999 call handler, 26, fights back tears as she reveals her ‘lovely’ friend and NHS nurse, 36, died from Covid-19 in Paramedics: Britain’s Lifesavers – and admits she found it ‘really hard’ not being able to ‘see or hug anybody’
- Irum, 26, from West Midlands, was a 111-call handler but became 999 handler after two weeks intensive training amid the coronavirus pandemic
- Revealed friend and NHS nurse Areema Nasreen, 36, passed away from virus
- Paramedic Julie spoke to care home manager who said she feels forgotten
- Both will appear in tonight’s episode of C4’s Paramedics: Britain’s Lifesavers
An emotional 999 call-handler fought back tears as she revealed her ‘young’ friend and NHS nurse who was working on the frontline died from coronavirus in Paramedics: Britain’s Lifesavers.
In tonight’s episode of the Channel 4 show, Irum, 26, who was a 111-call handler, tells how she stepped up with only two weeks intensive training to become a 999-call handler due to the global crisis.
However, she struggles to get her words out as she discusses how she’s been personally affected by Covid-19 – and explains that her close friend Areema Nasreen lost her life to the virus, aged 36.
‘My friend sadly passed away from Covid-19. she was quite young,’ Irum says. ‘She had no medical conditions. She was a nurse – a frontline worker. Her dream was to become a nurse and help people, which she accomplished last year. She graduated last year and was a nurse for a year.’
Irum (pictured), 26, who was a 111-call handler, reveals how she stepped up with only two weeks intensive training to become a 999-call handler due to the corona virus pandemic
Paramedic Julie (pictured) says it’s the care home and residents who need her help more than anybody else
She continues: ‘I wasn’t able to go to her funeral. Psychically you can’t see anybody or hug anybody – that’s been hard. I’d seen her two weeks before. I still remember seeing her in the shop and talking to her. She was lovely. Oh god, I can’t talk.’
Filmed when Covid-19 in care homes were not included in the daily mortality figures, the episode sees West Midlands Ambulance Service come to the aid of the staff of care homes, who feel forgotten as the virus claims the lives of so many residents.
It falls on crews like Julie and Adam to provide help and reassurance.
‘It’s the care home and residents who need our help more than anybody else,’ says paramedic Julie. ‘Something needs to happen – we are just a short fix.’
In the control centre, Irum (pictured) has had fast-track training and is plunged into the stark realities of her new role
Julie (pictured) admits she feels for the care home sector because she thinks they’ve been ‘missed out of the loop’
‘We like to think we have a lasting impact on what we do matters to somebody and it makes a difference – but there is an injustice in all of it, really.’
She adds: ‘I think the care homes, nursing homes and that have not been given their due respect. It must be horrific for them because they’ve had a lot of death in these places.
‘Care homes are a society where people walk free, they have their lunch all in one room, there’s a lounge area, and they’re all mixing in there. There’s no keeping people in their rooms in a care home – that’s not right.’
Meanwhile, Helda – the manager of a care home where five residents have died – reveals she feels like her sector has been forgotten.
‘We had five deaths when we had an outbreak and we’ve not even been counted,’ she says. ‘We’ve lost family. It’s really hard. We’re just trying to cope at the moment.’
Julie adds: ‘I do really feel for you, to be honest. I feel like you’ve been missed out of the loop.’