Caroline has written to the Deputy Mayor for Fire and Resilience, who is co-ordinating much of City Hall's COVID-19 response, asking several key questions on the support and protections being given to our brave healthcare workers in London at this time.
Clapping each week is a nice way for us to show our gratitude, but it is a token gesture. Practical and essential steps must be taken to protect our healthcare workers and indeed all of our key workers.
Specifically, Caroline asked:
- How are you and the Mayoral team working with and lobbying the Government to ensure that nursing staff in our capital feel safe and have the equipment they need to carry out their jobs safely?
- How are you working with the Government to increase access to testing for nursing and care staff in London, especially temporary staff and those who do not drive and are unable to use the drive-through testing facilities?
- Are you urging the Government to monitor and record the number of healthcare workers contracting and dying from COVID-19 and making them commit to regularly publish these figures?
- Will you support Liberal Democrat calls for a public enquiry into the handling of this crisis, which would include looking into the provision and dissemination of PPE to healthcare workers, as well as death rates amongst healthcare workers and those healthcare workers (and others) in BAME communities, which are alarmingly high?