MP RETURNING TO DUTY

Dr JaMeS DavieS, 40, MP for vale of clwyd, lives in Prestatyn with wife nina, 38, a nurse, and their sons Wilfred, six, and ralph, three. He is returning to work as a GP in his community when Parliament takes its easter break.

IT’s my duty to help my NHs colleagues as they battle each day to treat coronahit patients, and I hope to restart work as a GP when the House of Commons soon finishes for Easter.

If I need to work beyond that, I will do. Thankfully, I’m up to date with my annual medical appraisals, I am still on the GPs’ Medical Register — an online list of all doctors — and have my insurance, so it should be straightforward for me to get back to work. I kept these up for my own future — politics is a precarious business — plus it keeps me in touch with reality.

I qualified 16 years ago and worked as a GP in North Wales and Cheshire until I became an MP in 2017. I decided to return to being a GP last week as the crisis worsened and I saw that all hands are needed on the deck. It was the right thing to do.

I will still work as an MP and I am hearing from many constituents who are worried about coronavirus and this is another way I can support and serve my community.

My wife Nina is a community nurse and works part-time, but is supportive of me going back to front-line NHs work and is making herself available as and when she can for extra work. I am aware that all front-line NHs staff face risks every day they are treating corona patients, but so do all the key workers who are going over and above duty to do their bit.

I’ve worked in many surgeries over the years and I have said I am willing to do out-of-hours surgeries, weekend and night shifts and home visits in my area — I will support my medical colleagues in whatever way I can.

I am fearful of what is ahead. It is going to get worse before it gets better, but if everyone follows NHs safety guidelines, we will get through this.