The already difficult task of breaking bad news has been made much harder by rules preventing families from being at patients’ bedsides. Antonia Field-Smith, a consultant in palliative medicine, is one doctor who used her experience to help colleagues take on new roles as the pandemic began to grip.

Read the article in The Doctor issue 22, here: www.bma.org.uk/news-and-opinion/tough-calls-how-best-to-break-bad-news