LONDON Hundreds of British Pakistani doctors working on the frontline for the National Health Service (NHS) are affected directly by the dangerous coronavirus after coming into contact with patients in hospitals, associations of Pakistani physicians in the UK confirmed. Doctors working for the NHS are considered most at risk due to the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) they have been provided with and fears for the safety of doctors have grown after British Pakistani Dr Habib Zaidi became the first doctor in the UK to have died due to coronavirus and since then two more doctors have died after catching the deadly virus. It has been reported that around 1 in 4 doctors in the UK are now self-isolating as a precaution to prevent the spread of the virus. Around 13,000 Pakistani doctors work in the UK. The seven Pakistani doctors working in an East London hospital are now in quarantine after testing positive with coronavirus. One doctor said: “I caught an infection during the treatment of a child who had come to the hospital with coronavirus symptoms. Thechild got better the next day and he’s fine now but I have got extreme breathing difficulties and my wife and eldest daughter caught the virus from me.” Another doctor said both he and his wife were in isolation after both of them caught the virus at the local hospital during their work. “We are in the process of clearing out and not in the danger zone,” said the doctor who originates from Kashmir. Another doctor said: “I have been using panadol and paracetamol but these tablets just don’t work. I have never experienced pain like this ever in my life. This cannot be put in words. I know seven other doctors who are going through the same. Thousands of NHS staff working on the frontline are affected.” Dr Syed Anjum Gardezi, a specialist of liver diseases and gallbladder endoscopic surgery, said the doctors were overwhelmed with the outpouring of new cases. He said doctors were worried at work and that they could take the virus home with them to their families. He commented: “The issue of protective gear is a reality but then the coronavirus is a global epidemic and the whole world is faced with the same issues.” Officials of associations of Pakistani doctors spoke to these correspondents and spoke of the experiences of their members but many of them sought anonymity due to the privacy issues. These reporters spoke to three Harley Street doctors who confirmed they were infected along with their spouses and living in self-isolation. Another Pakistani doctor said he was tested positive but went back to work after two weeks of rest and isolation at home. “I went into complete isolation soon after I was tested positive. I am all fine now.” A senior official of a Pakistani association said the doctors had fallen ill because they don’t have the right equipment. “The surgical masks given to the doctors have zero protection against the virus.” Health workers on the front lines in the fight against coronavirus will now be tested after Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Health Secretary Matt Hancock and England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty tested positive for the virus.—AFP
