'I give up': NHS nurse tells LBC she has paper round to make ends meet

3 October 2021, 09:51 | Updated: 3 October 2021, 09:58

"I give up!": Nurse on paper round to pay for fuel

This community nurse tells LBC she is 'at the point of giving up' as the fuel crisis leaves her uncertain to whether she can continue working.

Helen phoned in from Salisbury to tell Andrew Castle how the fuel crisis has put an extra stress on her as she tries to make ends meet.

She hit out against people online who suggested those worried about filling up their cars should use public transport.

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"How would they like me to see ten patients a day with all the equipment I carry on public transport?"

She went on to tell Andrew just how dire her situation is: "I can't get fuel, my car's really low on fuel, I can't make ends meet with my money that I get in the NHS, so I do a paper round every morning to make £40 extra a week to pay for my fuel."

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The caller then said she was horrified by the fuel panic buying on display over the last fortnight. "I just give up."

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Andrew was left speechless by the nurse's story. "Yours is an essential service", he said, before wondering how her patients would cope if she was taken off the road.

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"They'll put pressure on A&E" Helen said, insisting that they wouldn't cope without her.

"It's just so stressful."

She added that she spends "ages and ages trying to get to clients because of the fuel cues" and stressed that people should consider these workers when they join such queues.

"I just give up", she reiterated.