to think that we're fu&@ed - Dominic Raab is running the country!

[SlinkyDogg]

Can someone in no 10 order this now
www.amazon.co.uk/Geography-Dummies-Charles-Heatwole/dp/0764516221?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

How is this situation going from catastrophically bad to tremendously worse? It feels like we have slipped into another timeline, nothing feels right anymore.

The government are pretty much in survival mode. The path this far has been reactive and on the back foot. Maybe Raab may offer new proactive ideas? It will be interesting to see if the effect of a new labour leader too.

It'll be Dominic Cummings anyway - so no change.

Behind the scenes there's probably a lot of civil servants running things.

At the moment some in the government are trying to save their skin by blaming the civil servants for stuff. So, they will be running things but then they stand to get blamed. Not a sign of a steady stewardship.

Raab was the First Secretary which is another name for Deputy Prime Minister.

It makes little difference, the person who really runs the country is Sir Mark Sedwill

Oh give over being dramatic. Boris doesn't sit down with a pen and the back of an envelope every day and decide what he's going to do about lockdowns, extra hospital beds etc. He's advised by a host of experts and is the figurehead who provides leadership and delivers the message. Raab will be doing the same.

I survived ICU. I ended up on a ventilator (which I have no memory of) for 2 weeks. The last I remember was two doctors arguing whether to put an IV line into my neck. They couldn't get my bp above 60/40 despite giving me medication to raise my bp. Last thing I remember. I was then sedated and apparently my organs all started to fail. So in ICU he will have regular bloods being taken and if he has developed bacterial pneumonia, that will be treated with IV antibiotics.

There isn't a technical Deputy PM role in the UK. There was one during the coalition, to give Nick Clegg a senior role, but at the time it was commented on as being fairly unusual.

The PM is primus inter pares, meaning 'first among equals', meaning that by tradition the PM isn't more important than the rest of the Cabinet, though Blair was considered to have moved the PM role towards a more Presidential type role. There are traditionally more senior posts such as Chancellor, Home Sec and Foreign Sec, whilst DWP, Culture etc are less prestigious.

Behind the Government is the always present body of Civil Servants, providing impartial policy advice (by which I mean analysing the evidence and providing the PM or relevant Secretary of State, options with pros and cons of each). All those Civil Servants are still there providing advice, running things, and implementing the decisions made. Instead of, say, the PM, Chancellor, and the SoS for Health deciding which of the options presented to choose, it will be Raab, the Chancellor, and the SoS for Health. Raab and BJ are usually on a similar page, so it's unlikely there would be any serious change in direction.

Having just watched a link with an ICU doctor explaining the protocol for all patients in
ICU. He will be sedated and ventilated. Perhaps for only a short time if he responds well. Perhaps for two weeks or so in which he will either show signs of improvement or his symptoms will worsen until the point where he will pass.

The next few days will be critical.

The other thing to note is that you're under a number of specialities, nephrologists, cardiologists, hepatologists among other specialities. They consult daily I believe on your bloods/obs etc. You will also be under the care of a consultant ICU doctor who will coordinate the information flow between the specialities, but essentially direct your treatment. In ICU you have 1 to 1 nursing as you really are unwell.

I was getting worried when they started wheeling out Gove. How naive was that. To be fair though, the problem isn't which of them is running the show, but how long they have to claw back the debt that dealing with this virus will be racking up. Someone will have to foot the bill and it will be a hell of a bill.

Raab is awful. Said people who use food banks have “a cash flow problem”. Doesn’t support the human rights act. Called feminists “obnoxious bigots”. Thinks it’s too difficult to fire people and wants to make it easier.

We are not fucked. Government will continue.

It's incredibly stupid to talk as if one individual will be deciding on our future. It's a team effort, advised by experts.

@justanotherneighinparadise With every day that passes the chance of recovery goes down. After a week it drops to 30%. And recovery if it came would take a fair while. You are not on a ventilator unless you are very seriously ill.

Bloody hell, Balmytissues I hope you're ok now. That sounds really traumatic.

I do wonder that too, regarding paying back this money. The longer this goes on the higher the debt will be. I wonder if we will see immediate tax rises, or cuts to other services. Boris was meant to be investing on public spending.
It doesn’t help when employers like Liverpool and Arsenal football club want to furlough some of their players. Bloody cheek, millionaire football clubs claiming money off hard up tax payers.

@Intelinside57 I dont think it is stupid, people are panicking. You can explain why ultimately things will continue without using insults.

@Balmytissues thank you for sharing your experience. Sounds awful - Glad you got through that, and hope the PM does too.

@alloutoffucks

He isn't on a ventilator.

I'd imagine Boris will have 1 to 1 nursing and more as he should have, which is generally the ITU norm, however it's far from the norm at the moment. Often 1 ITU nurse, 2 with ITU experience, 2 nurses with no ITU experience and a HCA per 6 patients

Surely the PM is a spokesperson? It would be fairly naive to think of them as a sole headteacher making up their own rules & policies as they go along.

Speeches for the next few weeks will be delivered by a less charismatic individual, true. But they will surely be written by the same team?

Yes utterly fucked.

There is always one named individual who has his/her Finger on the Button i.e the nuclear launch codes. Not all of the Cabinet have this.
If Boris is hors de combat, I think it might be the Secretary of State for Defence. Whoever that is!
Rather dramatic.

how long they have to claw back the debt that dealing with this virus will be racking up. Someone will have to foot the bill and it will be a hell of a bill.
They can get £100bn from the HS2 budget for a start