Dr Despina Demopoulos: The reality of preparing for the peak of the pandemic in SA

“What if I don’t make it? What is going to happen to my children? Will everything be okay?” These are the worries that keep doctors like paediatric intensivist, Dr Despina Demopoulos, and her colleagues, up at night. Azania Mosaka speaks to Dr Demopoulos about how lockdown has helped doctors to prepare for a future peak in the COVID-19 pandemic in SA. Dr Demopoulos explains the pressure that doctors are under and the work she and others are doing to ensure that the healthcare system copes with future needs. Dr Demopoulos is a wife, mother of three and nine-year-old boys, and a doctor on the frontline of treating patients with COVID-19 in South Africa. She is also a member of the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centres COVID-19 Task team and Ethics committee, the Gauteng COVID-19 ICU group and The SA Paediatric COVID-19 Ethics Palliative Care & Critical Care team.”