Thread 3 shielding chat

[AuntieSocia1]

I hope this unimaginative thread title doesn't put off all the amazing posters from this group!

As we transition into this new phase things could get interesting....

Waves to lurkers

I haven’t had an email, but have had a text from my council telling me who to contact should I need CEV support

I wonder if there will be a letter in the mat soon?

@ginglebellsginglebells

Here are the previous shielding letters:

www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/publication/guidance-and-updates-for-gps-at-risk-patients/

I hope you can get a definitive answer from your GP or consultant soon. Shielding sucks, so I’ll cross my fingers for your escape!

Was just coming over to see if anyone’d had time to share the email yet: I’d to feed the cats...

It’s not exactly very helpful, is it?

@Outnumberedwoman - I’m so sorry pet. It’s still lovely Stormont is back [& playing remarkably nicely, really] but if they could just do a better job...

Hello again all. Nice to see some familiar faces, even though we're back in a place no-one wants.

Hmm. I haven't had an email, text or letter. Does that mean I've been taken off the list?

Ignore me - it's just turned up. Watched pot and all that

I got one too. I'm still off though as I'm only 3 weeks post surgery

Thank you, @iVampire

I’ve just checked my emails and I’ve got the one quoted above too, so at least that gives me a definitive answer about work.

How’s everyone feeling?

Fed up tbh

It was perfectly clear there would be some sort of return to shielding, and at least this is the lite version (can go out to exercise, perhaps sometimes see a friend outdoors. In practical terms I’m pretty sure I’ll be OK.

I can even push to the very back of my mind the worries that are inherent with having DC in school

But still flat and fed up.

And getting a bit intolerant of those who are just having a moan about restrictions which are far lighter for them (I don’t mean those with real issues )

I’m also getting increasingly pissed off with people who say they’re shielding when they are not CEV

Don’t know why I’m so far in to the negatives today. Early night and fingers crossed for a better tomorrow!

@iVampire there’s someone who lives in the internet who I can normally “if you want so much to be ill I am aware you must have Other Issues & Will Be Compassionate”, but the ABSOLUTE shite over shielding has me at a point where it’s a good thing there’s no risk of my seeing them. I’m desperately missing seeing people & I’d love to just do some made up version of things, but that’s not an option when you’ve actually to shield.

People who still don’t sodding know, somehow, that there is an actual difference between the ECV shielding group & “everyone aged over 70” (though obviously some of the people in the former group may be in the latter group too) need to get in the bin. And frankly I’m on for putting said bins into the sea after that, but I don’t think it’d be environmentally sound.

Name changed but on here 😏
Dh has his email.

No email here ... my conviction has not changed. Worrying if I need it for anything. Who sends them? Gp’s?

Mine was sent from dhsc.clinically.extremely.vulnerable@notifications.service.gov.uk
My original shielding letter back in April was from my GP practice though. Worth giving your surgery a call tomorrow..

I haven't had any texts today, nor anything in the post.

Oh for fucks sake

No wonder the general public don’t always understand the difference between CEV (shield) and CV, as Dr Rosemary Leonard has just got it horribly wrong on the BBC

There have always been the two categories CV and CEV and the latter has never had any age categories!!

Emails here too.

Thanks. Still no email. Will try to get hold of my Gp surgery, inbeteeen work today. Not always the easiest thing to do!

Good luck getting hold of your GP.

Twitter seems to have a LOT of unhappy & (understandably!) stressed & worried people who’ve not had letters but hadn’t been told they’re no longer on the list trying to figure out what to do - the person Being Cross at Asthma UK seemed to have rather misunderstood how things work, though. They even seemed to think that it had somehow been made harder to get into the shielding group & this was unfair... Hopefully you’ll get it all sorted out soon.

I haven’t had my email/letter yet either. Still definitely on the shielded list. Luckily I’m wfh anyway so don’t necessarily need it. They left it really late to send them giving no time for people who need it to chase for it.

Hi all, old timer here from the original thread, back again with a name change. Been reading along throughout, but been back teaching since September. Nice to see all those familiar names back again, but not nice that we are here iyswim.

My email arrived last night, along with a text message from the HT at my school. I think she is going to try and persuade me to still go in with more safety measures put in place. Still on half term so there’s a couple of days left before a decision needs to be made. Phone call later today. I know I should stay at home - it’s not safe, no SD, 2 windows that open about 5cm, last term I was coughed on, right in the face, and sneezed on to the point of needing a proper wipe down 🤢 which resulted in 2 courses of antibiotics and steroids for me, but they’re only KS1 so they can’t help it. On the other hand, the guilt at them having to replace me at such short notice is huge. I know cover staff will have to pick up the load and they’re already stretched so thinly. It’s not a nice decision.

@Stressisanoption that sounds rough. But it's really not on your head. It's the bad luck of a pandemic virus that you just happen to be vulnerable to plus some shit decision-making by our useless government that means you can't go into work just now.

I hope your HT doesn't pressure you. It's really not fair. There's not a lot to be done to make teaching safe for the shielded group. If schools weren't so badly funded, getting cover wouldn't be such a big deal.

@Stressisanoption, please don't allow your Head to persuade you to go in. Yes, it's crap for school, but they have a duty of care towards YOU which goes far beyond a minor inconvenience of cover.

The email helps, because it's evidence that you should work from home if able. When you talk to your Head, go through all the things you can do from home- picking up planning/resourcing for subject areas or for the cover staff, managing home learning for anyone isolating, doing video calls with children in school, so you can hear them read or do some 1:1 tuition...

The teacher guilt is huge, and I'm definitely feeling it myself, but it's totally unfair of anyone in leadership to try and persuade you to go to work when we've been so strongly advised not to.

They should have had a draft of the letter ready to go, but I bet they wrote it from scratch after they did everything else, resulting in the current mess

@Stressisanoption, please try to remember the MN Thingy about just saying no to people. Which I’m now slightly mixing up with refusing drugs & something I saw on a documentary about Grange Hill & Barbara Bush. (I didn’t get any sleep last night. I think it’s catching up with me.) If you were to actually sing your refusal to come in at your Head she might be more amenable to you returning to shielding? (Seriously though, good luck. And also boo your HT for trying to manipulate you into massively putting yourself at risk.)

Got the email yesterday and also a text alert saying I’d been exposed to Covid (must have been in A and E).

Teachers - if you go in your organisation’s insurance probably won’t be valid as you are disobeying government guidelines. Sorry you are in this impossible situation but please stay safe.

I’m glad the email isn’t signed “Matt” like the last letter #smallmercies

Guys, thank you so so much for your wise words. Just had the phone call and I pulled my big girl pants on and just said no. Referred her to the CEV email, which I’d forwarded, and made lots of suggestions for what I could do (thanks ginglebells). Didn’t help that I was told another 3 shielding staff members are still going in ‘for their mental health’ - cue guilt ramping up - but then I just reminded myself that if I were to catch it at school, I’d have to explain to my family why I chose to ignore medical advice and put the needs of my class above them. A much harder conversation than the one I was having. Apparently, as it’s just ‘advice’, staff can make their own decision and sign their rights away on their personal risk assessment. No thank you.
So now I have to wait for a call tomorrow to confirm that it’s ok with our MAT in terms of having enough to do at home to earn my salary. There is loads I can do at home so they’ll be being very unfair if they think differently.
It’s all a bit pants but I will NOT stress myself out and make myself ill again like last time. Nope. I’ve taken up TaiChi on YouTube. It’s very calming, even if I do look like a nutter wafting around in my sitting room : )