Sikkim Daughter Sandhya Sharma Discharges Duty as Corona Warrior in the UK

Gangtok, March 23, 2020:

Amid the international tragedy of the coronavirus that has claimed over 14,000 lives across the world, the focus has now shifted to the unsung heroes in society who usually go unnoticed, but continue to serve society in good times as well as bad. These people -- the health service personnel, law and order authorities, journalists, etc -- were "thanked" by Indians en masse yesterday at the behest of the country's Prime Minister. Now, the story of a Sikkim daughter who is serving selflessly, albeit abroad, has come to the fore.

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Sandhya Sharma, a daughter of the hilly state of Sikkim, nestled at the foot of the mighty Himalayas, has come to notice for serving those in need thousands of miles away from home, in England. Serving at the Arrowe Park Hospital, the beautiful Sikkim girl has caught the attention of the nation for her selfless sacrifice. Hailing From West Sikkim's Sombarie, the corona warrior's parents are Tilak Sharma and Kumari Sharma. The Sikkim girl's journey has been long and arduous, and it is perhaps fate that has ordained that she end up in England during the worst international health crisis in recent memory.

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After pursuing General nurse and midwifery training (1996-1999) from Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital in New Delhi, she moved to Chandigarh to pursue her dream of serving the people. There, she discharged duty in renowed hospitals for three years. After serving at the Inscol Tertiary Care Hospital from October 1999 to July 2000, she joined the Mukat Hospital and Heart Institute from August 2000-April 2001. She then joined the Fortis Heart Institute  from April in 2001 to November of 2002.

Due to her hard work, she received a work permit to work in a UK Hospital following overseas nurse interview through ETI recruitment agency in November of 2002. Thereafter, she joined as a critical care nurse at the Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS trust in UK in February, 2003. Later, taking her knowledge to the nursing aspirants, she became a student nurse mentor and work based assessor after the completion of a mentorship course from the University of Chester in 2006 and then completed Bachelor of Science with Honours (Nurse) from the same University. She then undertook a Critical Care course at the and Leadership Course, Infection control Course and Research module from the University of Chester.

Now, Sharma has joined the medical forces in the UK in a bid to stop the coronavirus in its tracks. As the UK lurches towards a lockdown, more high street stores are not opening, fast food chain McDonald's is shutting its restaurants at 7pm and many local authorities are closing parks and open spaces. The disease has so far killed 281 people in the UK, and 5,683 infections have been reported so far, and Sharma finds herself thrust into the middle of the fight against the pandemic.

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