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24 April 2020

GP lends her voice to charity single 'Hero', but adds her voice to criticism of the Government's handling of the coronavirus crisis

As a GP, Maria Waters is used to working on the coronavirus frontline with the ‘angels of the NHS’.

As a keen singer and performer on the amateur dramatics scene, she has added her ‘voice of an angel’ to a new charity single alongside a host of celebrities and other health workers.

Maria, 53, explained: “I got a message from a friend who knows I enjoy singing. My hobbies include singing and amateur dramatics. I've performed in loads of shows over the years and so when he said 'do you fancy singing for this charity single?' I said ‘why not’.”

Celebrity names adding their voices to a specially-worked version of Mariah Carey's ‘Hero’,  include cage fighter and actor Alex Reid, Coronation Street actress  Amanda Barrie, comedy legend Bobby Davro, Big Brother's Simon Gross, British boxing manager and promoter Kellie Maloney and I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here's Lady C.

Funds raised are going towards NHS Charities Together in support of the COVID-19 appeal.

Maria said: "At the surgery we are all trying to keep up staff morale. We have been trying to encourage staff to get involved in fun projects and this song sounded like a great idea because it's raising money for a really good cause.

"I recorded the track at the end of a working day on my iPad."

Maria Waters has been disappointed with the Government's response to the pandemic (Maria Waters)

Maria, who works at a practice in Ealing, west London, was touched by the song’s concept and how it could be used to put health service workers centre stage.

"The whole country has been affected by coronavirus, we're all in this together. It was interesting to learn from the single’s producer that Sandra from Gogglebox [who is involved in the song] has actually lost two relatives to coronavirus. 

“That is a terrible personal tragedy and I understand why she would then want to become involved in a project like this.”

And while she described the fundraising efforts of those such as Captain Tom Moore as 'wonderful', she did express 'sadness and anger' at the many years of 'chronic NHS underfunding' which have led to the country being 'inadequately prepared for this pandemic, despite many weeks of prior knowledge that it was inevitable it would hit the UK'.

“What has been so frustrating for me and my colleagues has been the lack of resources which is still continuing. Healthcare and social care workers are still short of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and the means for testing both healthcare workers and their patients in the community remains utterly inadequate," she said.

She and her colleagues have had to get used to working in a very different way in order to protect staff and patients from spreading the virus.

"We are maintaining our service by using telephone, video and online consultations.

“It’s important to remember that people’s other health problems haven’t gone away and still need to be managed safely.

"A message I’d like to say to all patients is that your GP service is still very much open and functioning as usual but we are using alternative methods of contact. It is vital that patients who have significant health concerns continue to make contact with their GP.

"We've worked really hard to make sure that we are a safe environment for vulnerable people to attend so there is no good reason not to come in if we ask you to.”

Maria has been heartened by the way in which her local community has come together in support of all care workers and each other, particularly through Clap for Carers.

“The Clap for Carers has grown into a lovely weekly community event. My neighbourhood are doing all sorts of wonderful things - they are sending food parcels and making surgical scrubs and visors. The community spirit has been amazing and really uplifting”.

The charity single is raising money for NHS Charities Together, organised by Simon Gross and engineered by Ed Johns, is available to download now.

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