Publish date: 13 August 2020
Northumbria staff take centre stage in new documentary
Staff from Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust feature in a new documentary being premiered today, celebrating the NHS based on the lives of Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole.
Six members of staff who have been caring for patients during the Covid-19 pandemic in hospitals and the community in Northumberland and North Tyneside are showcased. Their interviews will appear alongside music, poetry, artwork and photos, intertwined with contemporary dance.
The trust is the only NHS partner in the 30-minute documentary which is inspired by the recent efforts of staff on the frontline.
Directed by British contemporary choreographer Eliot Smith, the documentary will be premiered at 7.30pm here and available to view free until 30 September.
The staff featured are Daryl Arcillas (charge nurse), Karen Connelly (consultant), Marie Constable (physiotherapist), Keith Hirri (pharmacist), Cilla Karumazondo (palliative care nurse) and Lily Lamb (GP).
Dr Lily Lamb, a GP at Ponteland Medical Group which is part of the trust’s Northumbria Primary Care, said: “As a lover of dance, I was honoured to contribute to this documentary.
“As one of the first people in the North East to contract coronavirus, the pandemic has had a major impact on me and my family. My husband and three children were ill too and, while thankfully, we have all recovered it has taken weeks to get back to full fitness.
“Like millions of families across the country, we’ve also had to juggle changes to schooling as well as manage the challenges of delivering GP-led care in Northumberland during COVID-19.
“While today’s NHS would be largely unrecognisable to Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole, their determination, innovative thinking and leadership continues to inspire me and many others working in healthcare, and the values they embodied of compassion and kindness remain the cornerstone of our work today.
“It’s fantastic that we are remembering these inspiring women who have left such an important legacy at a time when the modern-day NHS is in the spotlight.”