Hero healthcare worker from Birstall deployed early to support NHS trust

Last month, the Government called on second and final-year healthcare students across the country to volunteer and boost NHS capacity as it deals with the Covid-19 crisis.

Students were not obliged to opt-in but over the past month nationally thousands have responded to the appeal to join the frontline in the fight against the coronavirus.

This includes more than 400 volunteer nursing, midwifery, paramedic and healthcare degrees students from the University of Bradford.

The Yorkshire heroes have been deployed early and many have already taken up positions for the NHS in hospitals across Yorkshire including Bradford Royal Infirmary, Bradford District Care Trust and the Mid-Yorkshire NHS Trust.

Students have also been deployed to Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, Airedale General Hospital and Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

Volunteers will be paid for their work, and roles will include supporting more experienced NHS staff.

It is very easy amidst the facts and figures to forget the human stories that make up this heroic effort but calls have been made urging the public to celebrate NHS staff including the healthcare heroes behind the pandemic.

For healthcare workers who are risking their lives on the frontline, the heroics have been made all the more great as second year healthcare students are also being trained up now to enter frontline services in the coming months.

Claudia Cox, 19, originally from Birstall, is a second year student who is currently waiting for a posting in Calderdale or Huddersfield.

The 19-year-old said: “We’ve never experienced anything like this, so in some respects it’s frightening but at the same time it does make me proud and I am excited to learn.”

She added: “It’s also lovely to see the support the NHS is getting, because sometimes I do not think it has been appreciated as much as it could be.

"We are all now seeing the wonderful work it does and not just the NHS but also care workers, essential workers and also student nurses.”

Ruth Girdham, head of the school of nursing from the University of Bradford said it's in the nature of healthcare professionals "to help".

She said: "In responding to the crisis, it’s important that anyone who can help is able to, so the university is proud to support them."

Professor Shirley Congdon, the vice-chancellor from the University of Bradford is also a leading member of the Bradford Covid-19 action group, which is coordinating the region’s response to the crisis.

She said: “We are working to support our local council, NHS and businesses through the current crisis period, offering our services to support the response at a national level."