Front Line Heroes

Over the last few months, front line workers have fought hard to help stop coronavirus. In the course of this battle, many of them have, sadly, lost their lives. These front line workers have been the linchpin in keeping the UK safe - without the hard work and dedication they have shown, there would be countless more deaths. Hopefully, after COVID is behind us, we can look back and think about these workers as the true heroes of this crisis and remember them as the key to pushing past this troubling time.

Something that not many of you would have heard of is that the Government is planning to do exactly this. A commemorative statue is being commissioned to honour the sacrifice of the front line workers. This statue will be 20 feet tall, made of bronze and will have multiple parts to honour each type of emergency service: hospital worker, paramedic, police, fire, maritime rescue as well as search and rescue services. I think this is a great idea - there has never been a permanent monument to the emergency services and the amazing work that they do. I believe that having a monument like this means that we can forever honour the uphill struggle that they have to go through every day, day in, day out - especially at a time like this.

This monument will be funded completely by public donations and will cost an estimated £3 million. The statue will be designed by renowned sculptor Philip Jackson has been working on this project for around a year now and it could not have come at a better time. When better to admire and acknowledge the Emergency Services and their amazing work, than after a disaster where they have been stretched to their absolute peak.

But when everyone thinks of emergency services, now more than ever, we think of the NHS. Despite the fact that the hospital workers have sacrificed so much in this crisis, the police service has worked 24/7 to save the public and protect us, ensuring that lockdown is maintained, that social distancing rules are kept in place. They are the people who have worked behind the scenes to keep us safe and sound in a time where everyone is in danger - COVID spares no one, and the policemen and women have fearlessly and courageously put themselves in harm's way to stop any illegal mass gatherings or any other ways in which people may risk ruining the progress we have made in hindering this virus. My opinion is that the Police have sacrificed as much or more as the NHS workers in hospitals. They could and have, easily contracted COVID from any of the thousands of people they deal with every day, but do they back down? No.

As an aspiring doctor, I love to think about the science, and the medical nature of things like this, for example, the way the virus can affect a body and the trends in infection rates around the world. But it is worth, sometimes, taking a step back and appreciating just the sheer level of how much the front line workers, whatever department they may be in, have worked and sacrificed to protect us. Without them, as I mentioned before, we would not have stood a chance against SARS-CoV-2. So, if there any front line workers reading this blog now, thank you. Thank you for your dedication and your services.

Thank you for reading, if you enjoyed it please do leave a like, comment and share with your friends.

See you next week.