Coronavirus outbreak

[Pat "5mph"]

@Unkraut what did you think of Merkel's address to the nation today?
An excellent speech imo, frank, to the point, no sugarcoating the issue.
I listened to it in German this morning, couldn't find an English translation to put on here, have you got one?

 

[winjim]

Grass people up is TOTALLY the wrong term to use in current circumstances.

Well, I guess grass is a term invented by wrongdoers in order to shame people into letting them carry on.

Let's say 'report' instead.

 

[Unkraut]

@Unkraut what did you think of Merkel's address to the nation today?

I will have to have a look, but it will have to wait a bit as I will be leaving for Frankfurt airport where wife and daughter should be landing within 1 1/2 hours having flown back from New Zealand!

Merkel, Spahn the health minister and Söder the minister president of Bavaria have all gone up in public estimation as they have dealt decisively, honestly and speedily with the unfolding crisis. Having gone off Merkel a bit, not least because she is very tired having been in office so long, I think this is deserved.

 

[Pale Rider]

I am a member of a cervical cancer support forum after my own very minor brush with it last year. There are women who are having chemo cancelled and having just radiotherapy instead due to the risk of chemo weakening the immune system. No idea how this alters clinical outcomes. Very scary.

I suppose saying 'we will not do this treatment now because it will put you in a worse virus position' is a reasonable clinical argument.

I'm not so sure of the justification for cancelling my consultation.

@MarkF has posted reliable inside information of hospitals being 'eerily quiet' - the calm before the storm.

Is my consultant so busy making essential virus preparations that he has no time to see me?

The answer may lie in the telephone consultation, if it happens.

The hospital is keen to shield the consultant as much as possible to avoid the risk of him being taken out of action when the virus do-do really hits the fan.

Still a knock back for me, because there are many reasons which I won't bore everyone with why a telephone consultation in this instance is a poor substitute.

 

[Mo1959]

I suppose saying 'we will not do this treatment now because it will put you in a worse virus position' is a reasonable clinical argument.

I'm not so sure of the justification for cancelling my consultation.

@MarkF has posted reliable inside information of hospitals being 'eerily quiet' - the calm before the storm.

Is my consultant so busy making essential virus preparations that he has no time to see me?

The answer may lie in the telephone consultation, if it happens.

The hospital is keen to shield the consultant as much as possible to avoid the risk of him being taken out of action when the virus do-do really hits the fan.

Still a knock back for me, because there are many reasons which I won't bore everyone with why a telephone consultation in this instance is a poor substitute.

Although it will be the coronavirus deaths that get reported, I wonder how many others there will be unreported who die due to not getting treatments and operations they were due.

 

[vickster]

I suppose saying 'we will not do this treatment now because it will put you in a worse virus position' is a reasonable clinical argument.

I'm not so sure of the justification for cancelling my consultation.

@MarkF has posted reliable inside information of hospitals being 'eerily quiet' - the calm before the storm.

Is my consultant so busy making essential virus preparations that he has no time to see me?

The answer may lie in the telephone consultation, if it happens.

The hospital is keen to shield the consultant as much as possible to avoid the risk of him being taken out of action when the virus do-do really hits the fan.

Still a knock back for me, because there are many reasons which I won't bore everyone with why a telephone consultation in this instance is a poor substitute.

What’s he a consultant of?
The reason for cancelling is either he is busy treating CV19 patients (Eg respiratory specialist, anaesthetist with sub specialism in pain management etc) por just to keep non urgent patients out of hospitals?

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Still a knock back for me, because there are many reasons which I won't bore everyone with why a telephone consultation in this instance is a poor substitute.

Sorry to hear this PR. I hope the setback is short-lived and you get back to your regime as soon as possible.
All the best.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Grass people up is TOTALLY the wrong term to use in current circumstances.

Depends if they are a drug dealer going out to deal multiple times.

