They can shove their hand clapping and pot banging Thursdays up their arses for me, now.

[TheLadyAnneNeville]

I’m disgusted with Mr Hancock and our Govt.’s stance on there being no “likely” direct link to COVID19 deaths and lack of PPE.

They’re clearly shitting themselves at the prospect of having NOT shifted themselves soon and reacted by trying to get the equipment necessary to protect those in the frontline. As a retired nurse I’m f***g furious on my colleagues behalf.

Typical Tory “run away!” reaction.

AIBU to think that when this is over, political heads should roll? That under no circumstances should the “heroes” of this debacle, end up sitting in the Lords?

I’ve just quit. We’ve been told if we wear gloves, a thin apron and a mask (which is disposable, but we have to wear for ideally weeks to make stocks last) and wash our hands ...... we will be guaranteed not to catch covid 19 from covid 19 positive patients. This is whilst doing intimate care.
Beyond disgusted.

@Bargebill19, I’m so sorry. I can only imagine how hard that must have been. This Govt. will never admit responsibility. That’s why they’re distancing so soon. They know more people on the frontline will die.

I wish you well. I’m sorry

@TheLadyAnneNeville he has to say that. If they ever admitted people were dying because of lack of PPE, imagine the cost in £££ and votes.

If there's an enquiry and it comes out that he outright lied about it then it'll cost even more £££

"I’ve just quit. We’ve been told if we wear gloves, a thin apron and a mask (which is disposable, but we have to wear for ideally weeks to make stocks last) and wash our hands ...... we will be guaranteed not to catch covid 19 from covid 19 positive patients. This is whilst doing intimate care.
Beyond disgusted."

That's terrible so sorry you have been treated this way.

The thing is, a bit of honesty and pragmatism would go a long way. For example if the PPE is a Protective apron or something and a nurse only has one for a whole shift, they'd actually do better to tell staff to wear normal shirts or t-shirts and change them frequently. That would actually be doing a better service to people than having them reusing the same stuff giving a false sense of security. If they don't have enough masks, they could take over factory production lines to make them. That's true war time spirit. Not banging pans. Simple masks are just a bit of cloth on two bits of elastic. All the resources and minds they have and you just don't see any dynamism at all. That's what gets me.

I am a nurse, I work on the ‘’front line’’, I don’t see it as a front line, it’s just work, it’s what we have to do, couldn’t give a f@uk about the clapping, shove it as far up where the sun doesn’t shine!!!!, all I and my colleagues are interested in is have we got enough PPE, the answer is usually no we haven’t, realistically one of us, a group of about 50 in our team, will die soon, we all expect this although don’t voice it, we just joke about it, our manager/matron tells us we don’t need PPE(we’re Anaesthetic assistants), involved in some of the most dangerous procedures ie aerosol inducing procedures), we’re constantly arguing for more/ better PPE, but told it’s not available, some colleagues have ordered stuff off eBay, which sounds crazy as the NHS is lauded as the best in world, but at the moment it feels like a third world service, as for myself, I’m 60, near retirement but resigned to the fact I probably won’t make it

I watched a film in an Italian hospital where Corona started there. It was on Newsnight. The PPE the staff have there is so superior to ours. Thick full length sturdy apron/gowns that properly cover them. Proper fitting masks that cover nearly the whole face and then a visor made of thick glass on top. Plus gloves etc No wonder our NHS staff are unhappy.

@bargebill19. Well done for quitting. Your life has the same value as the people you are trying to save. No one should be a martyr for someone else's fuck up. It's like a soldier being sent into battle without armour. You're not a soldier at that point, you're cannon fodder. This whole pots and pans thing is peer pressuring of nurses and doctors into sacrificing themselves. Fuck that, I wouldn't expect any doctor or nurse to knowingly risk their own lives for me, nor a teacher, nor a delivery driver.

And the pots and pans thing - I wasn’t joining in with that because it made me cringe. I didn’t know why. But it’s clearer to me now.

