BBC Radio 5 Live

Thanks so much for following #MyCovidYear.

We've had some incredible contributions from people working on the front line – and the families they have helped.

You can continue the conversation after the page has finished, using hashtag #MyCovidYear.

And of course, you can hear more stories like this from across the UK all day, every day on BBC Radio 5 Live. Listen on BBC Sounds.

BBC Radio 5 Live

Kellie Jones cooked thousands of meals for emergency services staff in Carmarthen, after she saw on TV that NHS workers were not able to get food from the shops, due to stockpiling at the beginning of lockdown.

She told BBC Radio 5 Live Drive’s Anna Foster: "I put a post on Facebook and said if anyone fancies dropping by, I’ll put out a plate of food and it escalated from there.

"It went absolutely massive.

"I was cooking up an absolute storm in the kitchen. It was absolutely amazing. I had some amazing cards and presents to say thank you."

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Join in the conversation - Text 5 Live on 85058 [Texts will be charged at your standard message rate. Check with your network provider for exact costs] or use #MyCovidYear on Twitter and Facebook.

BBC Radio 5 Live

All day on 5 Live we’ve been hearing from patients and health care workers on the front line of the pandemic.

We’ve also been speaking to members of the community who pulled together to support the hospitals in one health board in Wales.

Gwyndaf Lewis is one of those people.

After his mother died from Covid in April last year, he set up a fundraiser for Glangwili hospital’s ICU unit in her memory.

By running around his block 31 times and stopping for just 20 seconds, Gwyndaf racked up a distance of 50km and raised £37,500 for the hospital. He smashed his initial target of £500 in just 20 minutes of the fundraiser going live.

Talking about his motivation, Gwyndaf said: "Even though she was only there for a day and night, they did everything they could.

"We knew they were under so much pressure, it was just something to give back."

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BBC Radio 5 Live

All day, 5 Live has been going behind the scenes at one health board in Wales to find out what life is like on the NHS front line.

Hospital porter Stephen Rees told presenter Nihal Arthanayake about the rewarding parts of his job.

"It is nice to see the family waiting at the end of the corridor," he said. "Seeing them smiling and waving after the long wait.

"It is a nice feeling and it makes me feel like my job is worth something."

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5 Live's Nihal Arthanayake has been speaking to young people who have been working for the NHS front line during the pandemic.

Danielle Boswell became a hospital family liaison officer during lockdown.

She helps patients stay connected with their families who can't visit because of Covid.

"Sometimes we just sit and have a chat with patients, read a magazine. sometimes they like you to just sit there and have a really long chat."

She said it is "hard to see" patients breaking down because they really want to see their families.

"You've got to reassure them that everything is hopefully going to be okay one day and we can soon see each other again," she said.

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BBC Radio 5 Live

A-level student Sophie Davies, aged 18, is a young person whose life has changed completely since the pandemic started.

Last June, with the schools shut, she decided she wanted to do her bit and found a job as a domestic assistant at Glangwili Hospital.

She works in intensive care and A&E wards, serving food and drinks and cleaning and cheering up the patients.

"Just being someone they can talk to because they’re extremely lonely and we’re almost like family members to these patients," she said.

She's witnessed first-hand the stresses staff all go through. On occasions where there have been staff shortages, she's had to sit in a critical bay with a patient while a staff members collects something.

"It can be extremely exhausting for some of the staff members on the ward. If staff members have to go off because they’ve contracted Covid, there's been points when there’s just two healthcare assistants and two nurses on the ward

"Sometimes as domestics or porters or family liaison officers, we’ve got to step up and give that bit extra," she said.

Lots of Sophie's family members work for the NHS so she's been able to turn to them when she needs to let off steam.

"[I have] a good old chat with my Nan," she said. "She worked as an occupational therapist and she’s actually going back to work to give the vaccinations out.

"She's just so reassuring. She knows everything – like all Nans do!"

Join in the conversation - Text 5 Live on 85058 [Texts will be charged at your standard message rate. Check with your network provider for exact costs] or use #MyCovidYear on Twitter and Facebook.

BBC Radio 5 Live

You’ve been getting in contact with your NHS experiences. Claire in Gillingham text 5 Live to pay tribute to the NHS staff who helped her.

"I suffered a detached retina three weeks ago and went blind in my left eye within a few hours. Our amazing NHS saved my sight despite the challenges of the current pandemic.

"I was seen in A&E at 4am by an ophthalmic consultant who first spoke to me on the phone and then travelled 45 minutes from her home to come and examine me in person.

"She then made sure I was seen at a London hospital the next day so my treatment could be accelerated, and my surgery was carried out just 13 hours after I had first been seen.

