Two of my close friends have had a cancer diagnosis and treatment during lockdown. Both have finished their course of treatment now and and are hopefully cancer free, with very good prospects of five year survival. One is in the US. Obviously being middle class and insured through work helped massively, but she was diagnosed accurately and started treatment within ten days of first going to the doctor. The other is in the UK, and she has had to fight every step of the way to get treated, starting with her GP saying she ‘dreamt’ her symptoms, then having to insist on a scan, paying for various tests privately as she was denied them on the NHS. The tests were critical for determining the type of treatment she got. Surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy all subject to delays, last minute cancellations ‘because of COVID’ etc etc. I am certain that it is only because she is young (relatively), a former senior NHS pharmacist who is not afraid to speak her mind and with a better understanding of the system and the treatment she required than most NHS employees that she got treated at all. I would like to take this opportunity to blame Northerners (especially a few Liverpudlians); students; school children; Kier Starmer; indeed anyone other than those responsible for setting policy and implementing it around COVID and the NHS, for making an already gruelling experience even if everything went smoothly into something even more stressful. Who said ‘lower than vermin’?
ICU Doctors in Liverpool have told Sky News they're 'disgusted' by the scenes from last night. and it 'insults' the NHS staff who are caring for sick people. Still, we know who we can blame.
A bit of a strange comment seeing that came from ICU doctors in Liverpool? A bit of a stupid comment when one of them says it's not about politics, they are not Tory or vote for the government? Maybe you should drive up to Liverpool and say that to the ICU doctors and see what they have to say?
Of course the government can blame the people. I mean in a democracy the people get the Government they deserve - right ? In this case they voted for a government, and ministers, to 'Get Bwexit done' forgetting that other things are involved in government - like guiding the country through any emergency which may crop up in the meantime. Ok. the guidance has been confusing and sometimes non existent - but should the people really need so much guidance at a time like this ?. The Japanese, and many other Asian peoples, donned their masks and took their distance without being told to do so. Really it's no good blaming only the government, or blaming the people, because only whole functioning societies can win battles like this - everybody is responsible for everyone else - it's as simple as that, and I cannot blame Bojo (much as I would like to) for groups of idiots ignoring all sense in Liverpool or anywhere else.
Sort of half agree. I have not even mentioned the government. I am just saying like the ICU doctors that those people last night acted irresponsible. Which they did. Politics has nothing to do with common decency and respect.
Leaving Bwexit out of it, I agree. Government can improve by giving clearer messages. Adults can improve by not behaving like irresponsible children
3 million routine cancer screening appointments cancelled Referrals for mental health services halved in April and May, people diagnosed with depression, including kids, as far back as January have had no treatment since then. Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services seeing only 60% of the kids they saw last year, even though all the experts know that mental health issues have surged. All because of northerners and students. Bastards.
Not at all. Why would you think that? It isn’t that black and white. I’ve said many times on this thread that, like you, I swing backwards and forwards on the overall approach, having started off very much on the ‘let it rip’ side. If anything I’m more on the cautious side now. But even with caution we should be able to provide a better health service than we have. A patient with a mental illness can wear a mask and sit two metres from a therapist. I’m against lack of transparency about the full consequences of inadequate policy decisions and poor implementation - all this ‘the NHS is open for business’ bollocks - and I’m very much against the demonisation of certain sections of the population by policy makers and their mug apologists. Some people have behaved poorly during this event, but many more have been totally shafted in many ways. I’m pissed off with the idiots in Liverpool last night, mainly because they have provided a distraction from the real debate - why the ****, eight months in, are we seeing exactly the same things happening as in March and April? The longer this goes on the harder it is going to be to maintain compliance to constantly shifting unclear rules set by people who simply aren’t trusted.
A 6 minute interview with Dr Mike Yeadon, former chief scientific advisor to Pfizer, regarding the realities of the false positive.
Finally got my bowel cancer screening pack today, four months behind schedule. Still, better late than never. A good friend of mine was diagnosed with Myeloma last year and is getting excellent treatment. He considers himself 'lucky' to have got it when he did. As another friend - who has recovered from brain cancer - said to me 'Once you're in the system, cancer treatment in the NHS is second to none. Getting diagnosed in time is the real problem'.