‘I was on the NHS frontline during the 7/7 bombings in 2005 – the horrors of that day left me with PTSD'

‘I was on the NHS frontline during the 7/7 bombings in 2005 – the horrors of that day left me with PTSD' Dr Anthony Allnatt - then aged 35 - said he started experiencing symptoms of PTSD after he treated victims who were injured in the 7/7 London terrorist bombings in 2005 A London doctor who was on the NHS frontline on July 7, 2005, has spoken about his enduring trauma and how he used his experience to support colleagues over the decades on the 21st anniversary of the attacks. Dr Anthony Allnatt, 55, was 35 on the day of the 7/7 bombings, working as a senior registrar in anaesthetics at the Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel - less than a mile from the location of one of the three London Underground blasts at Aldgate. The other two Tube bombings took place near Edgware Road and Russell Square stations, simultaneously at around 8.50am. A fourth device was detonated at 9.47am on a bus that had been diverted via Tavistock Square in Bloomsbury. Tony and his team were first alerted to the incident at about 9.25am and they received their first patient about 90 minutes later. When the surgical registrar arrived in theatre to deliver the news of the first patient, Tony recalled "he just looked so ghastly, like he'd seen something really bad." The consultant anaesthetist at The Royal London Hospital added: “I knew that he’d seen all sorts of things, and I just had this feeling that maybe things were going to get pretty bad. And they did.” In the aftermath of the attacks, Tony started experiencing symptoms like "hyper awareness, hyper vigilance, hyper arousal, I wasn't sleeping, terrible nightmares" - all signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - though he said that he "didn't realise how abnormal it was." According to the British Medical Association, a doctor is lost to suicide every three weeks, and one nurse every week – which shows how essential proper mental healthcare is to the medical field. Speaking of the day of the bombings on July 7, 2005, Tony recalled: “We had nine Priority One patients – people who have a life or limb threatening injury – within about 90 minutes, which is exceptional.” Tony described the action plan that day as being a feat of organisation, as mobile phone networks had been shut down to prioritise emergency service access, and the hospital’s internal phone lines were overloaded and became unusable. So, staff at the hospital of all levels had to physically run between departments to relay information and deliver messages. Thankfully, due to the collaboration of staff at the hospital, Tony said that the A&E department never became overwhelmed – even when three double-decker buses full of the walking wounded arrived at the front door – and patients were able to be treated quickly and properly. Tony handed over at 8pm that evening, and said that getting back to his home – then in Theydon Bois, Essex – was difficult as, of course, the Tube service was not running. He got a lift from a staff nurse from the ITU, but during the journey the realities of the day began to hit him. He said: "I couldn't stand being in the car, which is very unusual. I asked her to drop me off well clear of my house, and I started to walk." “I walked into my house, where my now-wife was waiting, and I just started weeping. I just couldn’t stop,” he said. “I was due back at work the next day, so I had to sort of try and collect myself, and I thought, well, I’m never going to sleep. Of course, when I went to bed, I went immediately to sleep, but then I woke up a couple of hours later in a state of flight, and I was actually running out of the bedroom door before I really even woke up.” Tony said he did go into work the next day, which was a Friday, but after a sleepless night he was sent home, and returned to work for his shifts that weekend. Over the course of the weekend, he cared for many of the patients who had been admitted during the bombings. Two weeks later, on July 21 2005, there were four more attempted bomb attacks on London’s public transport network. In this case, only the detonators of the bombs exploded, causing popping sounds but no damage or injury – but when Tony heard about the attempts, he braced himself for another day treating mortally injured patients. “I just didn’t know if I could do it all again,” he said. Now, Theatre Wellbeing Sessions are held for staff at the Royal London Hospital once a week, and remain open to all who work in the theatre department. “One of the reasons why I am so passionate about the whole thing, is because I don’t want people to go through what I’ve been through,” Tony added. “So I would hope that I would have had the insight and the courage to say, right at the beginning, I need help, rather than waiting, rather than not knowing what to do, rather than not knowing where to get the help. “All these things are now available, and are widely known and well-advertised. Reducing the stigma is so important.” As part of the commemorations for the 21st anniversary of the attacks, London Mayor Sadiq Khan today laid a wreath at the 7/7 memorial in Hyde Park. An artwork inspired by Tony’s experience has been unveiled at the Royal London Hospital, as part of a gallery for the charity You Okay, Doc?, which supports doctors’ and healthcare workers’ mental health and wellbeing. A free, confidential, 24/7 text message support service is available through Shout for anyone who is feeling overwhelmed or is struggling to cope, and healthcare workers can text YOD to 85258 to access support.