British track cyclist and NHS worker Alex Spratt has called on sports fans to put the public's health before their thirst for entertainment during the coronavirus crisis.

The 30 year-old, who has worked in a variety of positions throughout his decade with the health service, has put his cycling career on hold while he focuses on his role as a contract manager for hospitals in Blackburn, Burnley and Blackpool.

Spratt is responsible for ensuring the buildings are equipped to deal with the increased demand for things such as oxygen and electricity in intensive care units.

And while he insists his team are prepared for the lengthy battle against COVID-19, he does believe the Government could have done more.

He said: “I think the NHS has coped well. I don’t think the Government acted swiftly enough, which is what most people kind of think. It’s well documented around the struggle to get PPE and ventilators."

Prior to his current job, Spratt also worked as a porter and in domestic services managing the cleaning teams, so he is well aware of the 'manic' challenges everyone is facing right now from the frontline to his role as a monitoring officer.

“I’ve dealt with people passing away and it doesn’t get easier," he added. "But everyone’s in an unprecedented time now where this has never happened in the entire time the NHS has been around, so nobody knows what to actually do fully. Everyone’s got ideas and thinks they know what’s best, but no-one is 100 per cent sure.

“From my point of view, coming from a non-medical person, everyone is going on about how it needs to reach the peak, but the risk then is - especially when it’s coming up to the time to look at the restrictions in place - around what will that then do? So, if you’re talking about dropping restrictions down but you still have a number of people that have got COVID, then there’s a risk there that everything starts again. That’s the worrying thing.

“I’ve got a five-month old involved, so that’s a concern of mine. And my parents are elderly and have underlying health issues. You talk to people inside the NHS from both my organisation and the medical side and to put it quite frank, they’re bricking it."

Spratt is currently working from home due to the fact he is living with his son Oscar, who is potentially vulnerable to the virus.

As a result of his predicament and the strain of his job, Spratt has therefore been limited to training a maximum of one hour per day.

But while he acknowledges the situation presents problems for all athletes to maintain an elite level of fitness during this time, Spratt is under no illusions what people should be concentrating on.

“I get it. But would you rather be alive and be able to enjoy the rest of your life or would you rather be dead because you wanted to watch some sport?," he said.

“It’s a shame the Olympics have been postponed - that will probably benefit some countries more than others. When you look at training, gyms are shut, velodromes are shut, you can only go out once a day.

"But if you’ve got the kit in your house - I’ve got a bike, some rollers, some bands - I can kind of do stuff. Obviously, you’ve got people at Olympic level who I know have home gyms and they’re getting out on the road and doing what they need to do. It’s not ideal but you’ve got to make do with it."

Spratt medalled at the British National Track Championships back in January, finishing third despite poor preparation due to his newly-born son being hospitalised just days before the event.

And the Lancashire-born rider has admitted that although he had returned to the saddle before the coronavirus lockdown, he is not holding out for any major competitions to go ahead this season.

He said: “I had a bit of time off the bike and spent time with the family and then jumped back on just before everything happened. So I just missed going back to the velodrome before it closed. All I’ve been doing is jumping on the road bike, using Zwift and training in the garden!

“I kind of came to the conclusion when everything was being cancelled that there’s not going to be anything this year. I’m working on the vision that everybody is going to be somewhat restricted to what they can do up until about October time anyway. That’s what I’m thinking.

“Yeah, it’s annoying. But I’d rather stay alive and in one piece than race my bike."

Cycling's biggest race of the year, the Tour de France, was finally postponed on Wednesday morning and rearranged to start at the end of August.

And while many are relieved the three-week stage race has not been cancelled altogether, Spratt believes an e-sports-based Tour could be the solution in a similar way to how a Tour of Flanders one was set up just a few weeks ago.

“Just do an e-sports Tour de France!," he said. "Do a massive e-Tour de France. That’d be sound, everybody wins. And then they don’t have to be near anybody either! Job done.”