CLAUDIA BRAND has seen more death in the past three weeks than in her entire career as an A&E nurse until now.
“There’s a lot of heartbreak,” she says. “It’s shellshocking but you have to stay strong.”
The cumbersome personal protective equipment (PPE) she must wear also takes a toll, causing blisters, breakouts and peeling skin.
“It’s horrible,” confirms Claudia, who works at Barnet Hospital in North London. “When I look in the mirror, I don’t recognise myself.”
Nurses have described going “through hell” working on the front line, while shocking photos of workers’ faces covered in blotches, sores and red marks have flooded social media.
And dozens of medical staff have lost their lives fighting the pandemic. That is why The Sun is today launching the Fabulous NHS Care Package — to give toiletries to as many of our heroes as we can, as a small token of the nation’s gratitude.
WE would love to hear from you – but we have only limited stock, so won’t be able to fulfil all requests.
If you work for a brand that can donate, please email beautydrop@ fabulous mag.co.uk.
If you are an NHS worker and would like to request a goody bag for collagues, please email carepackages@fabulousmag.co.uk.
To donate to We C U 2020, visit gofundme.com/we-c-u.
To do so, we are joining forces with We C U 2020, an initiative launched three weeks ago by Fabulous magazine’s former Beauty Editor Lauren Ezekiel.
The organisation has already collected thousands of pounds’ worth of products, including lip balm, hand lotion and deodorant.
With the help of local businesses Andy Catering and Megabooth, they have delivered items to 25 hospitals across London and the South East.
Now The Sun is helping to take the initiative nationwide. Lauren says: “Self-care is therapeutic. It isn’t just vanity. It can ground you and stop you feeling anxious. This is like putting a hand on NHS workers’ shoulders to say, ‘We’re here for you’.”
Coronavirus has claimed more than 15,000 lives in Britain. From painted rainbows to clapping for carers, the nation wants to do whatever it can to help our heroes.
When Lauren found out about the toll PPE was taking on their skin, she decided to email every beauty contact from 12 years in the industry and asked them to donate surplus items.
She says: “I was starting to get requests from all around the country but there was only so much I could do. By working with Fabulous, we can get the message out to more brands to donate, deliver to more people and spread more smiles.”
Smiles are needed more than ever right now. Claudia, 29, says: “Watching so many people take their last breath is traumatic People are lonely. The elderly, in particular, are often confused and feel vulnerable. You are their support system.”
Don't miss the latest news and figures - and essential advice for you and your family.
To receive The Sun’s Coronavirus newsletter in your inbox every tea time, sign up here.
To follow us on Facebook, simply ‘Like’ our Coronavirus page.
Get Britain’s best-selling newspaper delivered to your smartphone or tablet each day – find out more.
She adds: “It’s really hard for older patients who may not have a phone. One of my colleagues had to set up a FaceTime for someone to speak to their family for the last time. It’s emotionally draining.”
Last week Claudia contacted the initiative through Facebook after staff shortages due to illness left her and her team working gruelling extended shifts. She says: “When the lorry dropped off the boxes, I couldn’t wait to bring it in to the staff.
“Every day it gets more challenging and little gestures like this really do light up people’s faces. I’ve given them to nurses, porters, cleaners and doctors. I especially loved the Clarins hand cream.
“The most important thing is that it makes us feel good. We are the ones on the front line with patients 24/7. It’s nice to feel pampered. We’re working really, really hard.”
Like Claudia, practice educator nurse Viola Tissa is in the thick of it. The mum of two sees hearses queuing up each day at North Middlesex Hospital to collect the latest victims of Covid-19. Viola, 38, from Waltham Cross, Herts, describes the past few weeks as “horrible and really exhausting”.
She says: “We have to wear PPE the whole time. You wear a plastic apron over all your clothes and plastic gloves that go to your elbow, a second pair of shorter gloves on top, the mask and the glasses. It’s hot, sweaty and we do long shifts.
“It’s meant to be 12 hours but sometimes it’s 13 or 14. And you only have two breaks. That’s the only time you can eat, drink or go to the toilet, so you are severely dehydrated and get headaches because you sweat so much. The skin on my face is peeling off like sunburn and I’ve also got blisters on all of my toes.”
Viola says one of the hardest things to cope with is seeing patients with no underlying health conditions die from the virus. She says: “The longer this goes on, the worse it will be mentally for the nurses. We’re used to seeing death but seeing it in several young patients every day is tough.”
Viola must shower constantly and does so at work as she is terrified of infecting her family. Her husband Greg, 33, has a heart condition while her mother-in-law has asthma so should not leave the house. And Viola also has two young children — Tristan, four, and Ariella, ten months.
When she is not at work, Viola must go food shopping. She says: “I leave the house at 6.30am and don’t come back until about 9.30pm.” Last week, Viola was delighted to receive 150 bags to share with her colleagues.
“Coming home to the goodies boosts morale,” she says. I especially liked a Dermalogica calm water gel for my face and the Burt’s Bees hand salve.”
As well as teaming up with We C U 2020, The Sun is working with Helpforce, a charity supporting volunteering in the NHS. This allows hospital trusts across the country to register their request for Fabulous Care Packages. We will then deliver as many as possible through UPS.
A spokesperson for the delivery giant says: “UPS is proud to be contributing to this important initiative and showing our support for the truly outstanding NHS workers and patients who are in need of vital supplies at this time.”
Our campaign is backed by the Royal Society for Public Health. Dr Natalie Ashburne, wellbeing lead for the Doctors’ Association UK, which is also supporting our initiative, says: “We are incredibly pleased to hear of the initiative and appreciate the kind gesture of gratitude for NHS workers.
“The simple yet thoughtful gifts of care essentials will not only soothe NHS workers’ dry skin and chapped lips but also provide them with a much-needed boost of morale and a reminder that the nation is rooting for them.”
WE would love to hear from you – but we have only limited stock, so won’t be able to fulfil all requests.
If you work for a brand that can donate, please email beautydrop@ fabulous mag.co.uk.
If you are an NHS worker and would like to request a goody bag for collagues, please email carepackages@fabulousmag.co.uk.
To donate to We C U 2020, visit gofundme.com/we-c-u.