"I was very nervous about being in a busy London hospital at this time, but my surgery was essential and the treatment I received was exceptional. I couldn't be more thankful."

Join in the conversation - Text 5 Live on 85058 [Texts will be charged at your standard message rate. Check with your network provider for exact costs] or use #MyCovidYear on Twitter and Facebook.

BBC Newsbeat

We’ve joined up with BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat on the live page today.

They’ve been looking at life on the NHS front line at Harrogate District Hospital.

You can listen back to their stories here.

BBC Radio 5 Live

You’ve been getting in contact with your NHS experiences.

This nurse in Devon texted 5 Live anonymously. He said he had been working on a Covid ward since March 2020.

"I’ve worked in nursing on a Covid ward since last March. I treated the very first patient in my area. I've been on the sharp end of every wave.

"I feel about 50 years older. My hands are dry and cracked. I sometimes wake up at two in the morning before shifts. I even treat Covid in my dreams. I wrote my will but haven't had to use it yet.

"We are fighting a biological war, Covid is hell, and the public will never understand just how intense this is. I'm numb to tragedy and death.

"I've got a 1000 yard stare sometimes. But you want me like that because that's what makes me able to do this and save your life and all the rest of them.

"And I won't stop, I won't quit, I will try to save every one of you. I will savour every victory. I will be here until the end. but please don't end up being my patient. Together we all need to do what we can to end this... and we will.

"I was born to do this. The pandemic is my whole life and my contribution to this country. I am an immigrant and now a British citizen, like many others working on the frontline. Immigrants have played a huge role in Covid and some lost their lives in this effort. We must never forget their sacrifice.

"I am hugely proud of the NHS. I want my story shared because our voices are not often heard by the public. I want people to understand what Covid is really like for patients and frontline staff- there is a reason for the lockdowns and inconveniences."

Join in the conversation - Text 5 Live on 85058 [Texts will be charged at your standard message rate. Check with your network provider for exact costs] or use #MyCovidYear on Twitter and Facebook.

BBC Radio 5 Live

5 Live's Mark Hutchings has been reporting live from a safe space at Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen.

He’s just tweeted the latest figures for the Hywel Dda board area from Public Health Wales.

The head of NHS Wales has said there are "encouraging signs" coronavirus cases in Wales are falling.

Chief Executive Andrew Goodall said rates of the virus in the community were "significantly down" from where they were in December.

Over a similar period the number of hospital patients with Covid has fallen by about a quarter.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show a second week of falling death rates in Wales.

Meanwhile, the latest Public Health Wales (PHW) figures showed the number of cases per 100,000 people in Wales had fallen to 111.4.

You can read more on this story here.

BBC Radio 5 Live

5 Live's Naga Munchetty has been speaking to Steve Moore, chief executive of the Hywel Dda University Health Board in Wales.

The board employs 11,000 staff and treats patients at four main hospitals and seven community hospitals.

Mr Moore said he "loved the NHS" and described how the last year had changed him.

"It's made me clearer about what it is to be a chief executive," he said.

"To be able to feel like you're part of it in these real moments of national crisis is something I would never want to miss, despite the dark days and the challenges."

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Join in the conversation - Text 5 Live on 85058 [Texts will be charged at your standard message rate. Check with your network provider for exact costs] or use #MyCovidYear on Twitter and Facebook.

BBC Newsbeat

More from BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat now and their 48-hour visit to Harrogate District Hospital.

They met Dr Sarah Marsh, Argjira Luzha and Becky Leigh - three people fighting Covid-19 at Harrogate Hospital's intensive care unit.

You can hear more from Newsbeat’s look at life on the NHS front line on Radio 1, 1Xtra, Asian Network via BBC Sounds all week.

BBC Radio 5 Live

All day on 5 Live we’re going behind the scenes of one health board in Wales to find out what life is like on the NHS front line.

The Hywel Dda University Health Board employs 11,000 staff and treats patients at four main hospitals and seven community hospitals across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.

Sharon Geggus is a community midwife for Glangwili Hospital who ended up becoming a patient after catching coronavirus. She has had to learn to walk again after spending nearly three months in hospital.

Her illness began on Monday 14 September, and, by the Saturday, Sharon was admitted to hospital with difficulties breathing, a temperature of 40.8 Celsius and oxygen levels which had fallen to 75%.

The first mask for the oxygen machine was "claustrophobic and frightening" and cut her face and head, the second mask fitted better and there was talk of sending her home.

