Medics on Front Line of U.K. Virus Battle Still Fear for Safety
- Gear shortage for nurses and carers leading to daily dread
- Nursing and care home workers say they need more PPE
Paramedics and Doctors from the London Air Ambulance prepare an ambulance outside the Royal London Hospital on April 20.
Photographer: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
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While U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was battling coronavirus in an intensive care unit in early April, Nathan Hudson-Peacock was returning to work as a junior doctor at another ICU in London after two weeks isolating at home.
Hudson-Peacock, 27, had a lingering cough and a feeling of anxiety. Despite having all the Covid-19 symptoms, staff at the hospital weren’t being tested. He couldn’t say for sure whether he was a risk to colleagues and patients. Since the lockdown began a month ago, the number of beds on his ward have almost doubled to 60 and he constantly worries about shortages of sedatives and painkillers needed to treat those on ventilators.