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Martel Maxwell: ‘We must remember our NHS heroes when normality is restored’

Martel Maxwell: ‘We must remember our NHS heroes when normality is restored’

The most heartwarming moment of my week came when queuing outside Grossett’s on Arbroath Road (I hear all Dundee butchers are doing a roaring trade).

An ambulance was parked opposite. I got the feeling there was no emergency – perhaps staff dropping a patient off or checking on them.

By the time the driver and paramedics returned to the ambulance, three big Easter Eggs had been placed on the windscreen.

The person who had left them hadn’t hung around to be thanked.

The ambulance staff were tickled pink, taking pictures of the offerings (one of them I noticed was a giant Malteser egg), as was everyone looking on.

Long may our respect for and appreciation of the NHS and its staff last, from small acts such as this to our nationwide applause from our doorsteps every week.

And by “long” I mean after we’re out of the woods – in the days we all long for, when we can leave our house for a coffee with a friend, see children play with pals, picnic in a park or peruse the make-up counters and clothes racks in town.


Read more from Martel Maxwell here


It’s on those days, when lock-down has ended and normality resumes, that these people must be remembered.

The truth is that we’re never going to stop footballers or bankers on six and seven-figure bonuses earning more than they’ll ever need.

But would it not be wonderful if they earned just a little less – and our NHS angels a bit more?

You could argue that doctors are paid well. But they save lives. And they do so on occasions like this at risk to themselves.

They are worth every penny – and frankly more – for when it’s your gran, mum, dad, partner or pal in their hands, you’d give them all your worldly possessions if it meant saving that life.

As for the likes of porters and nurses who leave their families to surround themselves with contagious patients and care for them, no one could argue they don’t deserve to be in a higher salary bracket than they are.

In Boris Johnson’s speech after leaving hospital, he singled out two nurses and credited them with saving his life as they watched over him for a 48-hour period when he could have died.

He had the air of a man sobered and softened by near-death and I trust he will fight for the rights of such stars on the other side.

This article originally appeared on the Evening Telegraph website. For more information, read about our new combined website.