A joint statement from Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden, President the Doctors’ Association UK and an intensive care doctor, and Dr Rinesh Parmar, Chair of the Doctors’ Association UK, also an intensive care doctor:
“The Doctors’ Association UK is deeply saddened to hear of the death of Dr Amged El-Hawrani, an ENT consultant aged 55, due to COVID-19. Our thoughts are with their family at this painful time.
All doctors, including our members, will be deeply affected by this tragic sad news. We recognise that this will be an incredibly difficult time for the medical profession. However we have no doubt that doctors will continue to man the frontlines in the effort to fight this pandemic.
Doctors hold a vocation for everything that they do and feel a strong moral duty towards their patients. We have heard stories of frontline doctors who have volunteered to sleep in hospitals in the effort to treat COVID-19 patients. We have heard of those who have set up a babysitting rota with their colleagues to ensure doctors can continue to serve patients and the NHS in the event of school closures. Their dedication knows no bounds. However the government must recognise this commitment to the NHS and ensure doctors are adequately protected when putting themselves in harms way.
It is simply unacceptable that some doctors still do not have access to adequate personal protective equipment. This is crucial, especially for the highest risk procedures undertaken by intensive care doctors, anaesthetists and ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeons. This now must be made a priority for this government in protecting the lives of the life-savers.
It is also vital that doctors have access to mental health and wellbeing support as they continue to fight this pandemic in the wake of a loss of a colleague.
As the medical community mourns this tragic loss, we would like to extend our thanks to those who are continuing to work themselves into the ground to keep patients safe.
Our thoughts are very much with Dr El-Hawrani’s family. We have no words and cannot imagine their grief.”
Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden and Dr Rinesh Parmar
CONTACT
press@dauk.org
