A little bit of hope in Covid-19

A lady just left a roll of bin bags on my doorstep. I could have hugged her. Although she might have backed away pretty fast.

A week ago I wouldn't have believed I'd be writing this. But this was the outcome of a request I put out to our new neighbourhood WhatsApp group, as my husband and I hit Day 4 of self isolation.

I’m sitting here contemplating what just happened.

I reached for my phone, asked over 60 people I don’t know very well for something fairly menial, and a lady I hardly know came to help within a few minutes. OK the scenario wasn’t very dramatic- had we run out of smooth peanut butter, my husband would have escalated this to a nationwide social media appeal - but it’s still pretty remarkable. Most of these people have never met each other despite living here for years...and yet the group has been pinging away with requests for help, sharing information, and offering virtual support to strangers in a way that warms my heart. We have just decided we will hold a neighbourhood street party when this is all over to thank each other.

It really gets you thinking- it took something apocalyptic to bring us out of our houses, where we sit night after night in front of our phones, laptops and TVs, and reach out to each other. But it’s happening. And it’s one of many positive things that I think we will reflect on when we emerge from the other side of this. (Because we will emerge, eventually.)

It’s hard to write this, sitting at home on maternity leave hearing my little baby cough intermittently as she sleeps, and knowing that I’m pretty useless to my patients right now.

“Why do you look so glum every time you pick up your phone?”, my husband remarked yesterday.

He was right. Looking at social media or the news simply adds fuel to the dread that’s brewing in the pit of my stomach. You don’t need to click more than once to drown in endless debates of the fearful consequences of this strange time we are living in. And it looks like the hysteria is here to stay for a while.

So for the next few minutes, the news is off, my phone is away, and I’m spending some time reflecting on all the positive things I can see. Because there are some...

1. The rejuvenation of communities

Every day we're hearing the most incredible stories of people coming together and reaching out to help the most vulnerable in our society. I'm almost embarrassed to think that it’s taken something as big as this to nudge us to knock on our neighbours’ doors- but the fact is many communities just don’t seem to gel together in the way they used to. These days we’re more inclined to keep our heads down when we enter and leave our houses, eye cold callers with deep-seated suspicion, and spend time comparing ourselves with the Jones’ instead of inviting them over for tea.

Yesterday our neighbourhood WhatsApp group asked for help for homemade meals for a 98-year-old living alone. Within 7 minutes, there were so many replies a rota had to be set up to ensure he wasn’t inundated.

I think we are going to see more and more heart-warming stories like this emerge over the coming weeks. It feels like the interdependence between our houses, neighbourhoods, and countries has been galvanized like never before. And perhaps this new sense of connection will last long after the virus leaves us.

2. Slowing down

Even with a little baby on maternity leave, I’m always on the go. Sitting still is just not me.

Well, now it is. It’s had to be. And although those first few days were frustrating, I’m starting to embrace it. I’m seeing it as an opportunity to sit with my baby, and just ‘be’. My husband and I are learning to slow down, and noticing tiny changes in her development that we were perhaps oblivious to before in our daily scurries.

I’ve also taken up painting again, and he is finally making a start on his thesis. This is our version of slowing down. Everyone will have their own, and no doubt many of us will struggle. But in an era where being ‘busy’ seems to be the new norm, packing as much consumption and productivity into every waking hour with a background broadcast on social media to prove we are, perhaps it’s time to bring back the importance of something else: boredom.

It’s an enforced Sabbath of sorts- but with technology.

3. Technology

Which brings me on to this. It also blows my mind that we have been sitting in our little house for 4 days now, and yet still feel SO connected to the wider world. We have WhatsApp groups, online shopping, Zoom meetings, Netflix, video calling, Webex, and Amazon prime… we are not really alone. It's amazing.

