The outbreak of COVID-19 has had a huge impact on the healthcare systems of virtually every country on earth, and the UK has been no exception. A massive mobilisation and reorganisation of the British National Health Service (NHS) to address the challenges we were facing from this new and still poorly understood disease happened in weeks. And in the midst of this mass reorganisation, a lot of thinking had to go into how best to allocate limited resources as we faced a potential overload on the NHS.
Two of our members, Dr Melody Redman and Dr James Haslam, put together a paper looking at these questions and applying a biblical principles to the question of resource allocation. It sounds dry, but it is a matter that could quite literally mean life of death. In this special, extra edition of 1st incision, Steve Fouch has a wide ranging discussion with James and Melody about how we decide who gets what treatment, how COVID-19 has changed the way we think about how we allocate limited resources, and how the public's thinking has changed as a result of the pandemic. We also look at what challenges the future holds.
You can read Melody and James' paper, COVID-19: When demand outstrips supply and other resources on COVID-19 on the CMF Website.
In the last episode of season three of 1st incision, we look back at some of the ways Christian Medical Fellowship has been responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and at some of the resources and support for health professionals that is still available. We're taking a break for the summer, but we'll be back in the autumn with a fresh series of interviews and discussions at the interface of faith, medicine, nursing and midwifery that affect our Christian lives in today's world.
Past episodes of 1st incision are available from our BuzzSprout page, including all 41 episodes of voices from the frontline
You can find out more about our Pastoral Care Programme at cmf.li/PCWP
While COVID1900Prayer has now finished, you can join us every Friday at 5pm for our new video series on Facebook and YouTube -Pause+Pray
And we'd love to hear your feedback and suggestions for the podcast - just email Steve Fouch on 1st.incision@cmf.org.uk
CMF Catalyst Teams are local teams of Christian health workers coming together to help unite and equip fellow Christian health professionals live and speak for Christ in their workplaces. We speak to three Catalyst Team leaders from around the UK, Noel, Brian and Angela, about how they are responding as Christians to the particular challenges of COVID-19 in their parts of the country.
You can find out more about Catalyst Teams at https://www.cmf.org.uk/catalyst-teams/
Ella is a redeployed ophthalmology trainee. She has been moved from her normal specialist training post in eye medicine to work on an acute COVID-19 ward, and finds herself having to learn and re-lean a very different set of medical skills while getting to know a totally new clinical team and a new hospital. She was also expecting to get married soon, but has had to cancel it and change major life plans at very short notice. How has her faith shaped her response to the frustrations and changes she is having to juggle at the moment.
See the CMF Juniors pages for more information about CMF's ministry to medical trainees from Foundation Years to Senior Trainees - https://www.cmf.org.uk/juniors/
Today, we have a compilation of short stories from members on how their teams are responding to COVID-19 challenges and how they are working together and supporting one another in new ways.
Remember to join us every day at 7 pm (BST/UTC+1) for #COVID1900Prayer, a chance to pray for health workers, our nation and the world as we respond to COVID-19
Listen to Sinclair Ferguson's first talk from National Conference 2019, speaking from Romans 5:1-11.
Recorded at Yarnfield Park, Friday 3 May 2019.
Listen to Sinclair Ferguson's second talk from National Conference 2019, speaking from Romans 8:12-30.
Recorded at Yarnfield Park, Saturday 4 May 2019.
Listen to Sinclair Ferguson's third talk from National Conference 2019, speaking from Romans 8:31-39.
Recorded at Yarnfield Park, Sunday 5 May 2019.