After 12 days in hospital, things took a turn for the worse and her oxygen levels could no longer be maintained. Sharon was then taken to St Thomas’ Hospital in London to be put on a ventilator and one of 30 ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) machines in the UK.Speaking to 5 Live’s Naga Munchetty, Sharon said: "I wrote a note to my children and my husband because, in my head, I wasn’t going to come out of this."

Normally, patients are only on an ECMO for up to five days, Sharon was on hers for 28 days. Her husband was told she might not survive the treatment.

By November, Sharon was starting to recover and was transferred back to Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli to continue her recovery.

On December 1, she began rehabilitation, after weeks in intensive care left her unable to walk.

Ten days later she managed to walk out of hospital, but is still unable to stand up for more than 10 minutes at a time.

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Join in the conversation - Text 5 Live on 85058 [Texts will be charged at your standard message rate. Check with your network provider for exact costs] or use #MyCovidYear on Twitter and Facebook.

BBC Radio 5 Live

5 Live's Mark Hutchings is reporting live from a safe space at Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen.

The hospital is one of four main hospitals run by Hywel Dda University Health Board. With an additional seven community hospitals it serves a population of just over 380,000 people, covering Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire in West Wales.

But he's clearly looking far too official...

You can hear Mark throughout the day on 5 Live as part of #MyCovidYear. Listen for free on the BBC Sounds app.

BBC Newsbeat

We’ve joined up with BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat on the live page today.

They’ve been looking at life on the NHS front line at Harrogate District Hospital. We met Joe the 25 year old porter and also some of the staff working in the ICU there.

You can hear more about their stories in a Newsbeat special programme at 1245.

BBC Radio 5 Live

You have been responding to #MyCovidYear coverage and the amazing stories from patients and staff on the NHS front line.

Listen live on the free BBC Sounds app

Join in the conversation - Text 5 Live on 85058 [Texts will be charged at your standard message rate. Check with your network provider for exact costs] or use #MyCovidYear on Twitter and Facebook.

BBC Radio 5 Live

5 Live is behind the scenes at a group of hospitals in Wales today.

We're hearing from front-line NHS staff at the Hywel Dda University Health Board about the pressures they are under and the work they are doing caring for Covid-19 patients.

Last year, additional units were created to take the strain from existing hospitals. England has the Nightingale system and in Wales a range of centres have been transformed into so-called "step-down" hospitals, where recovering Covid patients are transferred for continuing treatment and care.

The Welsh Government says 11 more of these field hospitals are still needed to ease the pressures on acute wards, caused by the pandemic.

Sarah Williams is senior nurse manager at the Selwyn Samuel field hospital in Llanelli.

She told 5 Live that, even after 30 years in nursing, she has learnt something every day during the pandemic.

"There's not a day goes by I don't want to come into work," she said.

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BBC Radio 5 Live

Away from Wales, we’ve been speaking to NHS staff around the country today about how they are dealing with the pandemic.

A surgeon, whose normal work includes helping victims of gun and knife crime, told Rachel Burden on 5 Live Breakfast how he has turned his attention to tackling vaccine hesitancy in ethnic minority communities.

“There is a real confidence gap around vaccination and that leads to people not taking up the offer when it’s given to them," said surgeon Martin Griffiths, an NHS director for violence reduction.

Explaining where the lack of confidence comes from, Mr Griffiths said it has its roots in societal differences, access to care and who people put their trust in.

"We need to replace that mistrust and uncertainty with clear information, and then offer to negotiate and discuss those concerns and put [them] to rest," he added.

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BBC Radio 5 Live

Betty Tovey, 94, was being treated at a field hospital for Covid-19 when her daughter-in-law died with the virus.

"I kept praying, please God let me go home to them, but unfortunately she was taken," Betty continued.

She and other patients at the Selwyn Samuel field hospital in Llanelli have shared their stories with 5 Live’s Mark Hutchings.

The staff help their patients - many of them elderly – to get back on their feet.

Charles Hughes, 88, spent about three weeks in hospital and praised the care.

"I'm well looked after, it's a palace... with the staff, with the food, everything, I couldn't be better well looked after," he said.

Read the full story here.

BBC Radio 5 Live

Selwyn Samuel Centre in Llanelli is a field hospital for patients including those recovering from Covid-19. There are 10 field hospitals operating in Wales, which provide around 2,600 beds.

Sarah Williams Senior Nurse Manager says the field hospitals allow more beds to be available in an acute hospital setting.

"The focus is getting the patients out and about," she said.

Listen live on the free BBC Sounds app or join in the conversation. Text 5 Live on 85058 [Texts will be charged at your standard message rate. Check with your network provider for exact costs] or use #MyCovidYear on Twitter and Facebook.