ATHERSTONE NURSING HOME'S MESSAGE OF HOPE ON DEADLY ENEMY: IT CAME, WE CONTAINED, IT WENT AND WE'VE BEATEN IT

DOT Passey and Ron Houghton lived through the terrors of World War Two – never expecting to face a deadlier enemy stalking the corridors of an Atherstone nursing home in their twilight years.

The pair have their own personal memories of a bygone time when they joined with the rest of the nation in celebrating Victory in Europe on May 8, 1945.

Tomorrow they will greet the dawn and thank their lucky stars for a dedicated team of Covid commandos who put their lives on the line so they could enjoy the 75th anniversary of VE Day.

Three weeks ago the Isolation 8 went into battle to free the Bentley House 2 from the silent killer that has claimed more than 32,000 lives in the UK already – including a female resident in her eighties at the Twenty One Oaks specialist care centre.

Yesterday, 90-year-old Ron and Dot, a sprightly 87, emerged from their grim struggle with flags waving and arms raised aloft – an enduring example of a fighting spirit which saw many through the dark days of WWII.

Their deliverance from the coronavirus foe was greeted with scenes of unbridled joy but it only tells half the story.

Because Bentley House is part of a "forgotten" sector in the NHS which has had to fight tooth and nail to get sufficient levels of personal protective equipment, causing "really high" levels of stress for workers.

There were 6,391 deaths in care homes involving coronavirus reported by providers in England to the Care Quality Commission up to May 1, the Office for National Statistics said.

Colin Angel, policy director for the UK Homecare Association, said the response from Government has been slow, and that more support is needed as additional cost pressures mount.

Bentley House administrator Charlotte McKenna put it more succinctly in reflecting on "what we had to go through", adding: "We've had no help from anyone – and that includes the NHS.

"In fact they've been a hindrance, trying to force us to take admissions. We resisted

"It's incredible that they automatically close the place when there is an outbreak of novavirus but want you to admit people when something as deadly as coronavirus strikes."

The home sourced and bought all its own PPE equipment – visors, masks, scrubs , even a special disinfectant machine which pushes out a fine spray for users.

It's been a long three weeks for the staff at the Bentley specialist nursing home that normally has up to 50 residents.

When the virus struck Dot, Ron and the other resident – the management commandeered a nine-bedroom unit on the top floor and staffed it with eight volunteers who never left it during a rigorous regime of 12-hour shifts.

It became an isolation fortress.

Mrs McKenna said: "The team came in via the fire escape and left the same way each day.

"They did three shifts on and three off in rotation – and were simply magnificent.

"We were on our knees when we got the first case," added Mrs McKenna.

The home had three cases who tested positive and two further ones who turned out to be negative. Sadly one lady died at the outset, Mrs McKenna revealed.

Yesterday's joyful scenes saw Mrs Passey emerge from isolation arms raised and "looking a million dollars" while flag-waving Mr Houghton was left "emotional" by the whole experience of three weeks in the jaws of the killer virus.

The home's Facebook followers saluted the "wonderful news" and "fantastic" team of carers at "brilliant Bentley".

Barbara Edwards described the staff as "God's angels" while Dot's son, Kevin Storer said: "A big thank you to all the staff for your care and dedication.

"It's great to see you looking so well mum."

Mrs McKenna summed up VC Day – Victory over Covid-19: "We are really proud of our amazing staff."

As for the virus: "It came. We managed to contain it. It went. We've had no more cases, we've beaten it."