Retired doctors to fight virus

Tuesday 24th March 2020 15:43 EDT
 

In a battle to combat the coronavirus, the UK government has appealed for the retired medical staff to render their services to the over-burdened NHS.

The UK’s Department for Health had written to over 65,000 retired doctors and nurses in England and Wales, asking them to help the NHS tackle the pandemic which is expected to claim thousands of lives.

“To further boost the ranks of our the NHS, we are now turning to people who have recently left the healthcare professions who can bring their experience and expertise to our health system. Your NHS needs you,” said UK health secretary Matt Hancock.

Now, stepping up their game British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO), the representative body for Indian-origin doctors in the UK, said it has already started receiving messages and calls of support from among its membership. The UK has an estimated 60,000 doctors of Indian-origin working within the state-funded NHS, often referred to as the backbone of the country’s health service.

Among the recently retired, at least a couple of thousand are likely to be of Indian-origin, with a further estimated 10,000 in long-term retirement who are also being rallied to assist in whatever capacity possible. Final-year medical students and student nurses could also be given temporary work to boost the ranks.


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