‘I’M TERRIFIED OF SPREADING THE INFECTION TO THE PEOPLE I LOVE’
Dr Rosena Allin-khan, Labour MP for Tooting, and an A&E doctor, says her decision to return to the frontline of healthcare felt instinctive when the crisis broke. She’s juggling hospital shifts alongside her work as a full-time MP
A lot of people are hearing that coronavirus is only dangerous if you’re old or have underlying health conditions, but during the last couple of weeks I’ve seen a previously healthy 33-year-old man and a 42-year-old woman brought into the hospital where I work, fighting for their lives.
More and more patients are arriving severely breathless and terrified. They can’t even have relatives by their side because the virus is so contagious. One of the hardest things is having to tell loved ones to say goodbye at the door to A&E, because they could risk their own life by holding their partner or parent’s hand. The patient could be finding it so hard to breathe that we have no choice but to rush them off, put them to sleep and hook them up to a ventilator to breathe for them. For some, the ventilators save their life. Others, we’ve had to make the devastating phone call to tell the family their loved one, who might have been fine a couple of weeks ago, has died.
The coronavirus death rate in this country is going up by the day and we – the NHS workers
– are worried. There’s a huge sense of sadness and trepidation among us all. Colleagues are messaging me at 2am saying their minds are whizzing and they can’t sleep. On my way home from the hospital, I call ahead to tell my family not to let my two little girls, who are five and six, run up to hug me at the door. Before I can be with them, I have to shower and wash my clothes.
All the time I’m terrified of spreading the infection to the people I love.
Staff up and down the country are also upset there isn’t enough personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep everyone on the frontline safe. The moment when healthcare workers don’t have time for a break, and have to make tough decisions about who lives and who dies because there aren’t enough ventilators, feels close.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s lockdown should have come earlier. We had the benefit of being able to see what has already happened elsewhere. Long before now, we should have been testing more people, contact tracing, isolating and putting in strict social-distancing measures.
We all have a responsibility to take care and stay at home now. The only way you can help the NHS is by doing this. We’re sacrificing our time, our families and putting ourselves in danger.
We do it, gladly. Please help us help you.