This is a request to the UK Parliament and the Honourable Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Both myself and my sister are UK medical graduates and doctors-in-training in Health Education England.

You are all well aware of the “tsunami-like” wave inflicted by the coronavirus that is rapidly sweeping the globe and the UK, currently claiming hundreds of lives and making thousands unwell. While measures are rapidly being implemented nationally to keep people at home and limit contact between each other in order to slow down the spread of the illness, I would like to let you know that there continues to be immense pressures on the National Health Service (NHS). As you may already know, the NHS has been facing difficulties of its own prior to this pandemic, and the COVID-19 is now pushing the service to the brink of possible collapse. The only thing that is keeping the NHS alive for over 70 years and swaying it away from defeat is the wonderful staff who continue to come to work each and every day with the common goal of serving millions of patients.

As Britons across the nation worry about several important things like not visiting elderly family members, going ahead with wedding plans, or sending children to school, please kindly understand that NHS staff have additional hurdles as we go home every day living in constant fear of whether we have contracted the virus or passed the infection to a loved one. I understand that people may be disappointed about the complete lockdown and not being able to carry out their usual routines or doing the things they enjoy, but we would like to tell you that you can never know how it feels to be a NHS employee in the current times until you live our lives. We feel like soldiers in the frontline, fighting a battle each day during this CORONA-WAR between nature and humanity.

Today, we want to take the time to urge you to consider the challenges doctors, nurses, healthcare assistants, paramedics, pharmacists, therapists, cleaners, porters, and canteen staff along with the several other “healthcare heroes” are facing as this new virus continues to lurk silently in our workplaces.  We are making extreme sacrifices and are at the forefront in delivering life-saving healthcare every single day. It is no means an easy task to go to work each and every shift with a brave face, knowing that either one of us or our loved ones may be the next victim given the nature of our profession. We neither have the luxury of working from home nor do we have the “selfish” instinct to quit our passion for serving others as this would make us similar to the ruthless virus itself, which is currently startling the entire planet.

Therefore, on behalf of all our colleagues, we ask to consider making the salary we receive each month TAX-FREE during this pandemic we are fighting. We feel that by doing this, you will touch the lives of every single healthcare professional and show that you really care for the self-less services each one of us are providing. As you are in the process of implementing incentives for groups like the vulnerable, self-employed, businesses, and workers from other sectors, we ask you to please not forget the NHS and those that help make this wonderful service functionable. We urge you to make another unprecedent move and set an example for the world by honouring healthcare professionals and pushing forth our humble request for TAX-FREE PAY. We believe that this is not an unreasonable request and we are confident that our voices will be heard as we continue to fight this silent killer together.

Thanks in advance for your kind understanding and consideration.

#TAXFREEFORNHSSTAFF