As we make our somewhat groggy retreat down the side of the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, maybe this affords us a quiet moment to reflect on what the last few months have brought us. One of my abiding memories is the gaps. Gaps everywhere you looked. Gaps in rotas and around the lunch table as the virus took a heavy toll on colleagues' health. Stories of gaps in our national PPE stock. Gaps in our clinic and hospital lists as services were cancelled and patients heeded the advice to stay at home. For me, the most striking gap was the one by the bedside - the one in the chair a patient's loved one would occupy - as visiting was curtailed through our hospitals, hospices and care homes.
