Publican Eduardo Dantas of Tia Maria Bar & Restaurant in Vauxhall, south London, was reduced to tears by local NHS staff after they surprised him with a round of applause during one of his daily deliveries.
Dantas, who has been personally preparing and delivering up to 60 meals per day to King’s College Hospital – which features a £100m, state-of-the-art 60-bed critical care centre, the largest in the UK – was welcomed into the staff room where they showed their appreciation.
Open for more than a century, King’s College Hospital has close to 1,000 beds on-site with approximately 8,785 staff working at the Denmark Hill facility according to Care Quality Commission figures.
Dantas explained that he appreciates the long hours NHS staff work and felt he simply had to give something back.
“I knew that many of these wonderful NHS staff, who work tirelessly for the general public, wouldn’t have time to make themselves a nutritious meal when they got home after a long day,” he explained. “I feel very much a part of this community and wanted to do my bit during these testing times. It brings me so much joy knowing that I am helping in some way.”
Ei Publican Partnerships regional manager Indy Kenth added that he saw Dantas as a “wonderful example” of the work publicans across the country are doing to support their communities during the Covid-19 outbreak.
“Pubs, bars and restaurants are proving that they are very much at the heart of the community and to have Eduardo selflessly offering his time and money to help the NHS, despite having to close his own venue, just shows what local heroes they really are,” he added.
