Frontline NHS staff at Suffolk hospitals have shared pictures of lifesaving teams hard at work – as the coronavirus outbreak continues to pile pressure on the county’s healthcare system.
Trace Bloomfield, who works in one of the main operating theatres at West Suffolk Hospital, shared a series of images of herself and colleagues on the front line.
She wanted to share the photographs in a bid to say: “A big thank you to everyone would be amazing, we work night shifts, so (this) would boost us up.”
Ms Bloomfield also sent through some pictures of her tight-knit team socialising before the outbreak.
Meanwhile Holly Saunders, who works in pathology at Ipswich Hospital, also shared an image of her hard-working team.
• Want us to shine a light on NHS heroes in your team? Send your pictures to emily.townsend@archant.co.ukThe light-hearted snaps come as hospitals across the country prepare for rising numbers of coronavirus victims.
Speaking this morning, health secretary and West Suffolk MP Matt Hancock said he hoped that the testing of medical staff would take place “as soon as possible” so doctors, nurses and other NHS workers who may not have the virus but are self-isolating can get back to work.
MORE: Fitness classes switch to Facebook to keep Suffolk moving during coronavirus outbreakHe told BBC Breakfast: “We are rapidly expanding testing. We have been buying testing kits over this weekend and all of last week to make sure we have as much as possible.”
All major hospitals have received deliveries of personal protective equipment needed by frontline staff, government officials have confirmed, and a hotline has been set up for NHS workers to ring if there are shortages in their area.
MORE: Meet some of the heroes who will help Suffolk during the coronavirus crisis“I’m working day and night to get this protective equipment to the frontline,” Mr Hancock said.
“We have got enough of it. Of course we are going to need more and we are buying it too.
“But it is about distributing it to the frontline.
“We have done two things over the weekend. First, we have got a shipment out to all the major hospitals and the second is we now have a helpline so that if you are on the frontline and you can’t get access to the equipment you need, you can phone in so we know where the shortages are.”
Mr Hancock also told the BBC that 12,000 ventilators are now available after last week’s appeal by the PM, up from 5,000 that the NHS had access to previously.
• For all the latest information about the coronavirus, join our Facebook group.You can also sign up for our newsletter and stay updated with the latest coronavirus news here.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here