Month: April 2020

A Midwife in the Pandemic

This World Health Day, Alison Perry shares her experiences as a research midwife returning to the front line of clinical care during the COVID-19 outbreak. #SupportNursesAndMidwives

My name is Alison and I’m the Lead Research Midwife and manager of the Women’s Health Research Centre at Imperial College. My work is at the intersection of health and science and COVID-19 has hit this space like a bolt.

I lead a team of research clinicians (including many midwives) and support a portfolio of clinical research related to reproductive health and childbirth.  Since the outbreak, most of that research is on hold.

Nursing in an epidemic: reflections on HIV nursing in the 1980s and the relevance for COVID-19 today

This World Health Day, Jane Bruton reflects on her time as an HIV nurse during the early years of the HIV pandemic, and shares observations relevant to the COVID-19 outbreak today. #SupportNursesAndMidwives

2020 is the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife and this year’s World Health Day (7 April 2020) celebrates the role that these professions play in keeping the world healthy. Both nurses and midwives are at the forefront of the COVID-19 response. And every day, as I read the experiences of nurses on the front line, it takes me back to my time on the ward.

In 1981, thirty-nine years ago, I qualified as a registered nurse in the UK.