The outbreak of Covid-19 has presented many challenges to the healthcare system, not least the urgent need to find safe and effective treatments to help patients recover from the virus. Our Trust is taking part in the national RECOVERY trial. Run by the University of Oxford, it aims to identify treatments that may be beneficial for patients admitted to hospital with symptoms of Covid-19. ​Research nurse Elisa Visentin explains more:

“Covid-19 challenged every healthcare provider. I am sure I do not speak just for myself when I say I felt nothing like a hero and more like a human that wanted to hide away until we knew what was happening.

The news showed different countries that were affected, Italy being one, which also happens to be my native country.

People were encouraged to work from home, where possible. However, this didn’t apply to the many clinical staff working in the healthcare sector.

My background is in neurology research and I was glad that I could use my expertise to contribute during the pandemic. I was asked to work on Covid-19 studies and, in particular, the RECOVERY Trial.

My day would start with a visit to all wards that were admitting Covid-19 patients and I worked closely with the medical and nursing teams at all levels.

Most patients were thankful for my visits. The information I shared with them reflected what they had seen on the daily briefings on TV, such as the controversial Hydroxychloroquine, plasma with previously affected patients’ antibodies and the low-cost Dexamethasone (which quickly became the standard of care).

For others, I think it was comforting to know their participation was voluntary and we were doing all we could to make them better. 

The NHS was under enormous pressure during the peak of the pandemic so it was vitally important to find suitable treatments as quickly as possible to meet the extraordinary demand.  The quicker we are able to identify treatments, the quicker they can be made available to our patients"