EACH Thursday night, at the height of the Covid pandemic, the country would come to the doorstep to clap for the NHS.

But they have done more than the obvious care they gave. In fact, North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust is one of the top recruiters for a study to find out more about COVID - and those volunteers are NHS staff.

Over 400 staff at NCIC signed up to take part in the ‘SIREN’ research trial; one of the largest COVID-19 reinfection studies worldwide.

We do not have the space to nominate 400 people as our people of the week, but we can applaud their work and mention some of those involved.

When medical secretary secretary Lisa Dickerson was found to have Covid antibodies during a routine blood test, she stepped up to "do my bit."

At this time little was known about the Coronavirus or the implications and/or long term effects on individuals and I thought that this would be an excellent way of helping to do my ‘bit’ to help with the study of the virus, along with the possibility of a vaccine or potential cure.

“Every fortnight since then I have attended for a Covid swab and blood test with the Clinical Research and Development nurses."

Ian Pearson, Pathology Information and Performance Manager, said: “I felt we needed to find out as much as we could about this new virus, the causes of it and how we could protect ourselves. I thought it was a very small price to pay for a little discomfort every couple of weeks.

"I am asthmatic and I have been very lucky as I have never tested positive for the virus. However, I have had asthma attacks in the past and I know what it feels like struggling for every breath.

"I needed to do something however small to try and bring an end to the suffering of people who have lost family and friends as well as helping in the fight against it.”

Grace Killingsworth, Research Practitioner, said: “I’m really proud to have worked on the SIREN study and give staff the opportunity to keep an eye on their antibody levels."