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    Duty of Care: 'This is the book everyone should read about COVID-19' Kate Mosse
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    Duty of Care: 'This is the book everyone should read about COVID-19' Kate Mosse
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    Duty of Care: 'This is the book everyone should read about COVID-19' Kate Mosse
    Ebook338 pages5 hours

    Duty of Care: 'This is the book everyone should read about COVID-19' Kate Mosse

    By Dominic Pimenta

    4.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    'Beautifully written, passionate and moving, this is the book everyone should read about COVID-19' Kate Mosse

    'Hard to put down' Rachel Clarke

    'Gripping, humane, eye-opening and seriously tense' Ian Dunt

    The first book to tell the full story of the COVID-19 pandemic from a doctor on the frontline.

    ALL ROYALTIES FROM SALES GO TO HEROES, A CHARITY PROTECTING AND SUPPORTING HEALTHCARE WORKERS.

    On the 8th of February, Dr Dominic Pimenta encountered his first suspected case of coronavirus. Within a week, he began wearing a mask on the tube, and within a month, he moved over to the Intensive Care Unit to help fight the virus.

    From the initial whispers coming out of China and the collective hesitation to class this as a pandemic to full lockdown and the continued battle to treat whoever came through the doors, Dr Pimenta tells the heroic stories of how the entire system shifted to tackle this outbreak and how, ultimately, the staff managed to save lives.

    This incredible account captures the shock and surprise, the panic and power of an unprecedented time, and how, at this moment of despair, human generosity and kindness prevailed.

    'A startlingly personal account ... It can be described as a memoir, a thriller or a horror story, but it is really all at once' Observer

    'Reads like a thriller – a first-hand account of a group of individuals facing a terrible adversary – but it also moved me sometimes to tears because it communicates the humanity of the patients, as well as the NHS staff. As with all great writing, its honesty shines out' Tim Walker

    'An excellent book ... Moving and fascinating in equal measure' Xand van Tulleken

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWelbeck
    Release dateSep 3, 2020
    ISBN9781787395602
    Unavailable
    Duty of Care: 'This is the book everyone should read about COVID-19' Kate Mosse

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    Reviews for Duty of Care

    4.5/5

    7 ratings2 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Excellent and understandable account of the failings of the government and achievements of the NHS in unprecedented circumstances.
    • 5/5
      Fascinating.Dominic Pimenta was a cardiac surgeon in a busy London hospital when news of a new strain of a potentially deadly coronavirus started to filter through to him. The more he learned, the more concerned he became. He started to wear a mask for his tube journey in and out of work, but couldn't understand why the government was taking so little action.This is a behind-the-scenes story of the build-up of Covid19, from a rumour coming out of China, to a deadly onslaught of the NHS in Britain. Dominic Pimenta was there, in the hospital, trying to spread the alarm. He was frustrated by the fact he couldn't test the early cases because the requirement for testing was that patients had to have travelled recently, or had contact with someone who had. These suspect patients went into the regular wards because there was no official reason to isolate them.As the cases began to trickle in, gradually and then rapidly increasing in number, the medical staff began to struggle with shortage of protective equipment and eventually oxygen. Doctors and nurses were transferred from other wards, trained in emergency procedures and allocated to a Covid ward. As people stayed away from hospital for routine treatments, so more Covid wards were opened and more staff cross-trained. The work was grueling and continuous, but in spite of the toll it was having on staff, they kept going relentlessly. In the face of seemingly hopeless odds, several of the patients began to turn a corner and improve.As time progressed it became more clear what would help the patients and what was less useful. A procedure called 'proning' appeared to be particularly effective. This involved turning patients at regular intervals, allowing the more functional parts of the lungs to access oxygen that was pooling elsewhere.Throughout all this Mr Pimenta was not only working his shifts on the Covid wards but also building a charity. He and his medically trained wife wanted to provide food and drink for staff and psychiatric support for those that were struggling. As if that wasn't enough, his organisation started to procure the protective equipment that had been running short due to inadequate government response. He was even involved in starting up a 3D farm, manufacturing masks and protective eye coverings.This is one incredible man who should be recognised in the honours lists, in my opinion.He reads his own story but with humility. The only parts I was less keen on were the Q&A sessions, which interrupted the flow and didn't really add a lot.For anyone who has lived through this and would be interested in knowing what was going on behind the scenes, this is a must-read.