Dear Editor,

THE problem with being involved in politics, even local politics, is you see everything in terms of politics, and worse still you see everything in terms of party politics. I’m guilty of it myself. When Priti Patel failed to read out the number 334,974 I jump on the bandwagon of criticising her. I don’t stop to ask whether Ms Patel suffers from dyscalculia, as several the students I have taught over the years have.

However, the ability not to be party political point scoring doesn’t mean as an opposition to the government that the Labour Party, and its new leader Keir Starmer, shouldn’t be scrutinising the government’s handling of this crisis. Clearly one area of focus for that scrutiny must come in the supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) to front line doctors, nurses and health care professionals, not to mention all the other key workers who must have face to face contact with members of the public on a day to day basis.

I spoke to a nurse I know at PAH the other day and told her she was a hero; she is by the way. However, she didn’t like being called a hero, so I promise I won’t do it again, much. She said to me that she’s doing her job but wants to be fully equipped to do that job while fully minimising her own personal risk of infection. I’d argue this isn’t too much to ask.

My plea to the government and anyone with any influence on the subject is to do what you can to support our nurses, our Doctors, our hospital staff and care workers to do their jobs as safely and as effectively as possible.

The Oxford English dictionary defines a hero as a person who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. For me our nurses, our doctors, our emergency services and our care workers fit this definition today and every day.

Regards

Chris Vince