Dozens of nurses responsible for taking care of coronavirus patients have alleged they’re being mistreated by the public and called various names such as ‘disease spreaders.
’
According to the UK trade union of Royal College of Nursing, plenty of nurses have reported being spat at and called names following their long shifts at hospitals.
“I am speaking up for nurses and nursing in every possible setting. Today I hear from community nurses that they are being heckled at and verbally abused in the street and called ‘disease spreaders,’” the trade union’s director of policy, Susan Masters, revealed. “This is abhorrent behavior it must stop.”
As Masters expressed, health workers are crucial to society and many people now need them more than ever.
“They are going in to see patients and caring for them when everyone else is keeping their distance,” the director added in an interview with Independent.
“The public need to understand that nurses are socially critical and right now society needs us more than ever.”
Confirming the allegations was also Ruth May, the country’s chief nursing officer, who claimed that similar stories involving the abuse of nurses are circulating online.
“I’ve seen all over Twitter some of our nurses and midwives and care staff being spat at and being abused by member[s] of the public. Please be very kind to your nurses and midwives because you may need them very soon,” May said in an interview with BBC Breakfast.
One of the nurses who openly revealed that she was abused in her online plea was Reizel Angela who got physically assaulted while on her way to the hospital where she works.
“Yesterday I was racially abused by a couple at the train station on my way to a night shift at the hospital. A man elbowed my rib, intentionally pushing me to the side, the female partner then shouted racial abuse saying: ‘at least we are whites you f***ing c***,’” Angela said.
What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to SHARE this post with your family and friends and follow us on Facebook for more news and stories!
Replaced!