An NHS doctor who served on the frontline in a London hospital during the Covid-19 outbreak is producing a documentary asking why we weren’t more prepared for a global pandemic

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“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it…”

This proverb, widely attributed to the writer and philosopher George Santayana, is one that we’re all bound to be familiar with.

However, in recent months it’s taken on a whole new meaning in relation to the widespread impact of Covid-19, which has transformed the way we live.

But global pandemics are far from a modern phenomenon – so why weren’t we better prepared?

Dr Nidhi Gupta on the set of one of her previous films, Suburban Dracula (photo: Lloyd R Jones)

This is one of the key questions being asked by Dr Nidhi Gupta, an NHS doctor who served on the frontline in a London hospital during the pandemic, as she produces and directs her new documentary, Start. Stop. Repeat.

It will explore the impact of the current pandemic on global society, as well as offering an in-depth look at previous health scares, questioning what we can learn and what we’ve failed to learn – and what the future holds.

Start. Stop. Repeat is informed by a unique personal insight into the realities of coronavirus not only did Nidhi serve as a doctor on the frontline, she also contracted the virus and ended up hospitalised herself…

This story is adapted from our sister publication, West Essex Life. Click here to read the full story