COVID-19 and Clapping for the NHS!

​It's midday and I’m sitting on my couch with one eye on re-runs of various golf tournaments, officially confined to one outing per day for exercise, and essential trips for food, medicines, etc. due to COVID-19/Coronavirus restrictions. In my case I go out for a daily bike ride and to walk my dog. In a strange way I quite like the isolation; streets almost empty of people, roads almost free from traffic, the sky almost empty of planes. It’s noticeable that the air is clearer and cleaner. There’s a strange calm in the streets, as though the world has gone into reset mode. 

For the last few weeks at 8 pm on a Thursday night people in the have been gathering in the streets outside their homes to “Clap the NHS”, initiated by Dutch woman Annemarie Plas, who had seen the boost clapping for carers gave medical staff in her home country. It’s a fitting tribute to so many who don’t get the credit they deserve for the work they do that has a positive effect on our lives. I find it odd that it takes a pandemic for us to realise how important these people really are!

My Dad once told me never to knock someone who does a job I could never do! The conversation concerned toilet cleaners. To this day I never have and never will. In-fact, I’m genuinely grateful to these people at all times, regardless of the situation. The doctors and nurses who are fighting to keep people alive during the Coronavirus pandemic are heroes, but they’re heroes every day of their lives and they deserve constant recognition, as do the office and toilet cleaners, street cleaners, care home workers, etc. Doctors and nurses don’t deserve verbal and physical abuse from Saturday night drunks. Nor do toilet cleaners deserve the disrespect of inconsiderate people who leave their mess on the toilet floor!

I detest the hypocrisy of politicians, who are in the process of dismantling the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK, and of the people who voted for them, who stand outside their houses and clap their hands as a show of respect. By all means be grateful, but please realise what you have before you throw it away! It's farcical to watch the Prime Minister standing at a podium with a "Save the NHS" sign attached to it. It's an insult to the doctors, nurses and other NHS workers who are putting their lives on the line to heal the sick. Once we're through this crisis I expect the government to use the struggles the NHS has faced during this panic to it's advantage by promoting the need for privatisation. They're not to be trusted.  

Saying all that, there are good things to take from this crisis. Spending more time with family, though stressful for some, is time well spent. Cooking more and eating less fast food is a good thing, as is daily exercise. The roads are less congested and the air is definitely cleaner. Life is for living but maybe once we get through this we’ll do in a calmer more respectful way, for each other and our environment. In the long run maybe we’ll be better for it!  

I hope you and your loved ones stay safe. If you're sick I hope you make a full recovery. If any good comes out of this pandemic I hope it’s the realisation that well-funded, affordable healthcare is a good thing, and I hope it reinforces the fact that so many people, who until now have been taken for granted, get the respect and recognition they deserve regardless of the circumstances.