NHS boss says panic-buyers ‘should all be ashamed’ for depriving frontline workers

The coronavirus outbreak has prompted some people to panic-buy everyday essentials like toilet roll and pasta, often leaving shelves completely empty.

It goes beyond these items, with most foods and other groceries being completely bought out by the end of the day, when a lot of NHS workers are finishing long shifts.

This is leaving a lot of the people who are working nonstop to keep the country going without food, especially NHS staff who are on the frontline of the fight against COVID-19.

Facebook

Now a top NHS boss has stepped in to shame the people who are panic-buying, saying ‘we should all be ashamed’.

Stephen Powis, the NHS England national medical director, said the people who are stockpiling goods are depriving NHS staff of supplies.

Powis said: “I would like to make a plea on behalf of all my colleagues in the NHS, nurses, doctors, paramedics and many, many others who are working incredibly hard at the moment to manage this outbreak of coronavirus.

“It’s incredibly important that they too have access to food, to those essential supplies that they need.”

BBC Yorkshire / Twitter

The NHS director spoke about the video of the nurse who was in tears this week after not being able to buy food after a 48-hour shift, Dawn Bilbrough.

He added: “Frankly we should all be ashamed that that has to happen – it’s unacceptable. These are the very people that we all need to look after perhaps us or our loved ones in the weeks to come.”