NHS NURSE: "I feel let down, sad and angry..."
From clapping, to sacking – a peaceful plea for the basic human right of body autonomy
By Mark Sharman
In cities across the UK yesterday, January 22, tens of thousands marched for Freedom of Choice, against mandatory Covid vaccines.
This time the focus was on the NHS, where up to 100,000 workers face losing their jobs if they choose not to get vaccinated. Many of them fronted the marches.
Here is a snapshot from London:
AS disillusioned NHS workers lay down their uniforms in Trafalgar Square, then threw scrubs over the barriers in Downing Street, one man’s protest carried more poignancy than most. He rattled a saucepan with a spoon, ringing out an ironic reference to the winter of 2020, when they were heroes all. ‘From clapping to sacking’ as one banner said.
Tens of thousands of protesters marched through London’s West End, cramming Regent Street from top to bottom, from kerb to kerb. There was music, drums, the odd megaphone rally cry; this was a peaceful plea for the basic human right of body autonomy.
No vaccine mandates.
Those with medical placards told their own heart-rendering stories of the potential tragic waste of human skill, knowledge and dedication.
Nurse Hannah Johnston from Blackpool is typical. She has been a nurse for 13 years, 10 of those in Accident and Emergency, where she has dealt with Covid patients. She has been training since she was a teenager and has a Masters Degree in Advanced Medical Practice.
She said: “I feel let down, sad, angry. I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose the job I love.”
A GP, Dr Kevin, told how he volunteered to move from his practice to a hospital’s A&E “without PPE and without knowing exactly how dangerous Covid could be. I just wanted to play my part”. If the mandate continues he can no longer see his surgery patients face-to-face. All he can hope for is giving telephone advice from home.
Julie, an ambulance emergency medical worker, says that she’ll leave “come what may”.
“I’ve lost so much respect for the NHS and the ambulance service,” she said.
She will not be alone. Many medics I have talked to say they are seeking alternative employment, disgusted with the way the Government and the NHS have treated them. One consultant told me: “The trust is gone.”
And Nurse Hannah warns the numbers may grow. She revealed that many of her vaccinated colleagues now regret taking the jab and feel they were unfairly pressured into doing so.
There are thousands of stories like those above, each as distressing as the other. But at least changes may be afoot.
The Royal Colleges of Nursing and Midwives have both warned of the ‘catastrophic impacts’ of imposing the compulsory vaccination deadline of April 1 and now the Telegraph is reporting that Boris Johnson may be considering a delay of six months. “To help quell a seismic revolt among Tory MPs,” they write.
However, a mere delay would be virtually worthless to the doctors, nurses, midwives, ambulance crews and many other workers who are vaccine-free. They are suffering terrible uncertainty over their livelihoods, their mortgages, fuel bills, children’s welfare, food etc, on top of jobs where regular stress is exacerbated by incomprehensible rules which send the vaccinated home sick while the unvaccinated work on.
It borders on mental cruelty to delay this appalling state of affairs any longer. Hopefully it will lead to a total reversal of Government policy. And the sooner the better.
EDITORIAL NOTE: Most mainstream media outlets reported the march as an NHS rally, supported by what they call “anti-vaxxers”. Yes, the focus was on the NHS yesterday, but these marches have been regular occurrences in the past few months. They are peaceful and supported by thousands of ordinary people of all backgrounds, ages, trades and professions. The vast majority are against mandatory vaccines and vaccine passports. They are fighting for freedom of choice. They are not ‘anti-vaxx’ – whatever the definition of this actually is – and definitely do not represent some quasi-military organisation.