Happy Easter

 

 

The Easter weekend is here but sadly it will not be normal and it will not be a holiday. The Easter story is of course about the ultimate sacrifice being made for all of us and this year it feels that its relevance is particularly poignant.

We are all having to make sacrifices at this time, most notably for all of us, with our liberty. I know some people are finding this hard but it helps to remember why we are doing it and that when we get through this, which we will, that we have played our part in saving people’s lives. We all have family members or know people who are at risk and we all want them to be safe and well. It is also worth repeating that if our NHS becomes overwhelmed with Conoravirus cases, then absolutely any of us of any age, who needs healthcare because of unexpected illness or injury, risks not getting the treatment we would normally expect to receive.   

It also helps to remember that our frontline public sector and essential services workers are putting themselves at greater risk to keep our town and country running. Tragically, we have seen some deaths among those working on the front line. As well as heroic doctors and nurses, we have also lost prison officers and bus drivers, who have contracted Covid19 through their work.

These people have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving us all. We should think about that and put things in the right context, before complaining about our own loss of liberty, as well as for the minority of people who think the restrictions only apply to others.

From what I’ve observed and heard, the vast majority of us in Crawley are playing our part and that is something we should rightly be proud of. The small minority who aren’t doing the right thing do get a disproportionate amount of mentions on social media, but in a town of over 110,000 people, they really are a very small minority.

I wish all readers a happy Easter as we continue our resolve.

Thanking our NHS and Care Workers

Our everyday lives have changed amid the Covid19 public health emergency that is happening across the world. We’ve seen harrowing and heart-breaking scenes from hospitals in northern Italy, with a grim milestone having passed of more reported Covid19 deaths than in China. Heroic Italian doctors have given us a very stark warning and we ignore their advice at our peril.

We are seeing unprecedented action and support from the government and our local councils, but this is an effort where each and everyone of us has a part to play. Comparisons have been made with the war effort during World War Two but there is one big difference I’d like to highlight. During war, people and countries are fighting against each other but this time all of us from every country are united in a common cause.

Most of us in Crawley are pulling together and the community spirit is great to see, as well as heeding the government advice that comes from our top medical experts. It is vitally important we follow the advice issued and only from trusted and accountable sources. These include the Government, the NHS, Public Health England, West Sussex County Council, Crawley Borough Council, Sussex Police, West Sussex Fire & Rescue, and trusted national news outlets such as the BBC, Sky and ITN.

Unfortunately, a minority of people haven’t been heeding the advice and this has consequences, risking further transmission and spread of the Conoravirus, that then finds its way to vulnerable people whom this could kill or make very sick. It then follows that the more people who need treating for Covid19, the less NHS resource there is for those who need every other illness or injury treating. So please, can everyone play their part, we need 100% support, not 90%.

Those who work for the NHS are heroes at the best of times, but at this time they are pressured like never before. On Thursday evening at 8pm, please join in the planned public applause to say THANK YOU to our wonderful health workers and carers. It’s the very least we can do.