Five years ago, the NHS shut down. Does anyone else remember?

[Kennobi]

Because I do.

In fact I have several quite specific memories from that time. The time when we were all supposed to "stay the fuck at home", "protect our NHS" and read that fucking kitty O'Meara poem.

I shall share those memories with you here. Please add any similar.

1. My good work friend, a young man in his twenties, realised his flatmate had covid and was struggling to breathe. He dialled 999 and the operator talked him through how to find and use the nearest defibrillator, at the co op shop, half a mile from his house. No, they weren't sending an ambulance and yes he was required to activate a defibrillator, on remote instruction, for a woman who wasn't his wife, or sister, or child and as far as the NHS was concerned that was it, job done, they wouldn't be sending medics to an address where there was covid in case they caught it.

1. My cousin, a man in his fifties, caught covid. My auntie repeatedly rang for emergency assistance as his lips were turning blue, was told to monitor him each time, he died.

1. My best friend caught it, again struggling to breathe, they asked her can you breathe? No. Are your lips blue? Yes. Are you able to watch a TV programme for five minutes (ie basically are you conscious)? Yes. Ok fine you can maybe see a doctor tomorrow. Saw a GP in a car park, wearing a mask, who confirmed she wasn't dead, and sent her on her way. She now has long covid and it doesn't look like she'll ever get her life back.

It seems to me that at the time we most needed our health system it was unavailable to us.

Do others have similar stories?

What people? When?

Do you mean that in a time of incredible uncertainty the decision was taken to stop non urgent care? Because that isn’t the same thing.

Edit: cross post with your examples.

Hospitals were utterly overwhelmed.

A mum of three died at her home. Paramedics came but couldnt help iirc, cant fully remember.

Made the news.

Made me fucking terrified and was a sign of things to come with the NHS. How many people die on trolleys or waiting for an ambulance? Imo all resources should be directed to the NHS and social care.

Also, now I'm all riled up, i remember when the official government advice was not to wear a mask and carry on going to work! They claimed that the NHS needed the masks and mask wearers were selfish!!!!

I remember piers Morgan kinda challenging that on gmb, that's the only time I've liked him

He was so funny tbh, just shouting at politicians every day 😭 but it was needed imo

I’d be interested to hear from hospital staff about how they were not overwhelmed.

It was a horrible time for people ill and it pissed me off that people moaned about not being able to go to the pub or t their kids to school. Those lot had it easy if that was their biggest worry tbh.

Have you thought about getting some therapy OP as you seem a bit unbalanced about this.

No. I mean that what was previously classed as urgent (difficulty breathing and blue lips) was re-classified as non-urgent and requiring no medical treatment.

They left us to die.

What did you expect them to do?

It absolutely didn't. June 2020, I'd been wfh for 3 months, and my leg was swelling, eventually I called the gp and had a video call. They called me straight in. Measured, chatted and sent me directly to the hospital who were expecting me. Straight into ct scans and bloods, dvt diagnosed, 3 days in hospital, couldn't have worked better.

Far more efficient than outside the covid period, and I've spent a fair bit of time in hospitals.

Couldn't fault them.

This !! I worked in ITU and we were definitely overwhelmed…have you been sniffing something this evening 🤔

It was so funny when piers Morgan commandeered Lorraine's show and hosted it with her, to quiz the doctors 😭😭

And I remember doctor hillary repeating government advice to not wear a mask disgusting. I think he's an obe now.

They left us to die.

FFS.

Treat sick people.

I think people should accept that some people were traumatised by the Covid pandemic - it absolutely met the criteria of an event that could cause trauma, and so some people were (and remain) traumatised.

I think I'm one of them really. I went to work in the NHS every day (with a signed letter from my boss in the glove compartment of my car), when we didn't know a lot about Covid, I remember thinking I might take it back to my family and make them very ill.

I’m so sorry 💐

I have friends who (NHS) worked throughout. With all the risks that involved.

Now people are saying lockdown was unnecessary as only the elderly and ill would have died (because they don't matter).

To this day I can't bloody stand denise welch. I will never like her.

The people who died from other illnesses, covid, etc should have survived. But many lives were saved by the lock down.

Unless you worked in the NHS at the time you have no idea how overwhelmed they were.

We didn't have sufficient PPE . Those of us that were considered higher risk were quilted into working. Many of us had our own families that were ECV and were terrified .

I think i remember a journalist saying

The members of bojo's cabinet said at the end of 2019, re govt finances - 'as long as there's not a pandemic, we'll be fine'

I agree staff were overwhelmed and have nothing but respect and sympathy for what they went through. But as a patient, they were wonderful and it didn't crash for me.

5 years ago to the day I had an operation, so no, the NHS did not shut down as you insist.

One of my relatives works in onco, her clinic remained operational throughout. The staff had to rejig their schedules to minimise contact between patients but it was made so and was very much business as usual.

There were areas that were shut down or cut to skeleton staff only, of course there were, but your assertions are plain wrong. Sorry.

I would like to hear of people wanting to discuss not the NHS but how children's services (social services) closed down, with families with disabled children abandoned for months, years even. Now THAT is a scandal.

Yes. A different scandal.

But the NHS did close in large part. Look at the waiting lists we have now for non emergency. Look at what happened at the time to emergency treatment. They crapped themselves and left us to it.

Yes. I had a duodenal haemorrhage, didn’t know that was what it was at the time of course, came out the blue. GP saw me , tested my heart, bp etc then called an ambulance. I was admitted , isolated until clear Covid test, then moved to a ward, diagnosed and transfusions started. A camera was put down my throat too but not sure if that was before or between transfusions I was a bit out of it.
Couldn’t fault the care or their safety precautions, it was all really well organised. That would have been just before the first lockdown ended.
The government got so much wrong but the NHS staff of GP, paramedics on the ambulance, nurses, doctors and the HCA s were brilliant. And thank you blood donors too.

Well, this would be news to my DD, who was an ICU nurse at that time.

Good for her.

How many patients from nursing homes did she care for?