I'm a physiotherapist. Seeing the impact of Covid on survivors will haunt me forever

I've never seen anything like coronavirus before. Recovering will be a Herculean task for patients, but we are here to help

After nearly a quarter of a century as a physiotherapist, I've found 2020 the most professionally thought-provoking year so far. Throughout my career, I have treated patients with everything from rare and fatal brain conditions to severe bends brought about by diving, but what I have seen with the coronavirus pandemic will haunt me for the rest of my life. While every case of Covid-19 is different, after a while you've seen most of the pieces of the jigsaw somewhere before. Instead, it is the level and scale of complex rehabilitation some survivors need to return them to their lives that truly scares me.

In the past, I have worked in the community helping patients achieve their goals at home. I have worked in neonatal, neurosurgical, cardiac and general intensive care units (ICUs). I have treated patients with conditions I can't always spell, worked for the Ministry of Defence, and done a very brief stint lecturing in Ethiopia. I am now part of a triumvirate leading 2,000 staff and 22 different professions in Portsmouth.