the CMF podcast

Rachael works in NHS prison general practice and is medical director of Integritas Healthcare, a Christian faith-inspired NGO working with detainees in the UK and overseas, particularly in the Philippines.  How has COVID-19 affected detainees and prisons in the UK? How is it affecting the delivery of medical care in prisons in the Philippines? And how is she able to bring spiritual support and who...

Dr Janan works as a surgeon in Kurdistan, Northern Iraq. His work involves regularly providing surgical care in refugee camps. Northern Iraq has been in lockdown since the first cases of COVID-19 appeared in March, and it seems that the epidemic is under control there. But there is still a real concern that the coronavirus could still break out in the refugee camps, where hand washing and social d...

Ben is a frontline paramedic, dealing with priority ambulance calls. He also helps lead a Christian fellowship group within the ambulance service, part of the Christian Ambulance Association. There have been increased pressures and opportunities since COVID-19 became a real issue, and it has changed his work, but also the network of support and prayer for frontline crews. How are Christian paramed...

Dr Peter Saunders gives an overview of how God is active across the globe working through healthcare professionals. We ask how medical mission is changing, discuss ‘tentmaking’, and ask when and where our skills might be useful. Peter diagnoses some barriers to our involvement both in the UK and overseas in a challenging and thought-provoking discussion. You can read more about the work of Peter&a...

Sara is a family medicine doctor in Madrid, Spain. The country has been hit hard, especially in Madrid, and Sara has personal experience of surviving the virus. She has been actively involved in community-based care for COVID-19 patients and has been part of a wider research group looking at treating the disease outside of acute hospitals. How has COVID-19 affected how she prays and cares for her...

Alice is a palliative care specialist. In a speciality that has always focused on touch, close personal interaction and open access visiting, COVID-19 and social distancing measures have totally changed the way that she is caring for the dying and the bereaved. It is taking a toll on her team as well as on dying patients and their families. As she goes into these difficult situations, how does her...

Mental health is a big issue in the current crisis. Today we talk to Hans, a psychiatrist from Switzerland. Uncertainties about the illness, its effects on us and our loved ones, on our livelihoods, on everyday life, can all lead to anxiety and isolation. How can we cope with these strains on our mental health? Are there positive challenges and opportunities to be discovered in these situations? ...

What about those who aren't on the COVID-19 frontline? Steve works at CMF and is a consultant neuro-rehabilitation specialist. He was due to go into partial retirement just as the lockdown began, and found himself at home with no clinical role and watching his colleagues putting their lives on the line to care for patients. How has this affected him? What is he doing now, and how are the non-...

Tom is a senior consultant in pain medicine, specialising in portable devices that help manage chronic pain. Although he practised for many years in the US, he is now working in the UK. How is COVID-19 having an impact on his work? How does he see his faith equipping him to meet the needs of his patients? Support the show

Lee is a neonatologist, working with very premature babies who need intensive support in the first weeks of life. He recently volunteered to work at the London Nightingale Hospital, working with adults on ventilators with COVID-19. He supports more junior staff who are less experienced in nursing ventilated patients. How does he reconcile his Christian faith with the suffering he sees as a result...

Rachael is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Manchester. Before the pandemic she was halfway through her neurology placement, but since COVID-19 interrupted her studies, she has been volunteering at the hospital, helping out in practical ways supporting clinical staff. With her studies suspended and the coming months looking really uncertain, how is her faith helping to keep her f...

Chelsea is a paediatric critical care nurse who has been re-deployed to an adult ICU caring for COVID-19 patients. What is it like moving from child to adult intensive care? What is it like working twelve-hour shifts in PPE with the most seriously ill COVID-19 patients? How is she processing all she has had to deal with over the last few weeks? You can read more about CMF's nursing and midwif...

