The COVID-19 Incident Room is at the heart of co-ordinating the response of The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic and will be vital over the next few weeks as the number of cases across the country is expected to peak.
Medical Secretary Manager Alyson Lacey, 50, who is based in the Incident Room, will play a crucial role in helping the hospital to function effectively during this critical period as a key member of the team leading the administrative side of the hospital’s response.
Whether responding to staff enquiries about self-isolation, helping to organise the delivery of COVID-19 testing kits, arranging accommodation for staff or answering calls to the staff helpline, she will play a really important part in ensuring that the hospital is able to cope and that patients and staff receive the best care possible.
Mrs Lacey joined the hospital 12 years ago as a Medical Secretary and has been seconded to the Incident Room during this important time to provide administrative support.
However, she said she isn’t daunted by the prospect and is relishing the challenge as the country faces its biggest national emergency since the Second World War.
“My husband is ex-RAF so he knows what it is like when situations like this happen. Things like this happen in our line of work and you know that you have to adapt quickly and change your normal routine and I feel that that has helped me to cope with the present crisis.
“I feel that the secretarial and administrative roles are vital in times like this because they can be redeployed anywhere in the hospital,” she said.
She thanked the community for the support it has shown to the NHS, including local businesses that are offering accommodation to staff.
“I find it challenging, but I enjoy it and therefore I don’t get stressed. I think it helps that we have got a really good team here in the Incident Room and while I do my best to support the staff with their enquiries. I also feel that I’m supported as well by the team around me,” she added.
The public are being urged to follow the Government’s very clear COVID-19 advice. This includes reducing contact with others as much as possible and washing your hands as often as you can with soap for at least 20 seconds and avoid touching your mouth, nose and eyes with unwashed hands. Catch coughs and sneezes in a tissue and bin it before washing your hands.
Latest information is available via https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-information-for-the-public and http://www.qehkl.nhs.uk/Coronavirus.asp.”
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