Nurse kills herself inside London hospital where 8 patients died of COVID-19
A nurse who was at a London hospital treating coronavirus patients has reportedly committed suicide while at work.
The woman is in her 20s and is believed to have been working in the intensive care unit at the King's College Hospital. The young woman was found unresponsive at the hospital before the authorities were called in at around 5.36 pm on Monday, March 23.
Other reports claim she may have overdosed. A Met police spokesman revealed, "The patient was treated and later died in hospital." He shared that the authorities are in the process of identifying the victim to be able to inform family members, Mirror reports.
The woman's death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner. The spokesman added that the woman had been a staff member but was unable to confirm her role. The south London hospital has had eight deaths so far with the ICU treating the sickest of patients.
Many doctors, nurses, and other ex NHS staff members return to hospitals to lend a hand amid the coronavirus crisis. A 62-year-old doctor, Nick Mudge, who had retired two years ago, joined thousands of medical professionals in returning to service to fight against coronavirus.
Mudge shared, "It’s a national emergency and health service workers are very much on the frontline so there’s increased odds that they could contract the virus and we need to maintain a healthy workforce."
"I’m 62 years old. The figures deteriorate as you get older, but I’ve no underlying health conditions. I would rather catch the virus doing something good and trying to actively help people than skulk away in a corner and pick it up going to the supermarket, so I’m meeting it head-on really," Mudge shared, the Guardian reports.
The number of deaths in Britain spiked on Tuesday, March 24. The toll in the UK has jumped by 87, reaching a total of 422 deaths. The number of cases in the UK crossed the 8,000 mark on Tuesday. Health Minister Matt Hancock shared that he is planning to open a temporary hospital at the Excel Center, which is a massive venue generally used for trade fairs and the like.
"With the help of the military and with NHS clinicians we will make sure that we have the capacity that we need so that everyone can get the support they need," Hancock shared. He also called for around 250,000 volunteers to help the NHS with jobs such as delivering medicines from pharmacies, transporting patients, calling isolated people at home to check on them.
"If you are well and able to do so safely, I would urge you to sign up today to help the most vulnerable people in our communities as an NHS Volunteer Responder," Hancock shared. He spoke about how the government had bought around 3.5 million coronavirus antibody tests so that people who suspected they had contracted the virus would easily be able to find out for sure.
Over 8,000 people have been officially confirmed as having contracted the virus in Britain. Researchers claim that the virus could have easily infected more than half of the UK population.