James O'Brien 10am - 1pm
'I haven't had a Covid test since March': NHS nurse shocks Rachel Johnson
30 November 2020, 11:38 | Updated: 30 November 2020, 11:40
NHS nurse tells LBC she hasn't had a covid test since March
This is the moment Rachel Johnson was left in shock when a frontline NHS nurse told her that she's not been tested since March despite dealing with coronavirus patients.
Research has suggested coronavirus infections fell by almost a third in England during the second national lockdown.
According to interim findings by Imperial College London's React study, there was a 30% drop in cases across the country over almost a fortnight this month.
When asked by Rachel if she had enough protection for her own safety in the NHS, the nurse responded: "Now we kind of do, but it's not up to standard.
'Government has been on the back foot' in Covid battle
"I mean the stuff they're getting in from China is just [a] shambles."
She also said: "I haven't had a Covid test since March...So when I work with immunosuppressed patients [and] cancer patients that come into A&E [and] that come into the ward, I have to be careful, gown up and make sure that my mask is on right so that I don't infect them in any way."
Rachael then asked: "So you're telling me that the health professionals in Covid wards are not being tested?"
Andy Burnham criticises government support mechanisms for areas
The nurse replied: "No. When was this even a fact? None of us are getting routinely tested.
"Nobody in the NHS is getting routinely tested, except for surgeons and those who are actively working in [the] ICU and patients that are having surgery."