‘Reflections from the Pandemic’ booklet launched

Wednesday 4th Mar 2026

Forest Holme Hospice Charity has published a new booklet, Reflections from the Pandemic, capturing the lived experiences of hospice staff during one of the most challenging chapters in recent history.

The 24-page publication brings together reflections from both clinical and non-clinical colleagues across Forest Holme Hospice, who through a mix of professional insight and personal experience, share what it meant to care, adapt and endure extremely challenging circumstances during Covid 19 and the periods of national lockdown.

Staff contributions include accounts of nursing within communities under immense strain and working in hospital wards stretched beyond capacity. Others share deeply personal experiences, including the sorrow of being separated from a mother as her dementia progressed, and the emotional complexity of welcoming a child into the world during a pandemic.

The booklet concludes with a personal reflection on serious illness within a staff member’s own family, and a simple embrace at a hospital entrance that came to hold profound meaning.

Hannah O’Hare, CEO at Forest Holme Hospice Charity and one of the contributors to the booklet, said, “The Covid 19 pandemic reshaped daily life for us all in ways few could have imagined. It touched every part of our community in very different ways, bringing not only courage and commitment, but also loss, separation and trauma, particularly for those worried about or caring for loved ones. By bringing some these experiences together, the booklet offers an honest snapshot of that time and helps to ensure this important chapter in our shared history is not forgotten.”

You can read an online version of the booklet here or pick-up a free copy from the hospice. If you would like to share your own reflection, particularly if someone close to you was receiving palliative care during the pandemic, Forest Holme Hospice Charity would like to hear from you. Please contact paul@forestholmehospice.org.uk or call 01202 670644