Nottingham East MP Nadia Whittome has been sacked from her role as a carer after speaking out about personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages.
The 23-year-old had returned to work as a carer for the elderly in order to assist during the coronavirus pandemic
She had been working at Lark Hill retirement village for almost a month before being sacked, donating the salary she earned as a carer to charity.
Ms Whittome has never spoken against Extra Care charitable Trust, the company who run the Lark Hill site, but said she was “appalled” by the decision to let her go.
The Nottingham East MP added that, as a temporary front-line worker, it was her “duty to be honest about the lack of PPE and testing”, which she described as putting “lives at risk”.
She publicly spoke about her concerns around staff safety but has never fixated this on Lark Hill’s ownership.
A spokeswoman for the ExtraCare Charitable Trust said they chose to sack Ms Whittome following “inaccurate” reports of a shortage of PPE at Lark Hill.
Speaking to The Mirror, they said: “Our charity’s staff are working day and night to ensure the safety and welfare of our residents who are particularly vulnerable during the Covid-19 outbreak.
“As a result of rigorous infection control measures which include a full supply of Personal Protective Equipment, we are relieved to report that no deaths have occurred within the Lark Hill community as a result of Covid-19. Our vigilance, care and concern continue.”
“At Lark Hill, we have over three months’ supply of Personal Protective Equipment, including over 25,000 pairs of gloves, 7,700 aprons and nearly 6,000 masks,” they added. “we have access to further equipment should we need it.
“Reports that we have a PPE shortage are inaccurate and have caused concern amongst our residents; we have had to invest a significant amount of staff time reassuring our residents as a result.
“This has occurred during a critical period when all of our resources have to be focused on protecting our resident’s safety and welfare.”
Ms Whittome, who became the youngest MP at Westminster when she was elected in December, said to The Mirror: “I am appalled that ExtraCare have chosen this course of action, without following any due process and without me ever having portrayed them negatively in the media.
“I will continue to speak the truth about my frontline experiences and I condemn care companies who try to gag staff for speaking out and raising concerns.”
By Matthew Lee
Featured photo credit: UK Parliament.