Coronavirus shambles

[Ossian]

Just to try and give a bit of balance here as someone who works in the NHS. QE is undoubtedly the busiest of the local hospitals largely due to size and location. It is not at capacity which is excellent but undoubtedly is a testing time. In my Trust the surge that was talked about has yet to happen and hopefully won’t. This is largely due to the social distancing measures. Staff that have been redeployed are being used but thankfully as yet not to the intensity that was feared. PPE is available but has to be used sensibly. I think in the NHs previously stuff like gloves and gowns were, and I’ll choose my words carefully, used quite liberally. It is only now importance has been realised and it has taken staff a while to catch up with this as there has certainly been waste in the past. If it is true that there  is no PPE at times then yes it is not unreasonable to refuse to treat. This has actually been suggested by a governing body. How many nurses, doctors and AHPs actually refuse I don’t know because of their inbuilt genetic makeup of wanting to help others. Staff are obviously going to go off sick as that is what they are told to do if displaying symptoms. My understanding is that they are then tested and if positive have to stay away. That is sensible. I agree testing is the one area where it has been inadequate but actually I think the whole thing has been managed well. It is obviously very difficult for frontline staff. They are seeing a lot. It’s a stressful , anxious time but overall I think as a nation we are doing ok. The soldiers on the frontline will always suffer the most unfortunately regardless of the enemy

Even allowing for the fact that it's a time when we could all be forgiven for a spot of clutching at straws, it's still gratifying to read your comment about "In (my) Trust the surge that was talked about has yet to happen and hopefully won’t. This is largely due to the social distancing measures."

The inconveniences of some queuing and social distancing are - for many of us at least - minor and manageable; if they are working as hoped then, whatever else happens, that lid needs to stay in place for as long as it's needed. If that means financial assistance or compensation needs to be extended to some of those presently left outside the safety net, then - to quote a familiar phrase - it's a price worth paying. Personally I would view that as investment for the future, not current expenditure, and make sure that as many people as possible understood that.

Then - and this is for another day - some lessons will need to be learned about the distinctions between long-term strategy and short-term response.

Edit: And, Ciro, you and your colleagues have the gratitude of our household. The extended family has had a lot to be grateful for when it comes to the NHS.

[bradesbaggie]

We - the government - are only counting coronavirus deaths in hospitals. The rest of Europe counts deaths in nursing homes, care homes and ordinary households. Deaths in these places account for between 48-60% of coronavirus deaths in other European countries. 

We are massively under counting the death rate.

[Fulham Fallout]

We - the government - are only counting coronavirus deaths in hospitals. The rest of Europe counts deaths in nursing homes, care homes and ordinary households. Deaths in these places account for between 48-60% of coronavirus deaths in other European countries. 

We are massively under counting the death rate.

We’ve adopted the Chinese method of counting.

[Psalm23]

Just to try and give a bit of balance here as someone who works in the NHS. QE is undoubtedly the busiest of the local hospitals largely due to size and location. It is not at capacity which is excellent but undoubtedly is a testing time. In my Trust the surge that was talked about has yet to happen and hopefully won’t. This is largely due to the social distancing measures. Staff that have been redeployed are being used but thankfully as yet not to the intensity that was feared. PPE is available but has to be used sensibly. I think in the NHs previously stuff like gloves and gowns were, and I’ll choose my words carefully, used quite liberally. It is only now importance has been realised and it has taken staff a while to catch up with this as there has certainly been waste in the past. If it is true that there  is no PPE at times then yes it is not unreasonable to refuse to treat. This has actually been suggested by a governing body. How many nurses, doctors and AHPs actually refuse I don’t know because of their inbuilt genetic makeup of wanting to help others. Staff are obviously going to go off sick as that is what they are told to do if displaying symptoms. My understanding is that they are then tested and if positive have to stay away. That is sensible. I agree testing is the one area where it has been inadequate but actually I think the whole thing has been managed well. It is obviously very difficult for frontline staff. They are seeing a lot. It’s a stressful , anxious time but overall I think as a nation we are doing ok. The soldiers on the frontline will always suffer the most unfortunately regardless of the enemy

Exellent, balanced post Ciro, though it will probably not sit too well with some of the world class epidermiologists, & pandemic experts on the board.

What do skin doctors have to do with this?

Absolutely fuck all, that's why I couldn't understand why they were giving expert opinions on epidemics.  

[baggiebloke]

We - the government - are only counting coronavirus deaths in hospitals. The rest of Europe counts deaths in nursing homes, care homes and ordinary households. Deaths in these places account for between 48-60% of coronavirus deaths in other European countries. 

We are massively under counting the death rate.

We’ve adopted the Chinese method of counting.

1, 2...miss a few...

[Solihull Throstle]

And care home workers are screaming out for PPE.

What does this government give them? A fucking new badge.
They now realise that they can get away with anything after successfully trialling their bullshit in the EU referendum and the last election.
The British public will get the country and government it deserves. One for the criminally selfish and hard-of-thinking.

[Remi_Moses]

Emotions running high on here. Stay calm boys and girls it's not good for your blood pressure.
We all know things are crappy at the moment.
We need a little more good news.
What's Duffers called Junior ?

[Derek Hardballs]

Elsewhere on Westminster Bridge last night... 



Welcome to London’s lockdown... epicentre of the virus and if you want after clapping on a crowded bridge, you can mingle with people flying in from New York, Italy and other pandemic hotspots on the tube, or at the airport.

[Shabby Russian]

I think because of the success of the social distancing policy there have been areas where the anticipated surge in Covid 19 has not happened, But I think this does suggest a future problem about how to exit lockdown.

A poorly orchestrated exit policy will be disastrous for these areas.

For example from what I can tell here in Devon we have managed to avoid the worst of the virus. But what happens in summer if lockdown is ended and tourism resumes, there is a local population with an above average proportion of elderly people, with a limited health infrastructure to deal with a second wave of covid cases. It's a concern.

On the other hand it would be concerning for the local area if it lost the whole of the summer season.

It is a very difficult situation, I don't envy the Government in the decisions they are going to have to make in the near future.

[Cunninghamismagic]

We - the government - are only counting coronavirus deaths in hospitals. The rest of Europe counts deaths in nursing homes, care homes and ordinary households. 

Not true. On the whole Italy and Spain do not report deaths in care settings