Dr Ahmed, 40, said: “After the first wave, we had a lot of retired staff.
“They couldn’t deal. We had nurses who had family members abroad and of course they wouldn’t see them, so they couldn’t get that support. It was very sad.
“We’ve been sick enough, so we’ve had situations where really good nurses have to work on behalf of everyone who can’t come in – this is one of the those situations where you don’t want your employees to put in. “
At the height of the first wave, on April 9, St. George’s was treating 254 Covid patients.
But that was two and a half weeks after the first lock was installed.
In contrast, as of January 1 – the latest date for which figures are available – the trust was already handling 286, two days before the new closure came into effect.
Omome Etomi, a medical registrar at the hospital’s Medical Unit, said she was “devastated”.
Dr Etomi, 28, said: “I think psychologically more than anything, it’s been months and months of this.
“Even between waves, we never went back to normal. For us it’s been a few long months. It’s challenging.”