Salisbury novichok attack: five minutes with . . . Christine Blanshard

“When I was appointed medical director of Salisbury District Hospital in 2011, I felt confident that I could manage the role. But in March 2018, I was caught up in events that made headlines around the world and had a lasting impact on me, the hospital, its staff, and the city.

“On Sunday 4 March, two people were brought into our emergency department having collapsed in the city centre. They were Sergei and Yulia Skripal, and after resuscitation they were transferred to intensive care.

“When they didn’t respond to treatment as expected, some clinical detective work found that they had been poisoned with an organophosphate type agent, later identified as novichok. Nick Bailey, a police officer who had attended the scene, …