Lloyd Mudiwa writes that while ‘out with the old’ may well be the clarion call for the nation in the year just passed, some things are worth holding on to in 2021
We have said goodbye to 2020 since our last editorial, and many would bid good riddance to it too. Surprisingly, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the phrase annus horribilis, which has the literal meaning of “a disastrous or unfortunate yearâ€, did not trend at all last year, even though we all spent a considerable amount of time talking about what a horrible year it was.
Nonetheless, this past year has demonstrated that despite a year full of challenges and uncertainty due to the Covid-19 pandemic, together we can face anything.
The Irish medical profession’s starring role in dealing with the current Covid-19 pandemic, protecting the quality of patient care, and helping to ensure the future viability of our health services will continue to be crucial in 2021. While the profession can rise to the challenge and do its part to minimise any adverse impact on patients and the public, it will not be able to do it alone. Society as a whole must continue to ensure all of our doctors’ hard work and sacrifice are not for naught.
At the beginning of the pandemic and throughout most of 2020, healthcare professionals in Ireland have worked together to respond to the scourge of Covid-19.
They continued to develop and curate an extensive number of resources and services for both the medical and healthcare communities and the public, which helped to keep the impact of the coronavirus somewhat in check.
A case in point is the winner of the An Duais Mhór prize, which was sponsored by not-for profit supply chain specialists, GS1 Ireland, at the Irish Healthcare Awards 2020, hosted by Irish Medical Times (see ‘Quick-assemble’ national Covid-19 response service promptly triumphs on page 12 of this issue).
The National Ambulance Service (NAS) and its project establishing Ireland’s first-ever national Covid-19 screening and mass testing programme in March — a time when little was known about the virus and fear, anxiety, and uncertainty abound — were judged to be the overall outstanding organisation and project, chosen from all 24 category winners at last year’s awards.
The NAS initially won the ‘Best Covid-19 Response: Public Sector (Non-Hospital)’ prize.
As Bridget Clarke of the NAS told IMT, it was a case of all hands-on deck, with Defence Forces personnel, emergency crews, health professionals and retired healthcare workers — most of whom had never met beforehand — collaborating to quickly initiate the service amid alarming reports from Covid-19 hotspots elsewhere in the world at the time.
As of January 12, the service had completed 274,888 Covid-19 tests in residential nursing homes, prisons, sheltered accommodation, Direct Provision centres, among the homeless, and in other at-risk sectors such as meat processing plants — a remarkable achievement.
I would like to continue to offer our solidarity and moral support in 2021 to all of our healthcare professionals, especially those working as first responders tirelessly in combating this pandemic.
By the way, this is my final issue at the helm of the Irish Medical Times. Just over 10 years and countless issues later, I bid a fond farewell to our loyal readers, contributors, fellow judges in the Irish Healthcare Awards and the editorial team, who like the group behind the NAS national Covid-19 screening service, have collaborated well with me to help consolidate IMT’s place at the top of the medical media sector in Ireland.
A newspaper is only as good as its sources, so a big thank you to the readers of IMT, and also to the tireless Press Office and Public Relations folks for keeping me in the loop of so many amazing things — people, news releases and tips, viewpoints, and perspectives — which kept our pages bursting with informative, insightful, topical relevance, and entertaining pieces.
Thank you to the team in IMT and all our stalwart contributors and collaborators for generously sharing your knowledge, experience, creativity, diligence, and immeasurable talent, which is appreciated beyond measure.
Finally, while not every client/editorial relationship is easy, I can sincerely say my relationships with IMT’s various clients and advertisers were always healthy, for which I am also grateful.
I consider all of these various relationships and collaborations as friendships for life, so it is only really a goodbye for now and I hope our paths do cross again soon.
Ever the pessimist and a stickler for good grammar, please bear in mind that should the worrying situation with Covid-19 continue apace and 2021, like 2020, turns out to be just another ‘horrible year’, the correct way of pluralizing this is anni horribiles (and not annus horribilises).
But should our medical and healthcare practitioners remain willing to work together and society also plays its part, then I trust that we are likely to see a turn to annus mirabilis (a remarkable or notable year).
May 2021 bring you all health, peace, and prosperity!!!
