for the fact that we may walk into the house
of someone who has the virus.
Even before the recent lockdown, my
friends and family started to shy away from
me – and I don’t blame them. Plus when I’m
in my uniform on duty, people regard you as
a walking, talking virus!
I work in a big hub of around 250-300
paramedics at the Royal Stoke University
Hospital in Staffordshire. I alternate between
shifts from 7am to 7pm and night-time shifts,
from 7pm to 7am. We turn up, book in, getthe necessary steps, such as wearing the
personal protective equipment, I thought
we were just being cautious.
But then, gradually, we started getting
call-outs from patients who were clearly
suffering from symptoms of the virus. As a
paramedic, I don’t panic easily – I’ve seen
some traumatic things since I started training
at the end of 2016 – but this is different.
Call-outs have become much more stressful
and while I may not look scared, I’m anxious
for my patients. We also have to be preparedW
hen people see me on TV,
serving meals to loved-up
couples in the First Dates
restaurant, they probably
wouldn’t believe that I actually spend most
of my life racing around in an ambulance,
sirens blaring. That’s because, when I’m not
working as a waitress on First Dates, I’m busy
doing my full-time job – being a paramedic.
And right now, because of the coronavirus
crisis, I’m busier than ever.
I’ve wanted to be a medic ever since I
was little. In fact, when other children were
dressing up as princesses, I was pretending
to be a doctor or a surgeon. So when I finally
qualified as a paramedic last April, I was over
the moon. I love the idea of helping out in an
emergency and have always wanted to be
there for someone in their hour of need.
Sadly, more people than ever are in
need as we face the coronavirus crisis – the
greatest medical emergency we’ve ever seen.
Since the outbreak, my job has changed
completely. Unlike the police or fire service,
ambulance workers don’t always expect to
put themselves at risk – except in the most
unusual circumstances, such as a terrorist
attack. But now we’re doing just that – and
every day.
But I truly feel like this is our time to help
the country out and I feel that, more than ever
before, we are really making a difference.
Two weeks ago, when so many people
clapped for the NHS, I didn’t think it would
move me to tears, but it did. I went upstairs
and opened my window to see if anyone was
out there and the whole street was clapping
and cheering. It was so emotional to see and
I think it was a big boost for everyone who’s
helping to keep the country going.
Along with many people, at first I didn’t
feel that coronavirus was really going to
affect us as a country. Although we took all‘I’ve gone from
First Dates waitress
to frontline
paramedic’
TV star turned ambulance worker Laura Tott, 27, tells new how
she’s battling to save lives in the fight against coronavirus
‘One day I got a headache and
was worried I was coming down
with it. I was almost in tears’
Laura is a
qualified
paramedicWith her First
Dates pals