My name is Hannah Rout and I attended Ipswich School from 1996-1998. I am now an Advanced Practitioner in General Medical and Obstetric Ultrasound and I work in a busy District General here in East Anglia.

Throughout this crisis our working practices have been changed beyond recognition as we are busy scanning patients who are suspected or positive with Covid19 to support diagnosis of renal and liver failure as well as blood clots. Many patients with Covid19, have underlying health conditions so we are busy scanning patients for these as well as patients with other conditions not related to the current pandemic.  

Within our Obstetrics department, whilst there may be fewer positive or suspected Covid-19 patients, we are supporting our women in very different ways. Although it is still an exciting time for them, the ladies now have to come in for all of their appointments alone and are often worried about what they are going to be told. We still have to tell them when there is a problem with their pregnancy and it is heartbreaking when we can’t hug or console them in the way we would have done before Covid-19. However we are lucky that the happy news mostly outweighs the bad.  

We wear PPE throughout the shift which takes its toll and we, like everyone, worry that we are doing enough when it comes to protecting ourselves, our patients and our families, who we go home to at the end of the day in regards to this awful situation. We were lucky enough to be the recipients of some of the PPE the School recently made in the Easter holidays and I say thank you for the support of my old school. 

This is an incredibly difficult time but what has been obvious is that through the tears, anxiety and worry there has been laughter and the realisation of what a strong, amazing team we all belong to within our department and how lucky we all are. 

Take care
Hannah Rout (nee Evans) OI 
Class of 1998