Healthcare providers (HCPs) are at increased risk for developing symptoms of Covid19 as well as spreading it to their families, patients and co-workers. 

HCPs are at risk of catching Covid19 via public transport and spreading it as asymptomatic vectors... We are HIGH RISK vectors of disease, often interacting with those who are most vulnerable i.e. elderly or those with multiple chronic diseases.

Recent evidence suggests that even someone who is asymptomatic can spread COVID-19 with high efficiency, and conventional measures of protection, such as face masks, provide insufficient protection (1). 

With public transport being restricted, social-distancing STRONGLY being advised, and longer hours and more shifts being expected to be filled, it is ridiculous that NHS workers are still expected to pay sometimes extortionate parking charges for on-site parking. Many hospitals don't have on-site parking and staff have to resort to paying often higher rates for on-street parking in restricted bays.

When I finish my sometimes 13+ hour long shift, how am I expected to find an alternative commute to my usual 45 minute tube journey... Do I order a cab for more money than I currently have in my bank account or do I opt for the journey which comprises of 2 buses and a 20-minute walk... 

The irony is that despite health workers’ being “the glue that holds the health system and outbreak response together,” per Tedros Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, 41% of the Covid-19 cases in Wuhan resulted from hospital-related transmission (2). 

With the Government's efforts to try to even pull back retired staff back into NHS services it seems unreasonable to expect that these healthcare workers will be able to magically appear in hospitals without any consideration into the financial or health implications of their commute. 

Interviews for higher speciality training, Royal College exams and even intra-hospital rotations for junior doctors have been halted in the attempt to focus the workforce on this accelerating pandemic.

We need more support from the Government, Local Councils and private parking companies to help us do our jobs better and help reduce disease transmission! 

HCPs include; doctors, nurses, allied healthcare professionals and facilities/domestic employees. 

References:

(1) Protecting health-care workers from subclinical coronavirus infection. Chang, De et al. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Volume 8, Issue 3, e13

(2) Am I Part of the Cure or Am I Part of the Disease? Keeping Coronavirus Out When a Doctor Comes Home. Christian Rose, M.D.The New England Journal of Medicine. March 18, 2020 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp2004768