Protect the NHS so we can help you
I AM an intensive care doctor working in the NHS Wrexham Maelor Hospital in North Wales. The situation that the NHS finds itself in is unprecedented. We are worried about the days to come, not only as professionals, but as human beings. We are all fearful about the impact that this pandemic is going to have on our family, friends and the wider community. However, we are not concerned about ourselves, but about the possibility of passing on this disease to our loved ones when we return home. Every member of staff within the NHS is being asked to step up. Not only within the intensive care units, but every department that keeps the NHS running, from the porters and the cleaners to the catering staff. We will work extra shifts and accept that the time may come when we need to move into hospital accommodation so we will live and work in the same buildings. We will do this willingly. We will all rise to the challenge, but it will impact on our mental and physical health. We will work until we can work no more and we will show the same love and care to our patients as we would to a member of our family. During the war, the frontline was the area of conflict where the enemy was faced. Today, the frontline is made up of the people who keep the country functioning: NHS staff, lorry drivers and council workers. Consider a situation where refuse is no longer collected, clean water and electricity is not available and food isn’t delivered to the supermarkets. Throughout the UK, equipment from hospitals has been stolen. Without protective equipment we can’t care for you. When we are sick, we can’t save lives. Supermarket shelves have been stripped bare. Essential workers who are trying to save lives are also trying to feed their families. Colleagues are supporting each other by bringing food to work for those who are struggling, but this shouldn’t need to happen and is not sustainable. I urge more supermarkets to hold back stock and allow frontline workers to buy what we need. What happens next is down to the public. Please self-isolate. Please help us save lives. Show love to all the staff working within the NHS and on the frontline. Take care and look after each other. AMANDA SKINGLE, Gobowen, Shropshire.