Emily

A group of fourth year Oxford medical students working on the NHS front line to battle Covid, have spoken out about their experiences over the past year, to help raise money for Tingewick charity.

The Tingewick Trust is a charity run by 4th year University of Oxford’s medical students who are holding a raffle for Oxford Hospitals Charity and Calon Hearts with some amazing prizes donated by local businesses. From Truck Festival tickets to haircuts, meals out to a weekend away and even a touring bike, (for the full list of prizes see below) these incredible prizes will make a real difference to Tingewick’s fundraising campaign.

Tingewick’s Oxford Unlocked raffle is doubly inspiring considering the experiences these medical students have undergone on the Covid wards already.

“The doctors, nurses, and other healthcare staff I encountered during the pandemic will be a source of motivation and example as I continue training to become a doctor”

Take Lucy, 21, who is at Oxford’s University College and worked in COVID ICU at the JR in January-March 2021. “There were some very difficult moments, especially helping relatives to say goodbye to their family members on ICU; however, these moments were also when I felt most valuable to the team, relieving some of the workload and stress of the nurses.

“One of my high points was when I was on placement on a medical ward and met one of the patients I’d looked after a few weeks before on ICU, they were smiling and chatty and were really grateful for all of the care they had received.

BUY RAFFLE TICKETS HERE: http://bit.ly/oxford-unlocked

Lucy Denly

Rosaline de Koning from Green Templeton College, was working on a COVID-19 testing study at the John Radcliffe Hospital to help facilitate mass testing. “I had never worked in a clinical capacity before the virus hit, but I was intent on doing anything I could to help. I feel honoured to have been able to work with frontline hospital staff which only strengthened my admiration for their work and selflessness.

“THE SPIRIT OF THE ICU TEAM AND THE COMPASSION AND CARE THEY PROVIDED, EVEN ON THE MOST DIFFICULT DAYS, EXEMPLIFIED WHY THE NHS IS HELD DEAR TO SO MANY IN THE COUNTRY”

“The doctors, nurses, and other healthcare staff I’ve encountered during the pandemic will be a source of motivation and example as I continue my training to become a doctor.”

Rosaline de Koning in her Tingewick t-shirt

Emily O’Boyle of New College, said that being a medical student in the pandemic taught her that some of the simplest things can make the world of difference to patient care.

“During the second wave I helped out on various COVID wards, including high dependency wards and ITU,” she says. “My role involved simple tasks such as monitoring patients’ progress, helping fit respiratory masks and rolling patients over to help them breathe easier.

“This was the ultimate baptism of fire – going straight into working 12 hour shifts, day and night, wearing full PPE in intensive care in the middle of a horrendous pandemic was a huge shock to the system”

“Everybody was so welcoming and grateful for an extra pair of hands but the hardest part was seeing patients declining, particularly in an environment where family and friends couldn’t visit,” she said.

Emily

Lucy at St John’s College has been helping out with the OPTIC trial during the pandemic, studying our immune response to the infection and vaccination: “It is amazing that many of these nurses and doctors are coming straight off nightshifts on ICU or on a COVID-19 ward, and instead of going home to bed straightaway, they are coming to OPTIC to volunteer their blood for the study. This really encapsulates the spirit of the hospital, and it is this generosity and selflessness that has got us through the pandemic this far.”

“working through the pandemic has made me more certain than ever that medicine is the career for me”

Beinn Khulusi is a 22-year-old medical student who worked as a swabber and phlebotomist in the John Radcliffe and Churchill hospitals, as well as with the ICU Relative Liaison Team, calling the families of COVID ICU patients daily to provide updates and facilitate video calls. “It was an emotionally demanding role, but we were supported all of the way by a wonderful collection of the ICU doctors and nurses, psychiatrists and psychologists. There were both fantastic high points and deep low points, all of which will stay with me for life. The spirit of the ICU team and the compassion and care they provided, even on the most difficult days, exemplified why the NHS is held dear to so many in the country.”

BUY RAFFLE TICKETS HERE: http://bit.ly/oxford-unlocked

Meirian Evans of St Catherine’s College, worked as part of the staff testing team across the John Radcliffe, NOC and Churchill hospitals, before signing up to work as a Nursing Assistant in intensive care. “This was the ultimate baptism of fire – going from lectures and essays straight into working 12 hour shifts, day and night, wearing full PPE in intensive care in the middle of a horrendous pandemic was a huge shock to the system,” she says.

Meirian Evans

“The more shifts I worked, the more valuable I felt to the team, and it was great to be able to relieve some of the workload from the nurses. The nursing team are absolutely phenomenal – I have so much respect for them all, and hope that when I eventually qualify I am lucky enough to work with nurses like these as a doctor.

“These experiences will stay with me for life – and I would say that working through the pandemic has made me more certain than ever that medicine is the career for me. It’s an absolute privilege to be able to help people from across society in their most vulnerable moments, to be constantly pushed out of your comfort zone (as no two days are the same) whilst working as part of an inspirational team, with such incredible compassion for patients.”

BUY RAFFLE TICKETS HERE: http://bit.ly/oxford-unlocked

James Alden, a 22 year old medical student at Green Templeton College, Oxford, has been working as a Covid tester within the university and is heavily involved with the Tingewick charity raising money for Oxford Hospitals Charity and Calon Hearts.

James Alden

“The raffle is an amazing chance to raise huge amounts of money for these incredible and deserving causes, thanks to the incredible generosity of local Oxfordshire businesses,” he says.

Tingewick’s Oxford Unlocked raffle will be running until May 17, and tickets can be bought online for £2 at http://bit.ly/oxford-unlocked.

Prizes include:

Truck Festival pair of tickets
Cycloanalysts bike
Woodstock arms 2 night stay
Pair of tickets for Bullingdon x2
£10 voucher Za’atar Bake x 20
Bleinham Palace family ticket
Chiltern Valley wine tour and tasting
Oxwash £100
Indigo £40 voucher
Gatineau £20 voucher
Bearded Viking Drinks gift certificate for 6 drinks x2
£12 voucher Alfonso Gelateria x 5
Big Scary Monsters 6 pack of beers
Tap Social beers, t shirt and tote bag
Shotover Brewery 3 pack of beers
Bottle of wine from the Wine Cafe
Market cellar door £10 voucher 
Rainbow and Spoon voucher
Discount voucher for Oxford Wine Company
Ice cream cake from G&Ds
Bag of coffee from Missing Bean
Bag of coffee from Jericho
Selection of books from Blackwells
£15 TALA voucher
3 months membership Every Body Studio
Holistic Health 1-1 acupuncture session
Holistic Health 1-1 herbal session
Holistic Health community session x4
Coconut Tree voucher
2x coffee and cake vouchers Jericho Coffee Traders
Franco Manca voucher
Meal for 2 The Trout at Tadpole Bridge
Anne Veck gift voucher
Popham hair voucher x2
£20 voucher Cafe Babba
£50 voucher Blushes
Escape Hunt Oxford print and play game
Meal for 2 at Taste Tibet
£25 voucher Skogen Kitchen
£25 voucher Jam Factory
£25 voucher Green Routes