Behind the Mask

‘It felt like the videos you see of what happens just before a tsunami hits; when the tide goes out, the sea disappears and everything goes eerily quiet. The public were on lockdown and although we’d had a trickle of patients enter the hospital, with elective operating ceased and most people ‘scared’ to attend, the hospital entered a rare phase of quiet and calm. We wondered if the wave would ever hit us. We didn’t want it to as we’d seen the pictures from Italy of how badly their hospitals had been smashed, but equally we were poised, trained and ready to give our best if it hit, when it hit. And it hit.’

This is how Dr Ami Jones, ITU consultant, described the onset of COVID-19 at Nevill Hall General Hospital in Abergavenny in March 2020. Operating Department Practitioner Glenn Dene photographed the whole process from lockdown, his photographs showing how the remarkable team came together to serve their community; from professional challenges to personal fears, all is revealed as the team at Nevill Hall donned their masks to battle the killer virus.

Produced with the kind permission and support of Nevill Hall Hospital and the NHS, all royalties in aid of NHS charities.