‘Time to hail all the heroes going above and beyond’

By Barnie Choudhury

The venom of her anger was unnecessarily violent as it was unexpectedly irrational. She had come into the Tesco Express in Leicester with her partner, and she did not like the way the shop assistant had looked at her. “I’ll bottle ya! Don’t f***ing look at me like that,” with further streams of expletives. Moments earlier that same assistant had stopped my entering the store until it was safe to do so, and she had kindly made sure that I got the last remaining newspaper of my wife’s choice. Two different experiences, two different responses.

Yet, if there were ever a time for heroes, it is now. And the men and women who work to disinfect and fill the shelves, fit that category. They may just be doing their job, but many are going above and beyond. We will come onto our magnificent NHS later, but let us take a few moments to hear about those who are working selflessly in their local communities to make sure those who are unable are looked after. In this day and age of out of town supermarkets, we forget our local convenience stores. The hint is in the word ‘convenience’.

Let us take Bobby Singh, who describes himself as a Pontefract or ‘Ponte’ lad ‘through and through’. He owns and manages BB Nevison Superstore and Post Office in the West Yorkshire market town. Bobby told his local newspaper, “My family has always had shops from day one and we’ve always seen the community as our family too, they’re our friends and neighbours who we see every single day. I know a lot of elderly and vulnerable people and I wouldn’t like to see them go without, this is my way of supporting them and giving back to them. We’ve been out delivering all morning and it’s put a smile on my face, 100 per cent job satisfaction.”

Bobby is not alone. Just the other side of the Pennines are David and Margaret Brindle, who report seeing ‘a slew of new faces coming through the doors’ of their shop in Leyland, Lancashire. They manage the independently run Costcutter. So, what is remarkable about them? They are in their 70s, and they should be heeding government advice and avoiding as much human contact as possible. But as David told Asian Trader, a sister publication of Eastern Eye, “We’re trying to fulfil the needs of the whole community, but we’re trying our very best to look after our regular customers – they’re our priority.” Stupid and irresponsible? Hardly, this is a six-decade old family business which has been serving its community, buying and sourcing local produce, such as eggs and milk.

But what about retailers who deal with life and death on the frontline? Community pharmacists are doing more than providing a medicine dispensing service. Superintendent pharmacist, Olutayo Arikawe, from Dudley in West Midlands said, “I have had to do shopping over the phone for our elderly patients and deliver their medication on a regular basis. It is important that these group of elderly and vulnerable patients are taken care of and not forgotten at home at these difficult times.”

Darshan Negandhi has just started a new primary care network role from his pharmacy in Lewisham in London. This is not a time to take advantage of those who need help. “Independent community pharmacies are working at a loss with the supplies of core medicines on quotas and at a higher cost,” he told the online magazine. “The only reason why pharmacy teams are still working hard is down to their dedication towards the community they serve.”

But it is not just retailers. I was taken by what the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) is doing. It regulates 15 health and care professions, such as podiatrists, physiotherapists and paramedics. The regulator spotted a tweet by a paramedic who said he had been made homeless after his landlady became concerned that he could be more susceptible to carrying the virus. The HCPC tracked him down to find out what was going on and, more important, how it could help. I understand the watchdog's chief executive, John Barwick, has written to the health secretary, Matt Hancock, asking the government to make sure all NHS staff are looked after and helped if they face eviction.

We often think about regulators as enforcers and faceless bureaucrats, but the HCPC has shown itself to have a human face, exercising common sense during worrying times to ensure our safety and those they watch.

When the pandemic ends, and it will, we will discover even more heroes. They are the ones who carried on, helping strangers with acts of kindness. Not because they were paid to do so, but because they wanted to make a difference. #Atimeforheroes.