Academic heading for Number 1?

Principal lecturer Heather Baid is in the race for this year’s number one Christmas single as a member of the ICU Liberty Choir.

The 100 strong Zoom choir of intensive care unit (ICU) staff are releasing their re-make of ‘Every Breath You Take’ to express the contribution of healthcare frontline workers and raise funds. The lyrics have been re-worded to express the extraordinary contribution of ICU workers across the country this year – and to encourage the public to continue taking recommended precautions to help prevent more demand on ICU’s.

The ICU Liberty Singers, who all rehearse online, includes doctors, nurses, allied healthcare professionals and non-ICU staff who have helped during the pandemic.

After being granted legal permission by SONY, the group have the top Christmas top spot in their sights, taking on LadBaby, Liam Gallagher, Jess Glynne and Robbie Williams.

All money raised will go to create a fund, managed through the Faculty of Intensive Care Medicine, to provide support for staff that they feel will have a positive impact on their wellbeing and mental health after an extraordinarily impactful year.

Heather said: “I worked full-time shifts in the local intensive care unit during the first wave of the pandemic. While on this clinical secondment, I experienced first-hand the immense pressure intensive care units are facing to meet the demand of caring for people who are very sick with COVID-19, along with other patients who are critically ill for other reasons.

“I am now back to my teaching role at the University, but I collaborate closely with the NHS ICUs who send staff onto the University of Brighton intensive care modules.  I hear daily about how the ICU teams continue to feel overwhelming exhaustion, unprecedented stress and immense physical and psychological strain, without any respite.

“The ICU Liberty Singers came about as an opportunity for those working in or redeployed to intensive care during the pandemic as a fun, morale-boosting activity and bring support through collective singing.  It has been an incredible opportunity to be in this ‘pop-up’ choir to virtually meet ICU people from all professions across England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and New Zealand.

“In only a short space of time, we’ve all experienced such a positive impact on our wellbeing from this choir singing and we are very proud to have created the Every Breath You Take (We Watch Over You) song as a tribute and thank you to the ICU community after such a horrendous year.”

The single is released on December 18^th and will be available for download and streaming through the usual channels.

Watch and listen below: