An Oxford ICU nurse shares her frustration and weariness over lockdown rule flouting.

Dear Oxford Mail,

I am a nurse working in the Covid intensive care, one of those NHS heroes you have so acclaimed in the past year.

I am writing to you with the hope my voice can be heard somehow, even under the mask I am constantly wearing.

England has failed us.

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And I am not talking as an Italian resident in UK about Brexit. No, I am talking about the prevention for this horrible virus that is now straining all the countries worldwide.

I am not talking about the the first wave and the delayed lockdown, despite the example of other countries that could have avoided many deaths, no, that is the past and it’s done.

I am not talking about the initial underestimation by Boris Johnson and his experts or the herd immunity they were all hoping for.

I am talking as a nurse working with Covid patients, critically ill patients that often die alone in an environment that is dreadful, and please do not underestimate my words.

Oxford Mail: Nurses work on patients in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) in St George’s Hospital in Tooting, south-west London, where the number of intensive care beds for the critically sick has had to be increased from 60 to 120, the vast majority of which are foNurses work on patients in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) in St George’s Hospital in Tooting, south-west London, where the number of intensive care beds for the critically sick has had to be increased from 60 to 120, the vast majority of which are fo

England has let them down and has let us, the heroes, down.

There is very little prevention and very little control.

I see people in the streets without a mask, and no one around to tell them to wear one.

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I see the number of cases being three times higher than in Italy, my native country, where there is control during lockdown, and police patrolling and fining people when they circulate without a certificate that proves a valid reason to be outside.

I see people walking around the streets of Oxford without a mask, only because it is outside, but yet when they walk across each other there is no social distancing.

I see children without a mask, despite the fact the WHO recommend them to wear a mask when they are more than five years old.

I see security staff at supermarkets without a mask.

Oxford Mail: A nurse works on a computer in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) in St George's Hospital in Tooting, south-west London, where the number of intensive care beds for the critically sick has had to be increased from 60 to 120, the vast majority of which are forA nurse works on a computer in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) in St George's Hospital in Tooting, south-west London, where the number of intensive care beds for the critically sick has had to be increased from 60 to 120, the vast majority of which are for

I see old people without a mask or a visor on.

And then I see these people in my unit, where we are all fighting with the little resources we have to give them the best chance we can and save their lives.

What I don’t see is surveillance.

What I don’t see is people scared of going out, of realising how REAL this situation is.

I see people that are not challenged inside shops for not wearing a mask, because maybe they have health problems and they can’t wear one.

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If they have health problems, they should stay home and not enter shops, risking to spread the virus and even worse to catch it and end up dying alone in an intensive care.

I don’t see people scared of the virus.

I have been working as a nurse in UK since 2015 and I always loved this country and the possibilities that has given to me.

I love my job, but lately I am questioning why I should fight with all my strengths when the Government is not reinforcing the restrictions and trying to contain this bloody pandemic as it should.

I believe for this reason EU nationals are going back to their countries, on top of the fact they want to stay close to their family.

The NHS is struggling, we are struggling.

Oxford Mail: Nurses work in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in St George's Hospital in Tooting, south-west London, where the number of intensive care beds for the critically sick has had to be increased from 60 to 120, the vast majority of which are for coronavirus patNurses work in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in St George's Hospital in Tooting, south-west London, where the number of intensive care beds for the critically sick has had to be increased from 60 to 120, the vast majority of which are for <a href="/news/coronavirus/" class="section-link">coronavirus</a> pat

I haven’t seen my family for months.

Sometimes I wonder what is keeping me here, to fight for a country that is not going to heal anytime soon.

If the Government is not going to intervene, I am honestly not finding many reasons left.

I am tired, I cannot fight alone with my fellow heroes for much longer without the support of the country I am going to war for.

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Many nurses are leaving the UK, our staffing level is unbearable, we cannot provide a decent care as we would like and letting our patients down.

Can you understand the frustration?

PLEASE help us.

PLEASE wear a mask, wash your hands, keep social distancing.

PLEASE put on restrictions and start patrolling and fining people.

PLEASE help them to understand.

PLEASE PLEASE challenge people not following the prevention measures.

PLEASE help us to fight.

An NHS hero

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