“This virus Is killing young healthcare workers. Nothing else we work with exposes us to that risk.”
Watching Surviving The Virus: My brother and me on @BBCOne . That quote is absolute fact and that knowledge is what we’ve been working with whilst we care for patients. I Did not

become a Nurse to sacrifice my own life. I ensure my vaccination schedule is up to date and I use universal procautions to protect myself and my patients but to this virus, I have no protection. The sheer arrogance of this government and their supporters to suggest that I am a

Hero, that this is my choice makes Me feel physically sick. Those words are an attempt to brush over the gaping holes and erase the contempt and neglect that has been shown toward HealthCare workers across the country. I chose and am trained to treat the sickest patients but

That does not negate the responsibility of those in government to protect me whilst I do so.
I know now that not only am I not valued enough to be paid What I should have been according to my experience but that I am utterly disposable in the eyes of many. I now have PTSD, I’m

on multiple medications to help me sleep, level my mood and treat anxiety attacks and I am having intensive CBT to help me cope with the nightmares. This is as a result of what I have seen and been through these past few months. For medical Professionals this has been a war, a

battle against an unknown entity with an unfair advantage and we are deeply wounded. We give so much of Us to our patients but yet it is never enough. My daughter needs me to be ok, so for now I need to stop, recover and re-evaluate. According to a survey by the RCN, 1 in 3

nurses are considering Leaving the profession. Bear in mind we have had 10 years of real time pay cuts (20.15% in my case) and yet we still stayed because we felt a duty to our patients but now things have changed; This has taken us to beyond breaking point. We ourselves have

faced the possibility of death and we were not given the correct tools To fight.
No profession, no sense of duty or misplaced sense of obligation is worth risking my life for.