A TEAM of ex-NHS staff have quit their stressful jobs to open up a cozy tea room in the city centre.
After 25 years working as a pharmacy manager in Worcestershire, Suzanne Hope decided to transform her love for helping people into a new career.
The team worked on the frontline as primary carers during the pandemic and often went above and beyond for their patients.
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But as Covid-19 restrictions started to ease, Ms Hope decided she wanted a change of career and was thrilled to hear that some of her team members such as Ann Solly wanted to take the leap of faith with her.
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Chamberlains on Severn Street is a new tearoom in Worcester, but staff also hope it will become a safe space for people in the city.
Ms Hope, who has ten years of experience working in hospitality, said: "We were still seeing patients when GPs weren't and we had to make the conscious decision to distance ourselves from our families.
"We have been very passionate about the NHS and we always will be.
"We went above and beyond during the pandemic, when we could drop round prescriptions to people, we would also bring around their shopping.
"We found the pandemic very difficult, we were emotionally and physically exhausted."
Ms Hope said when she left the NHS, she was still keen to work with people.
"We wanted to do something people-centered.
"If it had been normal circumstances, we might not have left.
"We have not got a bad word to say about the NHS.
"We felt as though we needed to do something different, and found the pandemic very hard.
"We were working off adrenaline for the past two years and then we all collapsed.
"Most NHS staff are exhausted. NHS staff worked as social workers for two years.
"If we were put on strike, I don't know what I would've done.
"When we finished our job, we all had 12 months of holiday to take because we just couldn't take any holiday for the past year."
Many nurses across the country are getting ready to take part in a nationwide strike.
However, Ms Hope said she has mixed feelings about the strikes.
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"When you go into the NHS, it is not just a job, if you did it just as a job, you wouldn't stay in it for very long.
"It's a vocation.
"Nurses have to do more than what they had to do 10 years ago.
"As a result, there is a lot of abuse and they take it out on the closest person to them, which is usually the nurses.
"But I don't think it will come to a strike, but you never know."
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