Let's hope kindness defines this crisis

These are unprecedented times. So outside of our ordinary experience.

It's unbelievable how rapidly the coronavirus crisis is growing right now. It’s descended before most people have had time to learn the facts, much less process or properly contextualise them.

The more we read, the more anxious we become. I’ve felt a little bit helpless watching the news, worrying about what it means for those I love and care about.

In lots of ways, I don’t think the reality has fully hit home for everyone yet. We are seeing a mixture of people panicking - the empty toilet roll and pasta aisles in supermarkets being one such example - but also some people still trying to pretend everything is normal. 

It’s surreal and feels like we’re in a film. It’s interesting to read that the 2011 film Contagion (which I watched a few years ago) is now one of the most watched films online.

People are feeling frightened, worried about their loved ones, losing their jobs and wondering about getting basic supplies.

Consequently, there are lots of different reactions on display and we are all having to make ethical decisions. Responses are varied. There are lots of examples of people showing kindness and compassion by looking out for neighbours and vulnerable people; but equally there are lots of examples of people’s anxiety reflected in a ‘me and my family first’ attitude (hence the stockpiling approach to food).

Seeing people’s response to the crisis reminded me of a position I found myself in when my kids were little. We were on our way to a hotel to stay overnight before heading off to the airport for a holiday and, as we got onto the motorway, it started snowing heavily. Over the course of the next hour the motorway gradually ground to a halt under about six inches of snow.

Finding it hard to sit still, I told my husband to come off onto the side roads, thinking it would be easier to find a back way to the hotel. Mistake. We soon found ourselves trying to get up steep hills through quiet woods in thick snow.

We passed a number of elderly people stranded in their cars and on every occasion my husband stopped, jumped out and offered to help them push.

This was absolutely the right thing to do, but my anxiety levels were rising, as I selfishly didn’t want us all to get stuck in a car overnight in the middle of nowhere without any food or warmth, and I started to get ratty with my husband for being such a ‘good Samaritan’. We finally made it to the hotel after 12 hours and our flight was cancelled!

This example doesn’t show me in a great light compared to my husband. But it’s stayed with me as, under pressure, I temporarily lost sight of the values I hold true about caring for others and just wanted to look out for my own family.   

I’m sharing this because our values of kindness, fairness, determination and ingenuity are more important now than ever; and we will have to work hard to stay true to them.

In terms of kindness and fairness, I was worried to hear that some people are blaming individuals or countries for the virus. This blame is misplaced.

Seneca, the Roman philosopher said, “we are waves of the same sea, leaves of the same tree, flowers of the same garden.” It’s no coincidence that when the Chinese sent boxes of medical supplies and face masks to Italy, the crates were all stamped with this quote.

I was also taken back to hear about stocks of alcohol gels, paper towels and toilet rolls going missing from our clinical areas. I know anxiety levels are high, but we must ensure nothing happens which puts patients and other staff at risk. The handwashing and hygiene messages remain as strong as ever and are critical in the fight against coronavirus.

And in terms of determination and ingenuity, we are working really hard to ensure that we keep you and our patients as safe as possible and find innovative and flexible work solutions as the virus escalates. I can’t thank you enough for everything you are doing to help manage this situation.

There is a massive amount of work taking place and people are developing plans for how we can continue to effectively run our organisation with large numbers of staff off or working from home. We especially need to ensure we put arrangements in place to protect our staff in the ‘at risk’ categories.

It’s a tough balancing act prioritising our coronavirus response, while keeping all our other work going. This pandemic is having a huge impact on us, particularly on our frontline staff, but we have a duty to all our patients to carry on providing high quality services.

We’re so lucky to have such a resourceful workforce. We will need to draw on our deep reserves of compassion and determination, because a storm is approaching and we don’t know exactly how hard it will hit or how long it will last.

We were due to hold our second Just Culture conference in a couple of weeks but, after careful consideration, have made a decision to postpone it. I emailed Professor Michael West who was speaking at our conference to let him know and he responded with these very wise words; they really hit home, so I thought I would share them with you.

‘Here is what I thought yesterday, contemplating the situation for the NHS: I think this is a moment where the light can come pouring in. A recognition of our interconnection with each other, with other nations, species and with the planet we are blessed with. It feels so important to grasp it and model and promote compassion and inclusion in an enduring way. And to change our ways of being together. Particularly through emphasising that compassion is the most potent way we can deal with what feels frightening and isolating for so many. Connection, inclusion and compassion are certain, unchanging and provide a safe refuge. And I hope we will focus that on the heroes of the NHS - the people who provide our healthcare services.’

It’s so important that we don’t let our compassion be a casualty of this crisis.

Best wishes,
Claire