Help 2021

In 2019, Sarah begins working as a care assistant at Bright Sky Homes, a care home in Liverpool. She is good at connecting with the residents, in particular a middle-aged man called Tony, who has early-onset Alzheimer's disease. Tony frequently walks out of the building and wanders the streets to try and go to his mother's house, forgetting that she has died and their home now belongs to another family.The work load is tough, but everyone's world is turned upside down when the COVID-19 pandemic hits the UK in March 2020. Like most other care homes across the country, Bright Sky suffers a COVID-19 outbreak amongst residents. This is made all the worse by a severe lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) with supplies in NHS hospitals being prioritised above homes.One night, when Sarah is left as the only carer on duty, Bright Sky resident Kenny suffers a serious coughing fit. Sarah calls the COVID-19 hotline, as well as NHS 111, but no ambulances are available in the area. Angry and frightened, Sarah wakes up Tony, who is also Kenny's best friend. He manages to turn Kenny over, but he is still in a bad way.Later, Sarah finds out that Tony has been given new medicine by Steve, the head of the home. She confronts Steve, who tells her that Tony's GP had insisted upon the change. Enraged, Sarah takes Tony out of Bright Sky and takes him to a caravan owned by her family, where they stay for twelve days. Sarah is found by her dad Bob, who commends her actions by asking her if she needs any supplies. Whilst playing Shithead, Tony and Sarah are found by the police, who received a tip-off from some dog walkers who spotted them. Tony is returned to Bright Sky and Sarah is arrested.Sarah, in the back of a police car, breaks the fourth wall and warns the audience against turning a blind eye to the needs of others in society, from those in social care to those using food banks. The film ends with statistics about deaths in UK care homes at the beginning of the pandemic and the insufficient amount of PPE the government provided.

Stephen Graham

Tony

Jodie Comer

Sarah

Ian Hart

Steve

Lesley Sharp

Gaynor