 

[Julia9054]

What’s he a consultant of?
The reason for cancelling is either he is busy treating CV19 patients (Eg respiratory specialist, anaesthetist with sub specialism in pain management etc) por just to keep non urgent patients out of hospitals?

Or it may be that he personally is self isolating

 

[Pat "5mph"]

I am a member of a cervical cancer support forum after my own very minor brush with it last year. There are women who are having chemo cancelled and having just radiotherapy instead due to the risk of chemo weakening the immune system. No idea how this alters clinical outcomes. Very scary.

Yes, I have heard many people saying their medical appointments have been cancelled.
One of my friends, due to have surgery for suspected throat cancer, has had hers postponed the week before Boris shut pubs etc.
I am still attending hospital for radiotherapy, my first session was last Tuesday: the radiotherapists said "ach, the corona? our elderly are resilient"
Wednesday: do I have a cough?
Thursday: social distance in the waiting room, evening news said one of the nurses had been confirmed with the virus.
Friday: nurses wiping chairs, signs of please use hand sanitizer on entry and on exit.
Maybe on Monday the staff will finally get masks to wear?

 

[Pale Rider]

Or it may be that he personally is self isolating

The 'Dear Patient' letter indicates all clinics have been cancelled.

I accept it's a reasonable measure to reduce the risk of the consultants and their staff being forced off work by the virus.

I am underwhelmed by the prospect of the telephone substitute, but it's unlikely to be the difference between life and death in my case.

Moral of the story: don't get ill.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

As RecordAceFromNew knows
1) there aren't enough masks in the UK and these need prioritising for workers

2) Italy has an obsession with masks and wore them not as much as Singapore/China/other asian countries, but nearly as much in comparison to all other countries. Italy's mask obsession doesn't seem to have made a blind bit of difference

3) There's a lot more discussion about masks in combination with visors in the UK and the entry point of the eyes. The latter point in Italy is heavily disputed they think wearing visors is totally nuts, get your frigging mask on and stop listening to eejits.

It's not disputed that someone wearing a mask in very close proximity can help someone else stop getting it i.e. an infected person reducing chance of passing it on to someone else.

Like most things about this tragedy, horse and stable door come to mind. In the current environment, one would be considered extremely inconsiderate not to wear one in those Asian countries, and they are right. Hopefully, attitude will also change here in due course, in spite of the government.

In an ideal parallel universe, the government wouldn't have rejected recommendations on PPE stockpile made by their expert advisers either.

Regarding the utility of masks for Italy (and indeed Spain), perhaps things like the Game Zero didn't help.

 

[Julia9054]

The 'Dear Patient' letter indicates all clinics have been cancelled.

I accept it's a reasonable measure to reduce the risk of the consultants and their staff being forced off work by the virus.

I am underwhelmed by the prospect of the telephone substitute, but it's unlikely to be the difference between life and death in my case.

Moral of the story: don't get ill.

Yep.
I'm very glad my crappy year appears to be over. The last place I want to be going is anywhere near hospitals right now.
Hope everything turns out ok for you.

 

[kingrollo]

I suppose saying 'we will not do this treatment now because it will put you in a worse virus position' is a reasonable clinical argument.

I'm not so sure of the justification for cancelling my consultation.

@MarkF has posted reliable inside information of hospitals being 'eerily quiet' - the calm before the storm.

Is my consultant so busy making essential virus preparations that he has no time to see me?

The answer may lie in the telephone consultation, if it happens.

The hospital is keen to shield the consultant as much as possible to avoid the risk of him being taken out of action when the virus do-do really hits the fan.

Still a knock back for me, because there are many reasons which I won't bore everyone with why a telephone consultation in this instance is a poor substitute.

That's the reason the hosp where I work has switched to video consultation s where practical

 

[Ming the Merciless]

50% mortality rate in ICU. Not good at all.

https://www.theguardian.com/society...ve-care-uk-patients-50-per-cent-survival-rate

the report

https://www.icnarc.org/DataServices/Attachments/Download/b5f59585-5870-ea11-9124-00505601089b