Coronavirus: Lewes MP Maria Caulfield returning to the frontline urges residents to stay at home

The Conservative MP and former nurse will be returning to the Royal Marsden Hospital in Brompton – with her first night shifts this weekend.

Her announcement on Twitter on Friday (March 20), came after a call from Health Secretary Matt Hancock for former doctors and nurses to return to help fight Covid-19.

The MP said: “I am looking forward to returning. If you have these skills, you of course feel a bit guilty and you want to make a difference, so I am really keen to return and also say to the NHS workers how much we appreciate what they are doing.

“I am just going back to extra shifts – these people are doing it everyday.“

Since Mrs Caulfield was elected in 2015, she kept her nurse registration and did regular shifts, but once she became a government whip in December, she was not allowed to continue working as a nurse.

She said she approached the Cabinet Secretary and Prime Minister and asked if she could be exempt from this and they were happy for her to return.

Mrs Caulfield said: “I will be working on the ward as a bank nurse and will go wherever I am sent and I will be doing shifts as and when they come up.

“I will be employed by the hospital for insurance purposes – but I will be donating my income to a local charity.

“But I have to do my MP’s role as well and there has never been a time where we have worked so hard since Brexit.

“We have got hundreds of constituents that are stranded overseas. The self-employed are really worried – and local businesses.”

‘Stay indoors’

She reiterated the importance of staying at home unless absolutely necessary: “The biggest thing people can do right now is stay indoors and tell their friends and neighbours to do the same. Do you need that extra loaf of bread or extra exercise?

“We have seen in China that it works. and the curve is steadily flattening in Italy.

“I know how hard it is to stay indoors, but people must. If we all do this together, maybe in four weeks’ time we will on the other side of this.”

She continued: “It is a difficult time – it shouldn’t feel like a normal time right now – but it is making a difference.

“It is about saving lives most importantly but also to help the NHS.

“As soon as we can stop the number of cases we can get back to normal.”

Young not listening

She said despite the stark message from the government on staying in – police have had to break up crowds of youngsters in Newhaven.

“People need to realise that this is not a disease that just affects old people and everybody can get it,” she commented.

“We have seen that this week – a 21-year-old died with no health conditions – everybody needs to take it seriously.

“And even if young people recover – someone they have passed it onto might not.”

Mrs Caulfield said people should report anyone not following the Government’s advice to the police and council – and that they were welcome to get in touch with her.

Telling residents who may be feeling anxious and in despair, she said: “It is obviously a scary situation but the majority of people who will get it will recover from it. and very often people have mild symptoms.”