Intensive Care: A Gp, A Community & Covid-19

Gavin Francis

An Observer, New Statesman, Financial Times, Irish Times and Scotsman 2021 Non-Fiction Highlight

'Searing yet beautiful ... less a hot take that an astute manifesto for what matters most in life, as well as in medicine.' Rachel Clarke, author of Breathtaking: Inside the NHS in a Time of Pandemic and Your Life in My Hands

'Well written, often entertaining and occasionally deeply moving; an unmissable account of a year we will all try too hard to forget.' The Times

'Inspiring. I can't recommend it too strongly. You will learn a lot from it, and you will find much more that is encouraging.' Allan Massie, Scotsman

Intensive Care is about how coronavirus emerged, spread and changed our lives forever. But it's not the story you expect.

Gavin Francis is a GP who works in both urban and rural communities, splitting his time between Edinburgh and the islands of Orkney. When the pandemic arrived he saw how it affected every walk of life: the anxious teenager, the isolated care home resident, the struggling furloughed worker and homeless ex-prisoner, all united by their vulnerability in the face of a global disaster.

In this deeply personal account, Francis will take you from rural village streets to local clinics and communal city stairways.
Intensive Care is a timeless testimony of a year like no other: a story of loneliness and hope, illness and recovery, and of who we can become when we care for each other.