Denise O'Connor can see the strain on people's faces when she brings their loved ones into her ambulance. This may be the very last time that they see each other.
Because of Covid-19 visiting restrictions, being admitted to hospital has taken on a new dimension – one that leaves patients without those closest to them in their hour of need. "I feel for those people," said Ms O'Connor, a paramedic with Cork city's ambulance service. "They just don't know whether they're going to see them again or not.
We can't tell them 'yes, you will definitely see them again'." On a recent busy shift, Ms O'Connor reassured a man whose elderly mother has had a fall and temporarily lost consciousness.