‘Covid-19 is difficult, but we keep going’ – Dr Despina Demopoulos

Dr Despina Demopoulos is an intensivist in an intensive care unit who has been working on the frontlines of the battle against Covid-19. She is full of praise for the her healthcare colleagues, who are working long hours as they struggle to find beds for ill patients. There's a strong sense from her of the famous South African "make a plan" mentality – but she also speaks of the terrible loneliness which can accompany the disease. And she is grateful for the ban on alcohol (even though she also likes a glass of wine). – Alec Hogg 

The last time we spoke with Dr Despina Demopoulos was in April this year. A lot has happened since then. I know you're on a number of committees, you're very close to what's going on with Covid-19 and as an intensivist, you would have been seeing it from a front-row seat. How are you guys holding up?

We definitely are in a different place than we were two, three months ago. It's been very difficult for everyone but we keep going. My colleagues have been absolutely fantastic, everybody's been trying to help each other and it's been amazing to see.

When we last spoke, it was early days and you were warning how important it was that PPE or private protective equipment was used by people in the medical frontline. It looks like that message must've gotten through because the mortalities haven't been of the kind that one feared.

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