True impact of Clap for Carers

A show of strength for NHS

IT WAS indicative of current Covid controversies that the final official Clap for Carers celebration was tinged by a small degree of ill will which was not discernible 10 weeks ago as the pandemic took hold on the country.

The original instigator Annemarie Plas feels some aspects have been “politicised” – this was very much a community movement – by people scoring cheap points over social distancing and so on.

Boris Johnson’s mishandling of the whole Dominic Cummings scandal has also been deeply damaging. How can the Prime Minister clap for carers and stand by his policy guru whose own defiance of the lockdown will make it harder to enforce restrictions, and protect NHS staff, as the rules are eased? This has not been his finest hour.

But it is important that one scandal does not totally stand in the way of a newfound appreciation and awareness of NHS staff, carers and key workers that has been expressed so eloquently on Thursday nights.

A cathartic exercise for near neighbours, some of whom have never previously spoken to the occupiers of adjacent properties, Clap for Carers will go down in history as an incredible force for good in galvanising society and lifting spirits.

Good luck also to those streets and communities who choose to maintain this Thursday night ritual until the emergency has passed – they, too, should be applauded if this is their desire or they have NHS heroes, and others, living in their midsts who will draw strength from such a show of support.

Yet what this has proven is a willingness for the country at large to take a strong and symbolic stand on behalf of the NHS and carers. It is a lasting legacy which can now be easily replicated, and on an even larger scale, if the Government ever decides to take the medical profession, and other emergency workers, for granted in the future. It’s been warned.