The Big Issue - UK (2020-04-30)

Q&A

TheBigIssue:Partoftheproceedsof

LeanOnMeisgoingtowardsa mental

healthcharityforNHSworkers.Isthere

enoughsupportforthem?

DrRanj:We’ve beenlookingatthe

wellbeingofourworkforcemore because

thepressuresontheNHSwere growing

beforecoronaviruscame along.Idon’t

wanttousethewordunprecedented

becauseeverybodyissayingthat,but

it’sanunusualtime. We’ve never been

inthiskindofsituation.Every stress is

heightened.Peopleare really struggling

whenitcomestophysicalandmental

health.I workinA&E,whichisoneofthe

placesthatyou really seethatbecauseit’s

anintense,hecticenvironment.Astime

hasgoneon,extrameasureshavegrown

butcoronavirushasputamagnifying

glassonit all.Weneedtomakesurethat

peoplehavegotsomewheretoturnto

whentheyneedhelp.

Whatcanwedotohelp?

What thegeneralpublichave beendoing

for theNHSisincredible.Every Thursday

themostprofoundthinghappensateight

o’clockwheneveryonecomesouttoclap

andcheer. Itgetsmeemotionalevery

timeItalkaboutit,thesimplestlittle

gesturemeansthebiggestthingtoallof

uswhoare onthefront line. Thatgesture

meanstheworld,notjusttotheNHSbut

every key worker–carers,firefighters,

ambulanceandpolice staff–everyone

puttingthemselvesonthefrontline.

Whatareyourtoptipsforustohelp

reducetheseverityofthecrisis?

So firstandforemost,pleasestay athome,

observesocialdistancing,wash your

hands,let’sgetontopofthispandemic.

Second,ifyou’re ableto, thenvolunteer.

There are lotsofways you can helpboth

insideandoutsidetheNHS. Some people

have beenmakingthingslike PPEand

masksandscrubs.Alotofpeoplehave been

donatingfoodandgroceriesandtoiletries.

That’sgoodbutifyou’re goingtodothat,

pleasedon’t forget foodbanks.We inthe

NHSare stillreally luckythatwe have jobs

andthemeanstoprovide,whereasmany

peopleinthecommunityhave losttheir

jobsbecauseoflockdown.

Howhaveyouseenthesituationchange

yourshiftsonA&E?

AtthemomentinadultA&Ewherethe

bulkandthebruntofcoronavirusisbeing

felt,mostofwhatweseeis coronavirus-

related–lotsofvery, very sickpeople.

That’swhy we talkaboutflatteningthe

curve. In children’sservices,ironically,

peopleare stayingaway. We’re seeinglower

numbersandthepeoplewe are seeingare

very sick.Acrosstheboard we’re seeinga

lotlessofwhatwe wouldnormallyexpect

toseerightnow. Peopledon’t want toput

pressureonthesystem,whichisfineand

we’re really gratefulfor that,butwhen

peopleare scaredtocome tohospitalthey

getreally, really sickandcould come to

harmiftheydon’t seekhelpwhenthey

should.Wewanttostopthathappening.

Ifyou thinkyou’ve gotcoronavirus,by all

meansstay athomeandlookafteryourself.

Butifyou’re poorlyandyou’re gettingsicker

andyou’re worried,particularlyifit’sa

child,thenpleaseseekmedicalhelp.We’re

stillhere. TheNHSisstillopenfor business.

Aftertheworstisover,whatlessonsdowe

needtorememberaboutthistime?

Firstly,thatwe usetheNHSappropriately

for whatwe really needtouseitfor.

Weshouldn’tputunduepressureonit.

Secondly,thatwe lookafterourselvesa

lotmore. Peopleare now payingattention

togettingexercisebecausetheyonlyget

oneopportunitytodoit,soallofasudden

everybodyistakingadvantageofthat

andtakingcare ofthemselves.Everyone’s

lookingoutfortheirmentalhealthand

thatofotherpeoplearoundthemas

well. Thesethingsare importanttotake

forward.Finally,Ihopewe mightlookat

howwetreatandfundandresourcethe

NHS, andhow ourgovernmentlooksout

for itandhow theymanageitandask

whetherwe can dothatbetter.We need

tolearnfromthis.

Interviews:StevenMacKenzie

@stevenmackenzie

TVmedicDrRanjonwhatyoucandofortheNH

Bill Withers for me was a genius.

His songwriting spoke of the common

man’s situation. Never complicated

melodies, never complicated language

but dripping in soul and pathos and

passion and meaning. Lean On Me

is one of those go-to songs when

you want to express solidarity

or friendship.

I’ve always leant on my mum a lot

and when she got very ill she was

leaning on me a lot. And my God, was

I ever happy to be that person that she

could lean on. We thought it was the

perfect song choice. Then, of course,

when he sadly died, just when we

were making this record, it added a

whole new dimension of meaning.

I’m delighted that one of the

charities that proceeds are going

to, You Okay, Doc?, looks after the

wellbeing of NHS workers. The mental

health side of it is huge. We are in

the middle of a pandemic which has

basically locked the world in and the

toll that it’s taking on people who are

going to work day in, day out... The

stories my sister tells me about her

colleagues breaking down in tears,

finishing their day’s work and being

shattered. Some mean-spirited

person having a go at them because

they go to the front of the queue at

the supermarket.

The tension is getting to everyone

and top of that list are NHS workers.

Coping with this day in, day out,

notwithstanding the fact that they

haven’t even got the right equipment.

This single will help NHS workers

in a holistic way. It’s not just getting

them the equipment that they

need, it’s looking after them as

human beings.

Listen to the song and find out

various ways to support the causes at

nhsreliefproject.org

Good health

NHS staff and Dr Ranj raise

a smile in troubled times

30 APRIL-06 MAY 2020 BIGISSUE.COM | 39