Consultant Paediatrician

As a recently retired paediatrician who campaigns for a publicly funded NHS (with son, daughter-in-law and niece all junior doctors in acute specialties), I was particularly aware of the difficulties faced by a chronically underfunded NHS in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.

The weekly ‘clap for our carers’ represented a powerful gesture of solidarity, and a chance to emphasise issues such as deficient Personal Protective Equipment putting the lives of workers at risk. This was also highlighted on International Workers Memorial day, 28th April 2019, when commemoration of deaths from coronavirus became the focus of small and socially isolated commemorations around the country, including the one in Leeds.