What front line staff are worried about

Frontline medics are juggling fears about a lack of beds, a crisis in staffing and worries about their own personal safety as the threat of a large-scale coronavirus outbreak looms, HuffPost UK has learned.

With public health officials warning that, in the worst-case scenario, up to 80% of the UK population could be infected with coronavirus, NHS staff said such a scenario would be a “disaster” for the health service. 

Meanwhile, medics working in the community have warned they are not getting consistent advice on how to protect their own health.

Dr Punam Krishan, a GP in Glasgow, told HuffPost UK that while the NHS deals with thousands of cases of cold, flu and norovirus each year, the threat of Covid-19 is still worrying. 

“Obviously as frontline workers we are most at risk,” she said. “So I’m not going to lie, yes – it does provoke anxiety. Particularly because the signs don’t show immediately – there’s an incubation period that’s up to 14 days.” 

This means that someone who has unknowingly been in contact with a coronavirus patient and is not yet showing symptoms of the virus could come into the practice. That thought “can trigger a bit of panic”, Krishan said. 

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Source: HuffPost UK, 11 March 2020

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