Ella is a redeployed ophthalmology trainee. She has been moved from her normal specialist training post in eye medicine to work on an acute COVID-19 ward and finds herself having to learn and re-lean a very different set of medical skills while getting to know a totally new clinical team and a new hospital. She was also expecting to get married soon but has had to cancel it and change major life p...

With Christians joining CMF from different backgrounds we recognise a diversity of views on many issues. How do we separate what is doctrine from what is preference? Or what is holy from what is heresy? What does it look like to disagree well and be united in our mission to be united and equipped to live and speak for Jesus Christ in medicine and nursing?  Support the show

Tim is a clinical scientist with many years' experience in developing anti-viral drugs. He is currently heading clinical development for a UK pharmaceutical company. At the moment, many clinical trials are in suspension as the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown isolates vulnerable patient groups.  At the same time, there is a significant re-deployment of people and resources to find drug candidates t...

  CMF Catalyst Teams are local teams of Christian health workers coming together to help unite and equip fellow Christian health professionals live and speak for Christ in their workplaces. We speak to three Catalyst Team leaders from around the UK,  Noel, Brian and Angela, about how they are responding as Christians to the particular challenges of COVID-19 in their parts of the country. You can f...

Georgie is a surgical nurse in an acute surgery unit. They are seeing fewer patients, which raises the concern that people are staying away from hospital out of fear of COVID-19, increasing their risks from their current condition. At the same time, like many other health workers, COVID-19 is having a real impact on her family life. She is also busy supporting final year students suddenly put in t...

Michael is GP in Sydney and is regional secretary for the International Christian Medical Dental Fellowship ( ICMDA ).  Like many countries at the moment, Australia is on lockdown and practising social distancing in response to COVID-19. How are Australian Churches and Christian health professionals mobilising as part of the wider national response nationally and internationally?   Remember to joi...

On Saturday 25th April 2020, CMF hosted a National Online Gathering attended by up to 1,000 healthcare professionals from the UK and beyond. In the morning talks, Pastor Jonty Allcock of the Globe Church in London walked us through the Book of Habakkuk looking at the question, ‘How long Lord? Finding hope in Christ when the storm clouds gather’. This is a timely prophetic call to the church in the...

On Saturday 25th April 2020, CMF hosted a National Online Gathering attended by nearly 1,000 healthcare professionals. In our keynote talk, Dr Patrick Dixon - author, business consultant, futurist, and chairman of Global Change Ltd - looks at Life Beyond COVID-19. What does the future hold and how should Christians think and act in these incredible times? Links to resources related to Patrick&apos...

Steve is a specialist in addictions and runs a Christian project called KEYS that works with churches to support people to overcome their addictions in the local community. COVID-19 is making it harder for people recovering from addictions as social isolation creates anxiety and loss of income, driving some back into addictions. Steve's Christian faith is at the centre of his work and key to...

Ruth is a paediatric Occupational Therapist (OT), but with the advent of COVID-19, she has had to focus her work on those with the most physical needs. It is a very tough time for physically vulnerable children and their families, who are enduring social isolation and anxiety during the lockdown. But Ruth is now dealing with a range of clinical needs that an OT never normally has to, including lea...

Penney is a carer, supporting vulnerable adults in their own homes. Many of those she visits are fearful and anxious, yet there has been an increase the support and compassion being given by the wider community. At a time when we are supposed to be socially isolating, it is a real challenge to be the one going into people's homes, even to do essential care work. How does her faith give her co...

Daisy is a medical student but also works as a health advisor on the NHS111 helpline. This telephone helpline has been a vital part of helping the public get accurate health information and advice to avoid overloading GP surgeries and accident and emergency departments with non-urgent cases. How is her work making an impact, and how can we pray and support her and others doing this vital work? Rem...

  Today, we have a compilation of short stories from members on how their teams are responding to COVID-19 challenges and how they are working together to support one another in new ways. Remember to join us every day at 7 pm (BST/UTC+1) for #COVID1900Prayer , a chance to pray for health workers, our nation and the world as we respond to COVID-19 Support the show