Doctors not currently practising have told the Guardian how they plan to return to the NHS frontline, in response to the government plea reminiscent of wartime Britain in which they were told: “Your NHS needs you.”
They described the crisis as a generation-defining moment and said they were keen to help, after seeing medical staff in Italy working in conditions “akin to a war zone”.
Earlier, Matt Hancock, the health secretary, called for doctors and nurses who have recently left the health service to return as part of the national effort to fight coronavirus.
Symptoms are defined as either:
- a high temperature – you feel hot to touch on your chest or back
- a new continuous cough – this means you’ve started coughing repeatedly
NHS advice is that anyone with symptoms should stay at home for at least 7 days.
If you live with other people, they should stay at home for at least 14 days, to avoid spreading the infection outside the home.
After 14 days, anyone you live with who does not have symptoms can return to their normal routine. But, if anyone in your home gets symptoms, they should stay at home for 7 days from the day their symptoms start. Even if it means they’re at home for longer than 14 days.
Information: If you live with someone who is 70 or over, has a long-term condition, is pregnant or has a weakened immune system, try to find somewhere else for them to stay for 14 days.
If you have to stay at home together, try to keep away from each other as much as possible.
After 7 days, if you no longer have a high temperature you can return to your normal routine.
If you still have a high temperature, stay at home until your temperature returns to normal.
If you still have a cough after 7 days, but your temperature is normal, you do not need to continue staying at home. A cough can last for several weeks after the infection has gone.
Source: NHS England on 18 March 2020
Dr Mohammed Jawad, a public health researcher at Imperial College London, said he plans to return to the NHS frontline and knows “dozens and dozens” of others who plan to do the same.
Jawad, a specialist in infectious diseases who is also part of a team advising GPs, hospitals and schools about Covid-19 for Public Health England, said: “Some of my colleagues have made a firm decision to return. We feel compelled to do our bit for the NHS.”
“A lot of us have come straight out of medical school into public health, so it is not that long since we saw our last patient. Everyone I’ve spoken to is at least thinking about returning and is not ruling it out. I’ve spoken to dozens and dozens of people. What we are really worried about is there being enough doctors to deal with the surge of people needing hospital treatment.”
Jawad’s wife, also in public health, plans to go back too, he said. The pair, who have a baby daughter, would need to retrain. “We are both in a similar position, both public health doctors. For us, it would need a complete rethink on how we do things. We would need to call in favours and would need help with childcare, errands and transport.”
Jawad, who worked as a doctor for two years and last saw a patient five years ago, said he would likely take up a support role, to free up more experienced staff.
“Ordinarily, it would take six weeks to retrain, but I expect that would be expedited. I would be happy to free up NHS doctors skilled in advanced clinical procedure, in intensive care, to help with the important but more menial tasks, including ward rounds and paperwork.”
Jawad said it was “ingrained” in a doctors genetic make up to respond to calls of altriusm and he expected many retired doctors to heed Hancock’s call. He said one of the biggest worries was becoming infected and bringing the infection home.
“I would really like to see testing of health workers implemented as soon as possible.”
The General Medical Council is writing to 15,500 doctors who have retired since 2017 and the Nursing and Midwifery Council is asking 50,000 nurses whose registration has lapsed in the last three years.
Another researcher, who did not want to be named because he was in discussions with his employers over swapping roles, said he made a decision after seeing the conditions of Italian hospitals, and urged people in Britain to heed the government’s advice to stay home.
“Looking at Italy, it looks like the working conditions are akin to a war zone” the researcher said. “People are still going to the pub here, but it is not any less likely to be as bad here.”
He said he would also need retraining. “I could not just walk into a Covid-19 ward. I would need a structured, supervised return. If someone had worked as a respiratory consultant for 40 years, they could do that, but I would do ward round, cannulas, talking to relatives, writing prescriptions, whatever we could do to help.
“It is such an unprecedented and surreal situation for many people to grasp the gravity of it. But hospitals are going to be overrun and everyone has a duty to stop socialising. This will be a generation-defining moment. You want to say years down the line you did your bit.”
