Prince William’s plea to protect NHS staff as he marks five years since Covid pandemic lockdown

Prince William marked five years since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic by visiting staff and volunteers at the Royal Berkshire Hospital’s Oasis Health and Wellbeing Centre and Garden

Prince William has spoken of the need for “enforced career breaks” to prevent medical staff reaching burnout, as he marked five years since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Prince of Wales visited staff and volunteers at the Royal Berkshire Hospital’s Oasis Health and Wellbeing Centre and Garden, which was set up with funding from NHS Charities Together in the aftermath of the pandemic.

William, who worked with the emergency services previously as an air ambulance pilot, said: “Everyone in the NHS is there to care for others, so the last person who gets looked after is the individual. And I’ve seen when I’ve worked with doctors and nurses, when I’ve worked with paramedics, they always put it down the line because they don’t want to put their workload on someone else.

“For me, looking into the nation’s mental health over the last few years, unless there’s almost enforced breaks in someone’s career, as part of your career development, we’re never going to get to that point where you can look after their mental health, because you always rely on the individual to put their hand up.”

The future King, who along with the Princess of Wales became patron of NHS Charities Together in December 2020, heard how staff who helped care for the UK’s first Covid patients and who continue to treat people with the virus have benefitted from the centre.

Among them was Lead Nurse Sergio Tammelleo, whose team has received support from its psychological service. His unit cared for the first UK patient to die after testing positive for Covid-19, a woman in her 70s, exactly five years ago to the day of William’s visit.

Other UK patients were subsequently found to have died from the virus even earlier but it was not identified as their cause of death until months later. Sergio appeared emotional as he told the Prince: “It’s really difficult to think about that. It’s been five years already, lots of things that happened.

“I remember doing some swabs to patients back in the end of February 2020, not knowing a lot about that.” Sergio told how he had not been able to travel back to see his family in Italy for more than two years because he was worried about passing the virus on to elderly relatives.

He added: “We still have some Covid cases around the hospital, so we still talk about it and sometimes you just stop and think about what has happened in the past. You know, thinking about what we did, what we have been through, and difficult times, especially for people that live alone and they were not able to see their family.”

In a lighter moment, the Prince was invited to join a yoga class taught by the Centre’s instructor Veenu Singh. “I can’t bend,” he told her, laughing. “I will sit in a corner and talk while you’re contorting.”

Veenu told the heir to the throne how staff were using her classes to learn breathwork and how to regulate their nervous systems and relieve stress. “We all know when there’s a yoga class that’s when people relax and then just talk,” said William.

Apologising to the group for bringing up “difficult memories” from Covid, he added: “I want to pay tribute today to two members of staff who died.” The Prince also sat down with a group of nurses to discuss the impact of the pandemic on their work and wellbeing. He told them: “Remember you’re doing a really good job, thank you.”

Speaking afterwards, Sergio said of the Prince: “You could clearly see that he took it on board, it’s something that he’s really passionate about, mental health and well being. It’s something that he’s really keen on learning more, and it’s something that he wants to explore more.”

Out in the garden, the Prince paused beside a Cherry tree planted in memory of Nurse Julie Edward, who worked in the hospital’s complex orthopaedic and trauma unit and near to a Maple planted in tribute to Dr Peter Tun, a consultant in neurorehabilitation. Julie died in May 2020, a month after Peter.

“Having a space like this that is a lasting tribute to those two valued members of staff is very important to us”, said Steve McManus, CEO of the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.

The Prince was then shown around the outside space by Dave Richards, Oasis Garden Project Lead, and Jo Warrior, Royal Berkshire Hospital Charity Director. A lawn and seating area is used by workers to have lunch or spend time with colleagues away from the ward, while a quiet area near a pond is used for reflection. A third area is houses a polytunnel for growing vegetables, which are donated to a local pantry for homeless people and others in need.

“It’s an active space that brings in the community and draws the hospital staff in with the community and [shows] the power of gardens for health and wellbeing,” said Dave, showing him the produce. “Definitely,” agreed the Prince. “Especially with lettuces like that, it’s fantastic.”