A FORMER Oxfordshire GP has gone viral on Twitter after sharing a heart-breaking story from lockdown.

Prit Buttar, who retired from being a GP in Abingdon in 2017, posted on Twitter about a time he 'broke Covid rules'.

The sad story was posted just hours after it was revealed that the 'work event' held at Number 10 Downing Street on May 20 2020, was allegedly a 'bring your own booze' party.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was photographed attending the event, has said he believed it was a work event.

The party was held during the height of the first lockdown -at a time when people were only allowed to meet one person, at a two-meter distance, outside.

 

Mr Buttar wrote: "Let me tell you about the time that I broke Covid rules. 

"During the second lockdown, I was working in the vaccination clinics. 

"One afternoon, one of the staff on reception came through and asked if it was OK to book in a woman who had missed her appointment two days before."

The woman, said to be in her late 60s, had come in, 'profusely apologising' for missing her appointment booked for two days prior.

The woman continued to apologise, explaining how she realised the 'pressure' the NHS was under.

Mr Buttar explained in his story: "I could tell she wanted to talk, so I abandoned my usual spiel about the vaccine, possible side-effects etc, and just listened. She and her husband had moved to Scotland from England.

"Just over a year before, on the eve of Covid. Her husband was almost immediately diagnosed with cancer, and he had died a week before she came to the vaccination clinic. 

"Her only son lived in England and his wife had just been diagnosed with Covid so it was impossible for him to travel up; because she had been so wrapped up in caring for her husband over the past year, she hadn’t had a chance to make friends with local people, something worsened by the first lockdown."

The woman had to deal with the death as well as the funeral arrangements alone, leading her to forget about her appointment completely.

The retired GP, who had been volunteering at the clinic, added: "‘I’m so sorry,’ she repeated. So I decided to break the rules about social distancing.

"I leaned forward in my chair and put my arms around her.

"She clung to me and wept, and sobbed into my shoulder, ‘This is the first time anyone’s embraced me since he died.’ I'm sure others could tell similar stories. 

"This is how ordinary people endured the lockdowns and the terrible pain that they sometimes brought."

Mr Buttar ended his story questioning whether we were 'all in this together' as while Government figures were breaking the rules, others were enduring 'loss' and 'loneliness' in order to abide by the Covid lockdown rules.

He concluded: "They endured loss and heartbreak and loneliness with stoicism and resignation. 

"After all, we were all in it together, weren’t we? 

"And meanwhile, others in the highest positions of government behaved as if the rules didn’t apply to them."

An inquiry, conducted by senior civil servant Sue Gray, is currently taking place, looking into the multiple alleged Covid breaches in Number 10 Downing Street.

It is reported that at least 20 Tory MPs are expected to submit letters of no confidence in the Prime Minister to the 1922 Committee Chair today.