Consultant from Ribble Valley one of just six people chosen to take part in gruelling ski mountaineering challenge... in honour of her NHS colleagues

Sarah, who lives in Whalley, has worked as a consultant in the intensive care unit at the Royal Blackburn Hospital for the last 20 years.

The 53-year-old calls the last two years, during Covid-19, ‘horrendous’ and talks of the horrors of staff having to sit with dying patients, when their families couldn’t be with them, and the emotional toll this has taken on her colleagues, with unprecedented sickness and PTSD levels.

“One of my patients said to me the other day: ‘There are things you've seen and had to do which no human should ever experience’,” said Sarah. “That sums up how awful it has been.”

Sarah wanted to do something to help and saw an advertisement about raising funds for two charities close to her.

There was a competitive application process but Sarah got through and is one of just six people taking part in a gruelling ski-mountaineering expedition in March.

“We are walking on skiis, and skiing the downhill, along The Patrouille de Glaciers route over five days, from Zermatt to Verbier.

“It’s daunting. I saw it advertised and thought I would never get in and then I found I had got the job!

“There are just six of us and it’s one of the toughest ski mountaineering courses in the world. It’s 57.7k route at altitudes up to 13,000 feet in the Swiss Alps. We will be facing the risk of avalanches, glacier crossing, freezing temperatures and altitude sickness.

“Training for this has helped me mentally as I can’t think about anything else. I am a runner and cyclist and we are an active family, we walk and run with the dog, but this will push me to my physical and emotional limits. It will take me out of my comfort zone.

“Having seen what my colleagues have been through though, I know that will help to get me through it.”

The expedition is raising funds for the 'Intensive Care Society' and 'Doctors In Distress' charities, to support the mental health of the ICU workforce in the coming months and years to come.

“Anyone who has been touched by covid - staff, relatives of patients, relatives of those who died - will know how bad it has been.

“The staff have suffered so much with mental health issues and PTSD. It’s a massive concern now and for years to come.

“Colleagues who have had to sit with loved ones when their families weren’t allowed in, that was particularly hard even though we made sure all patients were never alone

“It’s been a real team effort but it’s been hard and we can see how people are now suffering.

“The Intensive Care Society is for ICU doctors but it has added another stream to offer mental health support to all NHS staff.

“There is a lot of research going into this at the moment and we are supporting staff with webinars, group therapy sessions and one-to-one sessions but it all costs money.

“This is where this expedition came in, to raise funds specifically for this nationally, and hopefully we can raise around £70,000 altogether which will make a massive difference.

“As a consultant in intensive care, I have been amazed and grateful for the resilience, support and team work I have had around me.

“I have marvelled at my colleagues – nurses, doctors, Allied Health professionals, the chaplaincy team. They have all shown a ‘can do’ attitude and the ability to just keep going but it has taken an enormous toll on us.”

Sarah, whose husband also works at the hospital, said: “My children are teenagers and they know what we have both been through.

"During the pandemic they would make sure there was tea for us and make sure the dog had been walked. The whole family are supportive of me doing this. They know it’s something I feel I need to do for everyone in the NHS who has been through so much.”

To find out more about the expedition and for Sarah's fundraising page go to:https://www.ics.ac.uk/Society/Get_involved/Ski_Challenge_2022 or to make a donation click HERE