Laurence Cawley
BBC News

Lead chaplain Mark Stobert says the impact of the coronavirus has been "unprecedented".

"I don't think any of us have ever experienced anything like this," he said. "A lot of our role is about us being present, and we spent a lot of time trying to get our heads around how we do that.

"We did some telephone working and slowly but surely we've got back to being present on the words."

Part of his experience of being a chaplain, and the difficulties of communicating to those in need wearing personal protective equipment, has been expressed in his poem "Learning to Speak Eyebrow".

Remember our surgeon Kanwalraj Moar from early this morning?

She has seen her first patient and operated on the baby’s cleft lip. After a series of meetings - she's about to move on to patient number two.

Matron Claire Chapman explained how the hospital uses state-of-the-art coronavirus tests to provide results in just two hours, meaning patients can be discharged to their homes quickly and safely.

Back in September 2015, Addenbrooke's saw one its darkest periods when it was plunged into special measures.

Despite the quality of care considered "outstanding", there were concerns raised about staffing levels, outpatient treatment delays and governance failings.

Image source, CQC

But the hospital didn't rest on its laurels.

Within 18 months and a further Care Quality Commission inspection, it emerged stronger than before.

At the time, chief executive Roland Sinker paid tribute to the staff, saying their "outstanding care is a testament to their dedication and skill."

Laurence Cawley
BBC News

For the past 13 years, Terry Cooper, has been walking the hospital grounds leaving spic and span wards in his wake.

He told how throughout the coronavirus pandemic he has calmly gone about his cleaning work pretty much as before, and how he has not felt fear because he has been keen to do his bit to keep patients and staff safe.

"It has been a bit emptier," he said, "and it has been quite busy."

A key tool in his cleaning arsenal is a 'deprox machine' which has enabled him to go into a Covid-19 area and clean it using a remote control. The machine, which resembles a Dalek from Doctor Who, creates a cleaning fog which reaches every area of a room.

"Without these, we would have to mop everything," he said.

Earlier we met Becky Jackson, who broke her leg six weeks ago when her "chocolate labrador ran into it".

The good news is she's had her radiography appointment and the leg brace has finally been removed. She's very happy, especially husband Tim.

After four months of transforming everything they do, you can probably forgive Dr Adrian Boyle of being “certainly ready for a holiday”.

“Within my department in the last four months we've undergone change management programmes that would normally have taken two to three, maybe even four years to do.

“We've had to do this while the department is still running and trying to work out how we can look after our patients at the same time.

“So it's been quite draining on the staff and I think we need to recognise the staff are fatigued and worn out.”

Laurence Cawley
BBC News

This is a rare empty waiting area. It's in Clinic Seven - which sees cleft lip pallet and dermatology patients.

It would usually be bustling with people but because of telemedicine and very carefully timed in-resin appointments, the area is currently vacant.

Dr Christopher Adcock, a consultant in the Covid-19 assessment unit, said the prospect of a second coronavirus wave coinciding with flu season was "daunting".

According to official figures in the week between 18-24 July there were 37 confirmed new cases of coronavirus in Cambridgeshire, which Addenbrooke's Hospital serves.

For more information about cases where you live, go to the BBC's coronavirus tracker here.

Olwen Fussell has come to Addenbrooke's with breathing problems and was given a Covid-19 test as a precaution, though doctors think it is unlikely she is suffering from the virus.

Dads are now allowed to visit the maternity ward again, as long as they've booked a two-hour visiting slot.

Although birth partners have been allowed in throughout the pandemic, they were unable to come up to the ward with mum until restrictions were eased two weeks ago.

Tara Pauley, deputy head of midwifery, said: "It's all about managing the footfall because we are still trying to socially distance.

"So we can’t have everybody in at once so we need to know who is there and when."

Nikki Fox
BBC Look East

It’s still unclear as to whether there will be a baby boom because of lockdown.

Throughout history, spikes in deaths due to war, famine or disease have been followed by boom in pregnancies as countries return to normal.

Some experts think the financial strain on couples will mean fewer births and there could be fewer unplanned pregnancies among young people because they didn’t mix during lockdown.

However, one GP surgery in Stowmarket says its pregnancy rate has doubled in lockdown.

She told me she thinks many people, particularly older women, are looking at life differently and using the opportunity to have a child. She also thinks they’re reassessing what’s important in life.

That surgery is certainly expecting a local baby boom. Any babies will be due in January or February. Watch this space...

Intensive care doctor Charlotte Summers explained how parts of the hospital were being refurbished ready for a possible second wave of Covid-19.

Adam Goodwin is a trainee reporting radiographer.

The X-ray room here used to be a meeting room - but it was converted in order to allow for greater social distancing in the department.

Having another room for patients from the fracture clinics has allowed medics to increase capacity and ease queues.

There have been a lot of delays for patients, which is why we added an extra room," he said.

"Because of social distancing we've had to adapt."

Anne Cooper is the outpatients sister, and heads up five medical clinics.

One of the jobs they found themselves dealing with was taking in transplant patients.

"None of us knew how traumatic this was going to be but I feel we've done very well as a team," she said.

"The transplant programme coincided with the introduction of opt-out and these appointments had to be face-to-face.

"Patients on immuno-suppressant drugs, it was about full masking and PPE. It was very difficult."

Staff have had to reassure apprehensive patients on arrival at hospital.

She said the last four months have been "very challenging, very rewarding, with exceptional teamwork."

You can get in touch using the Twitter hashtag #HospitalLiveBBC or eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk

Charlotte said she felt "immensely lucky" to have both worked for Cambridge University Hospitals and to have been a patient.

She said: "Fabulous place to work and the @CUH_Diabetes, external team are, without exception, THE best. #HospitalLiveBBC, external

Image source, PA

Hundreds of babies have come into the world at the Rosie Maternity Hospital since the pandemic took hold in March.

Here's a glance at the numbers:

March - 414

April - 402

May - 424

June - 432

One of the ideas the hospital had was to create a series of birth cards for new parents.

They have a picture and name of the midwife on the front, and key baby details on the back.

Local printer Billy Seattle printed them for the unit here.

Tara Pauley, deputy head of midwifery, said the cards are a "little keepsake".

"Getting used to PPE has been a big adjustment for staff and families," she said.

"It’s a hindrance to us because the key aspect of the care midwives give is empathy and reassurance before, during and after labour."

Nikki Fox
Health correspondent

There was criticism after the peak of the pandemic about hospitals discharging patients into care homes without testing them first.

Addenbrooke's Hospital discharged more than 100 patients into care homes without testing them.

However, they were following national guidance and since then, they’ve led the way to make sure that doesn’t happen.

They’ve utilised their worldwide reputation as one of the leading research hospitals to introduce Covid-19 tests that give results in two hours instead of the usual two days.

The “Samba” tests were developed in Essex.

This means they can discharge elderly patients back to care homes reassured that they know they haven’t got the virus, making sure other residents are safe. They’re also testing more patients.

Nurses tell me it’s transformed the way they work making things much safer.

The quicker they can find out if someone has Covid-19, the quicker they can be treated in the right place in the right way reducing the spread of the virus and risk to other patients and staff.

The other advantage with the speed of tests is that they can discharge people more quickly and cope with more patients if there’s a second wave of the virus.