Tasmanian health care worker Nia Hardy on the front line of Britain’s coronavirus fight

Working on the front line of the Britain’s fight against coronavirus, which has already killed 30,000 people, has left a Tassie radiographer feeling “uneasy and paranoid”.

A TASMANIAN woman working in a London hospital has told of the emotional rollercoaster she experienced as the death toll from coronavirus infections soared and the normally bustling city went into lockdown when authorities tried to control the outbreak.

Nia Hardy, 26, is a radiographer at a National Health Service hospital in central London and her work is a vital part of England’s fight to control the virus that has claimed more than 30,000 lives across the country.

“As the number of cases began to rise in London, I started to feel really anxious about going to work. Even simple things like catching the train now made me feel very uneasy and paranoid I could be exposed,” Ms Hardy told the Sunday Tasmanian.

“To date, 114 healthcare workers have died from coronavirus in the UK, so it’s still a really tough time for everyone still going to work in healthcare and other essential jobs.”

Former Hobart radiographer Nia Hardy, working for the NHS in London during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, Ms Hardy said the famed British spirit was coming to the fore and the public had embraced and applauded the work of healthcare workers.

“The support from the public has made a really positive difference,” she said.

“The UK is very proud of its public health care system and it feels like the whole city and every suburb is full of posters and messages supporting the NHS.

“Every Thursday at 8pm people in the UK have been encouraged to stand outside their house and clap to support the NHS.

“It’s been happening for a few weeks now and it’s been a really moving way of everyone showing their support. Even our quiet residential street has people clapping and banging pots.”

Ms Hardy has been living in London with her partner Ben Walters, a teacher from Hobart, since January 2019.

A former University of Tasmania medical student and radiographer at Royal Hobart Hospital, Ms Hardy’s work at her hospital in central London is to detect changes to a patient’s lungs as a result of coronavirus.

“[This is] shown with chest X-rays or CT scans,” she said.

“Alongside the swab tests used to detect coronavirus, the scans are also required to confirm and monitor the progression of the virus.”

People across the UK are encouraged to “Clap for Our Carers” from their homes at 8pm every Thursday. Picture: David Rogers/Getty

Ms Hardy said the first year of her time in London was a thrill, with access to one of the world’s great cities and her new home affording a launch pad for travel across Europe.

But that stopped when the COVID-19 pandemic hit and she said it was an eerie feeling across London with restrictions in place.

“It feels very strange to see the streets and stations virtually empty considering London has a population of nine million,” she said.

“I think people are also starting to get a bit restless and maybe not following the rules quite as strictly as they should be, especially during all the warm weather London has been having. “The majority of homes in central London don’t come with a big back yard like in Australia, so I do feel for those people cooped up inside all day.

“However, the number of cases and fatalities are still very high and I think it’s hard to comprehend that those numbers are people’s lives.”