BBC London returns to Barts Health to mark two-year milestone of the Covid-19 pandemic | Our news

• BBC London’s Karl Mercer returned to Barts Health this month (March 2022) to see how our services have adapted and changed in the two years we have been treating Covid-19 patients since the pandemic started

• Whipps Cross, The Royal London, Newham and St Bartholomew’s hospitals will each feature on the BBC London news across four evenings, from Tuesday 15 March – Friday 18 March

• Each film will be available to watch on BBC One from 6:30pm and available on iPlayer for a limited time.

BBC London’s Karl Mercer returned to Barts Health this month (March 2022) to see how our services have adapted and changed in the two years we have been treating Covid-19 patients since the pandemic started.

Whipps Cross, The Royal London, Newham and St Bartholomew’s hospitals will each feature on the BBC London news across four evenings, from Tuesday 15 March – Friday 18 March.

On Tuesday at Newham, they will be looking at how electives have been resumed and managed through the reopening of two new theatres on the main hospital site. In addition, the maternity team will show how they continued to provide the best possible care to mothers and babies even when the pandemic was at its peak.

On Wednesday, the staff at the Whipps Cross emergency department will be demonstrating the different structural changes that have been implemented during the pandemic and the leadership and resilience shown across the team.

On Thursday, director of Barts Cancer Centre Thomas Powles showed BBC London how therapy for cancer patients is being carried out and how we’re implementing new clinical trials.

Finally, on Friday at The Royal London, consultant Karl Metcalfe highlighted the work of the medical support workers (MSWs) programme which employed refugee doctors and political asylum seekers, developed them as professionals and people and then placed them in clinical fellowship roles across the Trust once they were ready.

Suzanne Forbes, a consultant in the renal team and one of the few teams across the Trust who worked at full capacity throughout all waves of the pandemic also highlighted the work the renal team have done in treating highly vulnerable patients safely and efficiently.

Make sure you tune in throughout the week on BBC One at 6.30pm. You’ll also be able to catch up on iPlayer.