@Zacjosh... please, just do what you can to protect yourself. I agree with everything you’ve said. My heart goes out to you all. I’m so glad I’m retired.

@Zacjosh it's awful, I am so sorry you are going through this. Please take care of yourself it's utterly disgusting they are saying you don't need it.

YANBU

TBH the cynic in me feel that the whole heroes,angels ,clap for the NHS etc it's underhanded propaganda to emotionally blackmail as much as possible staff to stay. They know the conditions are unacceptable, they know staff are afraid,panicked and full of anxiety. They know that the ones that don't have to be there will more than likely quit. But heroes don't quit,do they?

@PrincessConsueIaBananaHammock... Agree. Successive governments have done this. It’d take more than £5k to entice me into nursing, now.

The point is they are trying to distance themselves and failing. The mood in the room is very ugly at the minute. You just have to look at social media to see the anger rising in people. Hardly anyone seems to be backing Boris or the government, a few troll types but very few. normal rational humans can find now excuse for this. Remember the government are trying to blame the general public for our failure to socially distance and stay at home when in fact most people I know had done so the week before, taking children out of school, and working from home, and trying to prepare for being locked down hence the panic buying which thankfully wasn't needed but we all did need to make sure we have 2-3 weeks supply.

Omg! You are wonderful. I don’t know how to tag people. So I hope you all read this. I was prepare to get slated as not doing my bit.
But thank you.
We all feel like cannon fodder and that our lives don’t matter one iota. We might be on minimum wage, that doesn’t mean we are expendable. Yet management always think there will be someone queuing up to replace us if we leave or die.

Where are the RCN, RCM, Unison and all the other Professional bodies representing other HCWs in all of this? Continuing to take fees from members but conspicuous by their absence. The BMA has at least spoken publicly about this ( for all the good it's done)

@Bargebill19. You press @ then start to type the posters’ name. Under the message box, the poster should pop up. Click on that to bring any previous poster into your reply. And I know of which you speak! I’m not suggesting management don’t care at all but what matters to them, even in pre-COVID times, is numbers of hands “on”. They’re constantly juggling staff/beds/equipment. I think in this crisis they, like you, are just expected to “get on with it”. But in an unprecedented way.

@Bargebill19, you do your level best to carry on but if you cannot, the shame belongs not on you but on the Govt. Staffing, trained and otherwise was at a critical low long before this.

Ahhh, @Bargebill19 I see you are the person who has quit. Do not berate yourself. I would have been forced to do the same with an adult vulnerable disabled son and a husband who has diabetes. Even with full PPE is have been shielding them, I think.

I am not clappimg for the government. I didn’t vote for them. I am clapping for The NhS and other key workers who are much appreciated. It wasn't a government initiative. They are just joining in and to be fair they can also appreciate all that is being done even if they are not always getting their response to this madness right.

Just leaving this on here

m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=s6_MfQ9FloE

A disgrace especially with the large viral load present in the hospitals. Heartbreaking to see all these health workers who died in the papers yesterday , some of them who had retired and come back to help out. My husband is a general surgeon and is finding the virus is presenting in other ways and not just the cough, he’s told me he won’t to any procedure unless he has PPE . I am just wondering when the PPE will run out 😞

@Scarlettpixie. Not about clapping. Read the full thread.

@Minty2020. Sorry to hear that. You and your family must be distraught each time your husband leaves for work. Although I know, you just “get on with it”.

I sat in bed and felt deep deep sadness looking at the photos and reading the little captions about each person who had died in the NHS. And we won’t really know the full brunt of this for some time to come. Those (in all sectors: police/fire/retail/ambulance/transport/community care/hospital “front line” care) who needed protection and didn’t get it.

OP wholeheartedly agree with you! This is deflecting the attention of the masses away from the real issues and accountabilities! Sad to say but you have to admire the propaganda machine that’s proving to work yet again.