STUDENTS at Musselburgh’s Queen Margaret University are at the forefront of national and local Covid-19 efforts.

Healthcare students have responded to calls from the Scottish Government to join Health and Care Professions Council’s emergency registers.

There are now students of nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, therapeutic radiography, diagnostic radiography, speech and language therapy, dietetics and podiatry working in the NHS and social care settings given the “unprecedented pressure” as a result of the pandemic.

Physiotherapy student Sophie McAuliffe said: “There is going to be a greater role for physiotherapists in the coming weeks and months because people who become unwell with Covid-19 will not only need us while they are sick but afterwards too as they begin rehabilitation.”

Recovering from the virus could leave patients “extremely deconditioned and fatigued” in some cases.

Sophie said: “The kind of work physios will be doing on the frontline includes respiratory interventions such as oxygenation, ventilation, breathing techniques and prone positioning.”

She added: “Starting work in this field in the midst of a global pandemic is going to be a challenge but it’s one I think QMU has equipped us for.

“QMU has put the support structures in place and our programme leaders have said they’ll keep in touch with us for the first few weeks we’re out working to make sure we’re doing ok during the transition from student to qualified physio.”

The university’s School of Health Sciences has also been working closely with the NHS to co-ordinate getting healthcare equipment to where it is needed most.

The radiography team’s portable x-ray machine was recently given to a Glasgow field hospital while the beds from the university’s clinical simulation suite have temporarily moved home and are now with NHS Borders.

While health sciences are a substantial part of QMU’s course portfolio, students and staff are making a “real and impactful difference” in a variety of ways.

Professor Fiona Coutts, Dean of Health Sciences, via a video message last Friday, told students working on the frontline in all different capacities that, while their role during the pandemic will be tiring and at times difficult, they were fulfilling the roles that they had worked hard for.