‘We treated PM like anyone else’
THE nurses who cared for Boris Johnson while he fought for his life in intensive care have said the PM was “a patient like any other”.
Luis Pitarma and Jenny Mcgee were singled out for praise by the Prime Minister after treating him at St Thomas’ Hospital in central London when he was admitted with persistent coronavirus symptoms.
He is recuperating at Chequers, his countryside residence, with Carrie Symonds, his pregnant fiancée.
Mr Pitarma and Ms Mcgee, from Portugal and New Zealand respectively, were lauded by Mr Johnson for standing “by my bedside for 48 hours when things could have gone either way”.
Mr Pitarma, 29, who revealed he had been inspired by Florence Nightingale, said he was “nervous” after being told he would be caring for the Prime Minister, but said his first conversation with his famous patient put him at ease.
In a statement, Mr Pitarma said: “I was changing into scrubs before my night shift when the matron called me over and told me the Prime Minister was about to come to ICU. I had been chosen to look after him because they were confident I would cope with the situation well.
“I felt nervous at first – he was the Prime Minister.
“The responsibility I was going to hold in my hands was quite overwhelming.
“I didn’t really know how to address him – should I call him Boris, Mr Johnson or Prime Minister?
“My matron reassured me and said to be myself like I am with any other patient.
“I asked how he would like to be addressed and he said to call him Boris.
“That made me feel less nervous because he took away any formality. He just wanted to be looked after like anyone else. Knowing that I was watching over the Prime Minister felt quite strange because I’ve never looked after someone high profile before.
“But he was also a patient like any other patient, a life like any other life. It was a big responsibility and I gave it the same respect as I would with any other patient.”
Mr Pitarma said he chatted with the Prime Minister about his inspiration Florence Nightingale, who established the first professional nursing school in the world at St Thomas’ Hospital in 1860.
Mr Pitarma said: “I told him how I’d dreamed about working at St Thomas’ since my first day of training in Portugal in 2009, when I learned about Florence Nightingale and her connection to the hospital.
“He said it was amazing that I wanted to work here for so long and was glad I was there when he needed our care. It was a pleasure to look after him.
“I could tell that he was very thankful and happy to receive messages of support from the outside world, provided by his team. They gave him the strength to fight.”