Not sure there's anything much to say about America, as this is exposing both the barminess of Trump even more, but also the craziness of their health system. I've been very critical of the government for many years due to Brexit, but right now, I really can't be bothered. I'm not sure they could do too much to be honest. The financial measures, for instance, are in themselves not too bad, but their implementation will be down to the civil service, and given the struggles with Universal Credit already, it seems almost inevitable that problems will emerge, payments will be delayed, people treated wrongly, and so on.
Some of that will be down to mistakes, some will be down to unprecedented pressure (I haven't heard of any volunteer drive to help with things like that in the way the NHS is pulling in people from every which way). Are they doing it deliberately? No, I don't think so for one minute. Could it be better? Quite probably.
Ditto the NHS, as the operational decisions are largely down to them. It wasn't Hancock that ordered my missus to come back to work when she wasn't quite tip top, just as it wasn't Hancock that will place huge pressure on her and other nurses to return to areas they chose to leave for various reasons and haven't practiced for years and years.
This is a horrible time, and one in which we not only need to be kind to one another, but do our best to maintain our mental wellbeing. It's part of my job, so I've been reading numerous studies this week about the terrible strain overconsumption of news places on our mental health during crises, regardless of whether it's 9/11 or Ebola. Being so consumed by the news, and generally so angry about things we have no control over, can't be good for us, and it's a big reason why I've stayed off GOT a lot recently. It's great when it's a light hearted distraction from life, but when people spend every minute trawling over death stats or how many ventilators we have or tests have been done, it's just incredibly depressing at a time when pressure and stress is already very high. None of what's discussed in here changes how people behave, as the guidelines for regular Joes has stayed the same since late January.
Are we helping?
