Current Affairs Coronavirus Thread - Serious stuff !!!

[ramacca]

I don't know the history of exchanges between the Labour MP and Hancock, but I suspect if any of us worked with someone who was moaning and complaining every day for the past three months our patience would wear thin. It's possible that Ramacca has posted some happy thoughts at some point and I've missed them, but it seems to be a daily feed of this being crap, that being rubbish.

If you don't like what I post then don't read it, don't comment on it. Simple really. You make that judgement.

 

[Barnfred 55]

People just don’t like us questioning the government. They jump trough hoops to try and defend them in which ever way they can.

I was warned on another forum for apparently making everything political and I see the same happening on here.

Well that can't be true because I haven't got you on ignore yet.

Maybe I'm getting more tolerant

 

[Jebus_lives]

As an aside, it seems common on Twitter for there to be 90 second clips of interviews with various people (ministers usually) on various topics, after which people usually get very animated. I was a judge on a startup competition yesterday, where we had 3 minutes to question the startups before making our decision. You could argue I'm not as cutting as Piers Morgan, but you gain practically no insight whatsoever in such a short space of time, and to all intents and purposes, the affair was largely pointless in terms of truly understanding the situation, and the way that business was tackling it.

These media vignettes are just the same. They're designer to elicit an emotional response based upon your existing predilection. The following is a good example. At no point do we learn why such a decision was made, what considerations went into it, and we leave the vignette really none the wiser about the situation, yet it allows that person to claim that the government murdered lots of old folk and go about their day safe in the knowledge that they're righteous and other people are horrid blighters.

Without wanting to comment on what was done, why and when...the NHS will always be prioritised over Care Homes.

What prioritised means in the scheme of Covid-19 response is another discussion entirely.

But, you triage based upon what you think is needed where and, and I'm not saying this is right before someone jumps on, Trusts will shout louder so get more.

 

[Tea_drinker]

They're not designed to receive an answer, lets be honest.

Gove is not designed to give an answer, let's be honest.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

This was what the DoPH and PHE suggested would be the methodology early in January. I had assumed that the thinking had changed to a degree, but until quote recently the thought was possibly 3 instances of lockdown.

The fact that the Cambridge paper is suggesting 18 months worth of on-off lockdowns is also noticeable, and perhaps a timely reminder to people that this won't be a quick fix.

 

[Jebus_lives]

The fact that the Cambridge paper is suggesting 18 months worth of on-off lockdowns is also noticeable, and perhaps a timely reminder to people that this won't be a quick fix.

Again, exactly the same time frame as suggested by the Directors of Public Health.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Gove is not designed to give an answer, let's be honest.

Gove seems a horrible individual, but that doesn't make the media channels people seem to fawn over any more effective in actually informing people.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

As an apparent positive, with the debacle around Universal Credit, I feared the worst with regards to the financial help afforded to people during this, yet by and large it seems to have been pulled off pretty smoothly. Credit where credit is due. Not sure if that was the DWP, Cabinet Office, Treasury or a combination of the above, but it seems to have worked well.

 

[Jebus_lives]

The mass roll out of telemedicine is perhaps a good example. It's a technology that's been dragging its feet in the NHS for years, and yet since the pandemic hit, it's been rolled out en masse in super fast time, such that around 90% of primary care consultations are now done remotely, thus enabling the NHS to maintain the kind of service we're not seeing in schools at the moment. It's a considerable success. It's largely got bugger all to do with the government, and none of the Tory bashers has mentioned it at all. Tribalism is fine and dandy, but at least accept that you're looking for any opportunity to say how crap the government are and you'd no more praise them than you would the RS for winning the league.

And, the NHS goes through constant change and is cannibalised by new organisations. For example PCTs were broken up after the introduction of the H&SC Act and replaced with a number of CCGs and CSUs, the CSUs will largely provide the IT support for the Commissioners but they will likely have some of their own infrastructure but have grafted bits of the old systems into it...then as has happened, CSUs merge then cannibalise the defunct system and the same with the CCG infrastructure. They just bolt it on and there isn't enough finance in the system to completely overhaul it.

Now, the CCGs are becoming Integrated Care systems or STPs the cycle will happen again.

 

[JimmyJeffers]

As an apparent positive, with the debacle around Universal Credit, I feared the worst with regards to the financial help afforded to people during this, yet by and large it seems to have been pulled off pretty smoothly. Credit where credit is due. Not sure if that was the DWP, Cabinet Office, Treasury or a combination of the above, but it seems to have worked well.

DWP and HMRC have been outstanding from the off by the way. Staff were quickly migrated into priority departments and DWP swiftly stopped deductions from benefits. I have a feeling this is largely due to them having well practiced crisis management protocol with Brexit preparations. Not sure if anyone that works for them can corroborate that?

 

[Jebus_lives]

The fact that the Cambridge paper is suggesting 18 months worth of on-off lockdowns is also noticeable, and perhaps a timely reminder to people that this won't be a quick fix.

PHE talking about 3 waves. 3 instances of lockdown: easing, then further lockdown. This seems to be a consideration for the management of a phased approach.

That's from a month ago, so sometime before then the thought had moved from rolling on/off lockdown/ease to 3 distinct blocks.

 

[peteblue]

Too right people get emotional and want answers. And people who work in care homes have a right to answers as do their relatives about what has happened..

I think you once said that you worked in a care home, what is it that you do ?....

 

[Charro]

DWP and HMRC have been outstanding from the off by the way. Staff were quickly migrated into priority departments and DWP swiftly stopped deductions from benefits. I have a feeling this is largely due to them having well practiced crisis management protocol with Brexit preparations. Not sure if anyone that works for them can corroborate that?

Used to work for them, now in another department.

I wouldn’t say it was a well run department that deals well with crisis tbh. I’d lay the credit across the whole civil service in prioritising staff and moving them across different departments to deal with the level of work needed.

Our department has only just started working from home this week, so we’ve had a lot of people allocated to the DWP and HMRC

You’re constantly changing your role in this environment to adapt to the circumstances.

I’m working on cases at the moment that I’ve never worked on because of the situation. We have one day of training, loads of emails sent our way and it’s learning the job as you go along.

It’ll be the same for staff that have moved across to DWP and HMRC

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I think you once said that you worked in a care home, what is it that you do ?....

Keeps up morale

 

[COYBL25]

Keeps up morale

Welfare and Entertainments organiser.