Portuguese nurse who saved Boris Johnson from Covid-19 invited to NHS celebration

A Portuguese nurse who helped save the English prime minister’s life, when he was infected the novel coronavirus, was received this Sunday by the UK PM at Downing Street, London, attending a celebration to mark 72 years of the British National Health Service.

Luís Pitarma and Boris Johnson met again and exchanged words, with Johnson thanking the Portuguese nurse, born in Aveiro, for the attention and care he had offered him.

Pitarma, 29 years old, works as a nurse at the St. Thomas hospital in London. At the time, the health professional said: “I was putting on my equipment before my night shift when they called me and said that the Prime Minister was about to enter the Intensive Care Unit. I was chosen to look after him because they had confidence in how well I would handle the situation “.

The young man also stated that “I was not sure how to address him – should I call him Boris, Mr. Johnson or Prime Minister? My boss calmed me down and told me to be myself as I am with any other patient.” The Prime Minister dismissed any formality and asked to be called Boris. Luís Pitarma says he treated him as a patient like any other, he says. At that time the nervousness left and the friendship between them has been growing.