Comment Writer Sam Wait argues that the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted how severely underfunded, and under cared for our health services are
The coronavirus lockdown has enforced that everyone should stay home except for key workers. These unprecedented measures have quickly uncovered the workers who are truly essential to the running of our society and how it is continually upheld. Owen Jones predicted this in his book on the demonisation of the working class, saying ‘get rid of the cleaners, rubbish collectors, bus drivers, supermarket checkout staff and secretaries… [and] society will very quickly grind to a halt.’ Therefore, he calls for ‘the wages and conditions of low-paid jobs’ to be ‘improved in order to reflect the importance they have in our lives.’ Despite being written almost ten years ago and before anyone could have predicted the pandemic we find ourselves in, Jones’s request seems more pertinent now than ever.
Since lockdown started three weeks ago, we have nationally applauded our key workers twice. However, I think more must be done if we really want to show how much we value our key workers, during and after this pandemic. The coronavirus pandemic has uncovered…how much trouble our NHS is in
Everyone working in health and social care is classed as a key worker, so they are still permitted to go to work if they are not showing any symptoms of COVID-19. This not only includes doctors, nurses, pharmacists, care workers and paramedics but also administrative and cleaning workers. Despite the fact the first cases of coronavirus in Britain emerged in late January, the NHS in recent weeks has had incredibly limited stock of vital PPE for key workers on the front line. Could this have been predicted by the government, so that the equipment was in place before the situation became critical?
Richard Horton, Editor and Chief at The Lancet, certainly thinks so. On Question Time last week, he said ‘we are putting our NHS workers in the front lines without the armour they need to defend themselves. And it was preventable. We had the luxury of two months to prepare that other countries didn’t.’ This was before the government declared that more than 235 million items of PPE have now been delivered to 58,000 NHS trusts and healthcare settings. However, it is clear that these figures are still not reaching hospitals, or are not enough. Reports are coming out daily about PPE still being in short supply, as the BBC reported recently that some NHS workers are wearing make-shift bin bags for protection. Other hospitals have reported doctors ‘hiding PPE’ in ‘sheer desperation’ due to its short supply. This is just one of the extra stresses the NHS is now under due to lack of preparation from the government.
Another is the lack of staff -which despite the torrent of those offering to go back to work, is still not enough. The NHS’s work force was depleted already, so the virus has added an extra strain. Dr Roberts told the BBC that in her hospital that critical care nurses, used to caring for one person, ‘are under pressure to look after up to four…while delivering the same level of critical care. They are in tears and really struggling.’
Similarly, the lack of funding in the NHS is being exemplified by this crisis, making key workers jobs even harder. The UK spends a lot less on health than other EU countries. In fact, the ‘Institute for Fiscal Studies has suggested that over the 10 years to 2020, the NHS budget across the UK will not have increased enough to keep pace with the ageing and growing population.’ Let alone, a global pandemic. That is why there should be major changes to the way the NHS is run, as more funding is necessary to not only gain more beds, nurses and doctors, but to pay these health workers a larger wage, which reflects their importance in our society.
Moreover, though we were clapping for our carers last week, this comes just a month after care workers were labelled as ‘low-skilled’ in the government’s new immigration laws. It is unbelievable to call such selfless workers low-skilled, as care workers play a key role in caring for the vulnerable in our society, which is not an easy job. Each carer must care for several clients, whilst remembering each of their specific needs and never knowing what situation they could be walking into. Some people in care have seriously debilitating conditions, such as Alzheimers, which could make a person aggressive for no fault of their own. This is what a carer could be dealing with daily.
Janice Turner is also enraged by the claim, arguing that it is ‘a disgrace that [these] empathetic, selfless staff…could earn more on the tills at Aldi.’ Therefore, it is not that care workers are low-skilled, far from it – they are purely undervalued in our society. However, their true importance is impossible to ignore during this crisis. Care workers are also on the frontline during this crisis and are looking after the most vulnerable in our society who cannot look after themselves.
The underfunded social care system was at risk before the coronavirus crisis, The underfunded social care system was at risk before the coronavirus crisis
All these workers, among many others, are putting their lives on the line to help the most vulnerable in our society. There should be compulsory testing for all key workers, including health and social care. After this crisis subsides, I hope their efforts are not overlooked again. These are the most important workers in our society; these are the workers who look after our family, friends and loved ones when we cannot. These are the workers who our society could not function without. Not only should we clap our key workers, we should reward their altruism with better pay, better equipment and the necessary testing to keep them and their loved ones safe.
This article was focused primarily on the key workers in health and social care, however there are numerous others who we also owe a debt to during this crisis. From everyone at Redbrick, thank you to the supermarket workers, the factory workers, the postal workers, the utility workers, police and transport workers who are keeping our society.
Sign this petition which pledges key workers to be paid 30% more during the COVID-19 outbreak.
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