A series of portraits taken by Epsom-St Helier's official photographer Brendan Mchilargey have shown the human beings behind the PPE in the region during the battle against Covid-19 coronavirus.
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic launched an immense effort from workers at the Epsom-St Helier Hospital Trust, with many frontline workers caring for sufferers hour after hour in exhausting conditions and shrouded in heavy and uncomfortable personal protective equipment (PPE).
The portraits shown here were put on display at Epsom's Ashley Centre recently accompanied by touch donation points that have generated hundreds of pounds for the hospital's charity in the process.
"These powerful images taken by the Trust’s resident photographer capture the exhaustion on the faces of staff after they’d come off a long Covid shift.
"These powerful portraits show the indents on their faces marked from wearing PPE for such long periods," he added.
As the Surrey Comet reported previously, staff at Epsom and St Helier hospitals have been lauded like many essential workers in the UK for their incredible efforts fighting the virus and caring for those who become infected.
For example, Dr Imran Malik, who worked as an acute care consultant in Epsom General, described in a letter published in the Surrey Comet how: "The centre of this chaos... saw an amazing unstinting altruistic display from health and care workers, as they rose unprepared to an uninvited challenge and became frontline fighters, knowingly risking their own and their family’s lives, only on the moral grounds to do so."
Working on the frontlines of the pandemic, Imran went on to contract coronavirus himself, further highlighting the bravery of those who are still working to control the virus.
“We would like to thank the many customers who have used the credit/debit card donation station in The Ashley Centre to support Epsom & St Helier Hospitals Charity," Beddows said Monday as he urged residents to support the charity trust by donating at the Ashley Centre.
"So far we have raised £334 with donations still being made.
"The easy to use donation station is situated by the lifts on the ground floor where customers can select the amount they would like to donate and do so simply by taping their card to the touchscreen.
"Choose whether to donate £3, £5 or £10 then just 'Tap & Go'!" He added.
To donate to the Epsom-St Helier Hospitals Charity, visit the Ashley Centre donation station or click here.
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