During late summer and autumn, the Royal Free London has so far managed to remain open to all its patients and continue with planned operations, treatment and care. However, the second wave of the pandemic has now reached London, and confirmed cases of the virus are prompting a fresh influx of patients with Covid-19 into the hospitals.

As a second England-wide lockdown is in force, the Royal Free Hospital must continue to try to get through the biggest operating waiting list in its history. As a specialist centre, it sees some of the UK’s most complicated cancer patients. But with many patients in need of intensive care beds, the pressure placed on the trust’s intensive care staff is immense.

Meanwhile, in Barnet, the trust’s second largest hospital, the number of Covid-19 patients has more than doubled in the last week. As the hospital deals with the new influx of patients, Barnet’s senior team have a major staffing problem. Because of an outbreak of Covid-19 on three of the wards, staff have to self-isolate and be tested, whether symptomatic or not, in order to halt the spread.

All these pressures mean that it is critical that the roll-out of the new coronavirus vaccine happens as early as possible. If the vaccine succeeds, it would present the biggest weapon the NHS possesses in the fight to overcome the second and further waves of Covid-19.

We follow the human stories behind the headlines of staff and patients alike as they grapple with this extraordinary challenge of operating within the new Covid-19 landscape. Show less