Mission Mater's Magazine - Flipbook - Page 6
Lest we forget...
When you walked through the
storm...
Resilience
and
remembrance
5 years on
Suzanne Dempsey
Director of Quality Assurance &
Organisational Design
The past five years since the start
of the COVID-19 pandemic has
left an indelible mark on all of us.
The Coronavirus tested our
strength, our compassion, and
our ability to care for one
another in ways that we never
imagined possible. It was a time
of profound loss but also one of
extraordinary courage from
everyone - especially within the
walls of the Mater Hospital.
Whilst cocooning and working
from home became the reality for
most people, staff in the Mater
Hospital demonstrated their
incredible flexibility, adapting to
unknown work practices, new
and changed work environments
and ultimately, becoming the
masked 8warriors9 of healthcare.
We cannot however forget the
overwhelming sense of fear as we
watched incredible and shocking
scenes unfold worldwide,
particularly from Bergamot in
Italy as hospitals became
overwhelmed trying to manage the
thousands of people presenting
with COVID.
The first patient admitted to the
Mater was on the night of 8th
March 2020. Three days later the
nurse who looked after this patient
was herself a patient in the ICU.
To date the hospital has cared for
8,600 patients admitted with
COVID.
The introduction of the vaccine
came with immense relief and
excitement – a game changer in
terms of allowing us think of a
future, one which we could look
forward to with hope.
Now, as we move forward, we do
so with a deep understanding that
healing is not just about physical
recovery; it is also about
remembering, honouring, and
creating space for reflection.
We believe it is essential that we
acknowledge this time with a
tangible concept, lest we forget
this seminal time in history. This
was brought home to us following
a conversation with Ms Rita
Keogh an employee from the Post
Room who lost her beautiful,
vibrant sister to COVID.
Subsequently, the then CEO, Mr
Alan Sharp and the chair of the
Board Mr David Begg endorsed
the concept of The COVID
Commemorative Wellness
Garden - a space that will stand as
a living tribute to those we lost,
frontline staff who worked
tirelessly, and where the resilience
of our entire Mater community
was borne.
A chance meeting with the
hospitals Artist in Residence was
then concluded with the design of
the piece , 8COVID Warriors9.
May they never be forgotten.
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