Current Affairs Coronavirus Thread - Serious stuff !!!

[Bruce Wayne]

Time will tell if this is any better at getting supplies in.

 

[zzr45]

It does seem a funny time. The government should make its own PPE, but not its own app. Hopefully the links I shared above will help provide a bit of insight into the matter as I dread to think how the media are bungling the topic.

Cummings has become their George Soros. He has his fingers in every pie. He and someone involved in a different data modelling activity attended a SAGE meeting. That means if you use the app Dominic Cummings gets instant updates as to what you’re doing and he can pop up on your phone and taunt you at will.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Cummings has become their George Soros. He has his fingers in every pie. He and someone involved in a different data modelling activity attended a SAGE meeting. That means if you use the app Dominic Cummings gets instant updates as to what you’re doing and he can pop up on your phone and taunt you at will.

To an extent I can empathise, as with Cambridge Analytica, the scene has been set for mistrust of the government to do the right thing. This was compounded during the election when they pretended to be fact checkers, and so on. Trust is vital for this pandemic to be tackled effectively, and I'm not sure that trust is very high in governments generally right now. The political classes have to accept their considerable role in that.

Of course, that perhaps doesn't explain the strange duality that will see people clap and laud the NHS on Thursday and on Friday bemoan the over-reach of an app created by the NHS, and with NHS people on an ethics oversight committee looking after the app (now you could argue that with care.data et al, the NHS aren't trusted custodians of our medical data, but that's perhaps another discussion)

 

[NilSatisOptimum]

Amazing turn of events in this thread as the lads that usually demand we all do something for the common good at the expense of our own personal good are now coming across as massive hypocrites in refusing to use an app to help mitigate the spread of a virus across wider society. Fantastic.

There are many things that should have been done before we even got to this app. In which the Government with it's guiding principles and just incompetents have directly caused unnecessary death. Be my guest down load the app. I won't and can't, unless someone want me get contract and phone then I'm all ears.

I bet you have a lot more information available on social media than you would ever provide through this app.

Undoubtedly, unless being dark for the last 20 years... However, pretty confident my digital footprint is far fainter and harder to spot than most.

 

[arminisgod]

Time will tell if this is any better at getting supplies in.

you wouldn't believe just how hard it is becoming to supply PPE to the NHS. We don't want paying for the stuff, all we want is for the NHS to pay the 20% wages to top the Furlough up for the staff to come in and make it.

It's a bit of a joke. The Gov approached us we said no problem we will turn our manufacturing over. It then gets passed to the NHS to strike the deal... and they are so hard work.

 

[zzr45]

There are many things that should have been done before we even got to this app. In which the Government with it's guiding principles and just incompetents have directly caused unnecessary death.

But we’ve been told that we need to be more like South Korea, so when we use similar tactics they seem to be slated. It’s a strange dichotomy.

 

[NilSatisOptimum]

you wouldn't believe just how hard it is becoming to supply PPE to the NHS. We don't want paying for the stuff, all we want is for the NHS to pay the 20% wages to top the Furlough up for the staff to come in and make it.

It's a bit of a joke. The Gov approached us we said no problem we will turn our manufacturing over. It then gets passed to the NHS to strike the deal... and they are so hard work.

Find that hard believe about NHS Wales, in fact here we have little shortages, and have been supplying private care companies so they can continue to operate safely. If it's NHS England it won't surprise me.

 

[Harryflashman]

To an extent I can empathise, as with Cambridge Analytica, the scene has been set for mistrust of the government to do the right thing. This was compounded during the election when they pretended to be fact checkers, and so on. Trust is vital for this pandemic to be tackled effectively, and I'm not sure that trust is very high in governments generally right now. The political classes have to accept their considerable role in that.

Of course, that perhaps doesn't explain the strange duality that will see people clap and laud the NHS on Thursday and on Friday bemoan the over-reach of an app created by the NHS, and with NHS people on an ethics oversight committee looking after the app (now you could argue that with care.data et al, the NHS aren't trusted custodians of our medical data, but that's perhaps another discussion)

it comes down again doesn’t it to why some of us bore on about the importance of honesty at times like this . The more dishonest the government appear , especially considering as you say the Cambridge analytical and Cummings history , then that distrust is stoked .

I’d certainly imagine I’ll be installing but that doesn’t necessarily mean I don’t have a degree of understanding of those who view the government with cynicism .

 

[Bruce Wayne]

you wouldn't believe just how hard it is becoming to supply PPE to the NHS. We don't want paying for the stuff, all we want is for the NHS to pay the 20% wages to top the Furlough up for the staff to come in and make it.

It's a bit of a joke. The Gov approached us we said no problem we will turn our manufacturing over. It then gets passed to the NHS to strike the deal... and they are so hard work.

In what sense? I know traditionally becoming an approved supplier was a ballache, but presumed that process had been hugely relaxed. I mean that would be logical given the circumstances.

 

[Harryflashman]

Did that volunteer army ever get mobilised to help the NHS?

I don’t know if this has been answered so apologies if I'm going over old ground . A couple of mates and I all volunteered and none of us were ‘deployed ‘ to perform any tasks . Appreciate that’s anecdotal but that’s our situation.

 

[Walken]

I don’t know if this has been answered so apologies if I'm going over old ground . A couple of mates and I all volunteered and none of us were ‘deployed ‘ to perform any tasks . Appreciate that’s anecdotal but that’s our situation.

Same, and about a week after they stopped taking applicants as the scheme was full. Honestly don't know if more came of it elsewhere.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

it comes down again doesn’t it to why some of us bore on about the importance of honesty at times like this . The more dishonest the government appear , especially considering as you say the Cambridge analytical and Cummings history , then that distrust is stoked .

I’d certainly imagine I’ll be installing but that doesn’t necessarily mean I don’t have a degree of understanding of those who view the government with cynicism .

It is a shame. 3-4 years ago I was doing a lot of work around health data and trying to establish the trusted governance framework that would be ideal for this kind of app. There was always a lot of approving voices but never any action to follow up. It's very frustrating, not least as a more preventative service will rely hugely on remote monitoring of conditions, via the kind of apps that we're discussing here, but there's no real framework for integrating that into existing systems, or how these things can all interoperate.

The digital influx during the pandemic has been impressive on one hand, but it's been a case of throwing every tool they can think of at the wall. My wife's team have had 6 or 7 new tools to use, and while the underlying functionality behind them all is great, none of them work together, and none of them are integrated into patient records, so it's creating a lot of work moving data hither and tither. It's a bit disheartening, yet perhaps illustrative, that a guy I worked with in BIS (as was), and who didn't even know what Google Analytics was, is now a senior programme manager at NHS Digital.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I don’t know if this has been answered so apologies if I'm going over old ground . A couple of mates and I all volunteered and none of us were ‘deployed ‘ to perform any tasks . Appreciate that’s anecdotal but that’s our situation.

Same, and about a week after they stopped taking applicants as the scheme was full. Honestly don't know if more came of it elsewhere.

No deployment here either.

 

[Harryflashman]

No deployment here either.

Same, and about a week after they stopped taking applicants as the scheme was full. Honestly don't know if more came of it elsewhere.

I’m not sure I’ve ever volunteered for anything in my life before, I only really did it for the vague promise of vicariously bathing in the applause and the potential of a medal . Love a medal me

 

[NilSatisOptimum]

But we’ve been told that we need to be more like South Korea, so when we use similar tactics they seem to be slated. It’s a strange dichotomy.

Would have to look how South Korea collates and manages data to make an informed decision on that. Also culturally very different to the UK.
Seems ironic constantly demanded to think for ourselves and when we do some throw a head wobble.