'No respite!' Eamonn Holmes blasts Brexit for leaving NHS 'underpaid and understaffed'

express.co.uk:

Eamonn Holmes should have been presenting coverage of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee on TV screens earlier this month, but found himself in a hospital bed being treated for a painful back instead.The experience gave the presenter, who has just begun a new column for Express.co.uk, a renewed understanding of the "underpaid and understaffed" NHS.The 63-year-old broadcaster woke up in agony at the time and, after being rushed to A&E and having an emergency MRI scan, it was revealed that he was suffering from two prolapsed discs in his back.He was impressed by the speedy and efficient treatment he received and the "education" he was given about his condition, alongside the options he was offered every step of the way - but he lamented the impact Brexit has been having on the NHS."The 20 or 30 [staff] I met during my stay repeatedly insisted they were 'just doing their jobs'," he recalled, after praising their efforts to keep patients comfortable throughout the night."My carers were from Northern Ireland, the Philippines and Africa.They were underpaid and understaffed," he continued."Brexit has robbed [the NHS] of many European folk who used to keep the health system going and on a daily basis."I was left asking myself how the hell do they keep saving lives under these conditions day- after-day?

But they did."There was no let up and no respite," he exclaimed.He also stated that the complication of staff taking sick leave due to being diagnosed with Covid exacerbated their struggle.He urged the world not to "rely on the Westminster mouthpieces for the facts", and to speak to people within the industry instead.Eamonn felt deflated not to have been at the heart of the action when the Platinum Jubilee kicked off, as he was left.