I don't need to be clapped for doing my job. There is a whole list of things that I need and clapping at the door isn't one of them.
What i need is to be given professional recognition with a payrise and better working conditions. All the therapists, physios and pharmacists need what I need. All the students aspiring to become nurses need to be given back their bursaries. All the HCA's and assistants working their asses off alongside us need payrises, professional regulation and recognition and better routes into nursing where a full time degree is impossible.
The forgotten Laboratory staff who do the actual testing for things like Covid-19, blood tests and other essential diagnostics (no, it isn't your doctor who does the actual diagnosing) need the same as us and their support staff need the same as ours. They could also do without people telling them they don't count as keyworkers because they "don't work on the wards" 
The PA's, office workers, medical clerks, clinical coders, receptionists, who keep the tons and tons of paperwork in order for us because none of us have time need to be treated with far more respect, by the public and their colleagues. They are putting their health in danger too.
The hospitality staff who feed us all, the porters who move equipment and notes and all kinds of requests from department to department, the maintenance team who make sure everything from medical equipment to electricity to the ceilings aren't falling apart, the cleaners who are fighting the spread of infection from one part of hospital to the next, they need more pay and support and respect too. They are the forgotten ones. Without them the hospital would not be able to function safely.
And the mortuary staff, who at the end of the line are overloaded with infected patients while trying desperately to support the bereaved who can't even view their own loved ones during their grief, need to be respected day in day out instead of being told that there is not enough funding for them to run efficiently.
And you know what? These are things you damn well could be doing when there isn't a national heath crisis.
So instead of clapping, fight for our rights. Sign our petitions for better working conditions, effective PPE and pay. Stop overloading A&E for minor ailments. Stop treating the domiciliary and hospitality staff like they mean nothing. Stop yelling at receptionists doing their job. Stop telling Lab staff the hospital could run without them.
Stop clapping and actually do something to help, regardless of whether there is a pandemic or not.