My Neighbour who I’ve spoken about recently (In charge of ICU and COVID at Doncaster RI) has told me tonight her colleague (a nurse) who she had dinner with at Work on Sunday night has tested positive for C19. I hope when we get through this, we can look after these heroic people who every day put their own lives on the line. I’ve been to the shop today to do the weekly shop, and I’m sh1tting myself if someone gets within 3 yards of me. I can’t wait to get home. Hats off to those amazing people who are in the trenches day in day out. 66 medics in Italy and 4 in the UK have passed away. I’ll be outside my house tomorrow clapping in support, and I wished I could more.
I've decided i'm not going to any shops if i can help it until this dies down a bit. Haven't been into a supermarket since the lockdown. Doing all my shopping online. Can't be arsed with all that queuing malarkey anyway.
We’ve been unable to get a delivery apart from a local butchers so once a week we’re having to hit the local Co Op. We’re coping ok, and we’re lucky to have big gardens and plenty of space so not too cabin feverish. I feel for people in flats in city centres and no outside space. Like you though we are just staying in our house. That’s the first time I’ve seen other human life since last Monday.
Im using Amazon Prime Now mate, it takes some messing about but ive managed to get slots within a few hours of ordering.
Since last Tuesday the only time Ive opened my front door was to pop out to work for an hour on Friday to do a quick finishing up job. The only time I've opened the back door is to put something in the wheelie bin. Filled my fridge, freezer and all the cupboards up at the beginning of last week and that should last me for a month hopefully. I've said before Im not worried one bit about catching it myself as I fancy my chances of I did (I never claimed to be intelligent) but if Id hate to think I've got it without symptoms and could pass it on to someone else. Until at least two weeks have passed I'm going nowhere.
I don't normally comment on what's going on inside the NHS I work in but frankly I'm becoming very dismayed. That we can't equip our staff with PPE, provide sufficient ventilators and undertake anything like the testing level required in one of the richest countries in the world is nothing short of a disgrace. PPE - Promised national guidance on what should be worn in which situations last Thursday, it has been delayed three more times, now maybe we will get tomorrow. In the meantime deliveries of what we are getting are late, incomplete and of the wrong or inadequate kit - that's if they even reach us. There are several NHS Trusts in the county I work and regularly the PPE for each is delivered to the wrong one. We haven't had an FFP3 delivery for over a week, our pallet from the last one went we know not where. They are now moving to the third lot of logistics solutions - NHS Supplies didn't work, the army were brought in, that hasn't worked, now Clipper is to be used. Ventilators - We need 30-40,000 additional. We are told there are 10,000 new ones around but nobody has seen any of these. Testing - You couldn't make it up - there are an average of single figure numbers of swabs left per day to test staff. Compare that to c. 400 staff at my hospital who are isolating and could be brought back to work if tested and negative. The politicians and NHS leadership and I mean those in Whitehall and Leeds, not the leaders of local hospitals who are being dealt these bum hands, seem to be far more pre-occupied with setting up their Excel supercentre than sorting the basics for existing hospitals - they're going to pay the Nightingale hospital admin staff more than our nurses! It's puzzling to me that the country is tolerating this without a whimper. Lots of people are simply going to die because we just aren't getting basic supplies and levels of equipment. It is not a time for politicians to be in charge imho, we should have a Government of National Unity with medical, scientific, industrial leaders and workforce reps at the fore. Unless the public wakes up and frontline staff listened to I fear some of them will vote with their feet too. Sorry for the rant - our NHS staff are the heroes you think they are and more but they are being sorely let down imho. Every day that phrase from the First World War rings round my head. "Lions Led by Donkeys".
As someone who spends a lot of time dealing with the NHS due to my children I am not surprised in the least at how the staff have stepped up like the heroes they are to face this crisis. However, again as someone who has spent a lot of time dealing with the NHS I am sadly not surprised in the struggles of dealing with this crisis after a decade of Tory management of the NHS. I fear our chickens will certainly be home to roost.
"Ramping up testing". A phrase that's been idly thrown about for 10 days or more for the media circus, whilst only 2k NHS staff haveaactually been tested. This is partly because politicians spent a week trotting out "herd immunity" before realising that was going to kill 500k. I spoke to nurse and she was horrified by the use of "herd immunity" saying that it "goes against everything you're taught". Thankfully its been ditched but it's contributed towards significant problems.
I work in the NHS but I feel the applause should also be in appreciation of the millions of essential workers trying to keep some sort of normality. Shop workers (a lot have received dogs abuse over the past two weeks), delivery drivers, police, army...the list is long. Many dedicated people who will be ignored by governments when this mess is over.
Totally agree with the main sentiment of this post - but joking apart mate, you really need to try to stop thinking like this and give your head a bit of a wobble, otherwise you’ll never go out of the door of the house again. You’re a healthy fit bloke and therefore even if you were unfortunate enough to contract it from the passing contact you have in a shop, the vast, vast likelihood is you’ll make a quick recovery. Start thinking like you’re saying and you’ll end up not driving/flying/having unprotected sex orgies, and life won’t be worth living.
Time will tell if it has been ditched. The only two end games are wait for a vaccine or herd immunity. I think the change is just to try and build that up slowly to minimise the deaths.
Thing is mate, I’m not particularly healthy. I’m currently on the verge of Type 2 Diabetes, I have hereditary high cholesterol, my old man had a heart attack in his early 50s and my brother is disabled after having a stoke at 40. My family history is significant and I don’t buy this I’ll be ok because I’m 44 and healthy. There’s kids on ventilators in Doncaster hospital in their 20s.
I only think that Herd Immunity has been ditched *in public*. There are too many things not being done for it not to be the target - either through accident, incompetence or deliberate policy decisions.
I've realised what an absolute Jessie I am with this. I started out just worrying about the possibility of passing it to my mum who is elderly and has a multitude of other conditions but then the other night I found myself searching dozens of websites trying to buy FFP3 breathing apparatus. I feel suitably embarrassed now of course, but if I'd found them whilst sat awake at 3am I'd have bloody bought em.
