock down earlier might have helped, but we’ll never really know. We’re not out of the woods yet, so it’s a difficult question to answer.

How did lockdown affect you?

My work never stopped. If anything it got the most intense it has ever been.

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

Not having time to spend relaxing with the family or take any holidays.

How do you see life after the pandemic?

Certainly, this pandemic has altered my career path. I’m an infectious disease specialist working through a pandemic. It has meant a lot of my projects have gone on hold, but on the plus side, as I’ve said before, it has been an opportunity to take a close look and try and understand a new infectious disease that may inform our response to infection more generally. Discoveries could help move science forward in a positive way.

When do you see things returning to ‘normal’? Or do you think they never will?

I don’t think things will return to normal any time soon. Certainly over the next two years I think we will have to all adapt to a new kind of normal.

Has anything positive come out of the Pandemic?

I’d hope that people are becoming more aware of the need to make an effort to stay/become fit and healthy through proper diet and exercise.

What do you miss most about MHS?

The close-knit community and friendships with both pupils and teachers.