Reflecting on the Fifth Anniversary of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“It is hard to believe that we have reached the fifth anniversary of the Covid Pandemic. This is a time to reflect on the devasting impact the pandemic had on those who we lost, their loved ones and those still affected by the longer physical and mental health impact of Covid.

“I was involved in several initiatives to support our brave healthcare staff working on the front line. These involved looking at the health and wellbeing of frontline healthcare staff and providing evidence-based guidance for how best to respond to the challenges they were facing.

“In addition, Combat Stress was involved in two studies to monitor the impact of the pandemic on the health of UK veterans. This was vital to do, as we were concerned that the mental health of those who had previously sought help from Combat Stress might deteriorate as the pandemic progressed. Whilst some veterans did struggle (and our research helped ensure resources were targeted accordingly), in general what we found was a tremendous amount of resilience within the veteran population during this time.”