And thinking about general practice, I've never seen digital technology being driven so hard into practices. Perhaps this is the push we’ve been yearning for for decades. GPs are having to get to grips with the technology quickly, and all sorts of bureaucratic barriers are being lifted to help us treat patients remotely, and for staff to work from home. Even GP trainees like me might be able to rejoin the force soon, helping with telephone triage from afar. Of course it’s bringing its own risks too, but we are being forced to grapple with them much faster than we normally would.

I can see this transforming general practice forever- both in the way we deal with patients, and perhaps in the way we bring some unused capacity ‘off the bench’ and into the workforce in future. It's also bringing practices together like never before, as they unite around a common struggle. I think primary care will emerge as a VERY different beast once this is over. This is a revolution we never saw coming.

4. Differences disappear

I keep churning one thought over and over since this started: how interconnected we truly are. I’ve never paid as much attention to other countries and their cultures as I have until now. And it keeps hitting me time and time again- at the core of it, we are all just a collection of cells, fighting a common threat, at the same time. Deep down, beneath the differences in race, religion, country and wealth that we focus on most days, we have more in common than we were perhaps ever willing to entertain before. Somehow, after Brexit drove a wedge of division through us, this virus has reminded us of the shared immortality that will always bind us together.

Imagine that, one day, you could probably sit next to any person in the world and find common ground in sharing your experience of coronavirus...instead of talking about the weather.

5. Carbon footprint

We’ve cancelled holidays and we’re not travelling anywhere, so our carbon footprint is probably the least it’s been as a family at the moment. Many others will be the same: satellite images released by NASA show a dramatic reduction in nitrogen dioxide emissions between January and February in major Chinese cities. Hopefully we can shout about this example of the impact of reducing our travel and consumption, once this is over.

And with so many firms adapting quickly to let their employees work remotely, perhaps going forward some of these changes will stick- with a dramatic impact on our collective carbon footprint.

6. New ideas

With disruption comes innovation, and I think we are just at the cusp of seeing some of this emerge. I’ve heard of colleagues setting up new endeavours from home, people taking up running for the first time, businesses moving online...and this is just the start. I think we will see a sweep of similar innovations surfacing in the coming weeks, and some might stick around for good.

A simple example from my current world: online baby groups and classes popping up, which could be so helpful in future for mums with mental health issues who struggle to get out, or have other caring responsibilities at home.

No doubt there will be gravid economic consequences of Covid-19, but for some this might well be the push to pursue something new which they would never have considered before.

7. Health behaviours

To state the obvious, we’re all being reminded to wash our hands. As doctors we have this drilled into us from the first day of medical school, and now we're making songs and memes about it! Perhaps this habit will become ingrained and help us to prevent the spread of other infections going forwards.

The other aspect of health behaviour that may change is people’s tolerance for being unwell with minor illnesses. For example, I’ve had countless discussions with patients in my short career about the need to let simple infections run their course without intervening with antibiotics. Days can feel like weeks when you're unwell, and I don’t blame them for seeking a quick fix- in our instant click and collect culture, we expect a solution to get us back to normality quickly. Now that seeing a GP has been reserved for those who need it most, perhaps this will help us to collectively be more patient with coping with minor illnesses in future.

8. Appreciation

And finally this- appreciation.

For the NHS workers who are risking their lives to keep everyone else safe.

For the teachers and nursery workers who have been doing the impossible job many of us will now have to do.

For the supermarket stackers replenishing our shelves day and night.

For the delivery drivers, dustbin men and postmen who might be the only human contact we have with the outside world.

For the local shops and restaurants offering free delivery to those who need it.

For the businesses providing free online services to help us entertain our babies, educate our children, meditate, talk to a therapist, and keep fit, to name but a few.

For the convenience that had silently infiltrated our lives that we took for granted: like supermarket shopping, and cheap holidays abroad.

For crowded cinemas and buzzing pubs. For coffees with friends and playdates for kids. For the smell of hotdogs outside a football stadium. For school gate pick-ups. For meals out. For sweaty gyms.

For handshakes, hugs, and human relationships.

A newfound appreciation for the not so little things, that will be there again in the new world that emerges.

Because we will emerge.