A nurse who used to work in Southport Hospital A&E is among dozens of NHS workers in Australia determined to return to the UK to fight coronavirus.
Laura Mclaughlin has lived in Sydney for the past three years.
But now the 27-year-old is organising a group of more than 50 NHS staff who all want to return to this country and help patients in the battle against Covid-19.
Laura said that she has spoken to several of her former colleagues, who said that they were “so short staffed” and in need of help.
It follows an appeal yesterday by Health Secretary Matt Hancock to try and recruit 250,000 NHS volunteers.
Southport Hospitals boss confirms Coronavirus patients
The helpers are needed for delivering food and medicines, driving patients to appointments and phoning the isolated.
More trained NHS staff are also needed on the frontline, and Laura is among those who are determined to help.
Southport & Ormskirk NHS Hospitals Trust Chief Executive Trish Armstrong-Child yesterday told Stand Up For Southport that the Trust is treating patients suffering from Covid-19 / Coronavirus as she urged people to stay at home.
There are currently 10 people in Sefton who have been diagnosed with the disease.
Laura told Sky News that she has been able to secure a seat on a flight from Darwin to Heathrow, but many others – including doctors and physiotherapists – were still searching for a route back to the UK.
She said: “We need to be prioritising flights for the NHS key workers to be getting home to be helping the pandemic.
“I have hopefully got this flight confirmed for tomorrow, but it’s still helping all the other people along the way trying to get home.”
Laura McLaughlin who worked at Southport Hospital A&E is among dozens of former NHS nurses in Australia who want to return to the UK to help patients during the Coronavirus epidemic
She said flights were costing upwards of $13,000 (£6,600), adding that most did not “have that sort of money”.
A Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) spokeswoman said: “We recognise British tourists abroad are finding it difficult to return to the UK because of the unprecedented international travel and domestic restrictions that are being introduced around the world – often with very little or no notice.
“The FCO is working around the clock to support British travellers in this situation to allow them to come back to the UK.”
Earlier, Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, announced special flights were being set up to bring home Britons stranded because of the coronavirus lockdown.
He said Singapore had agreed to be the transit hub where people stuck in countries like Australia, New Zealand and Peru could fly through on their way back to the UK.
He also assured travellers unable to afford the cost of a plane ticket back they could get an emergency loan to cover the cost.
