AIBU to expect the 111 service to be a bit more thorough than this?

[JackMummy12]

My husband came home yesterday not feeling great, this morning has woke up with worse symptoms including scratchy throat and v high temperature.

Obviously, ring the NHS 111 service to see what the advice is.

They ask the 2 following Qs to determine whether they think it’s Coronavirus:

Have you traveled this year?

Have you come into contact with anyone with a confirmed case?

My husband is a tradesman, he works on new build sites all around our region. He comes into contact with people multiple times a day that he knows nothing about, wont speak to again and wouldn’t be able to contact if he wanted to.

How the hell is this good enough to say he doesn’t have the virus, especially considering what’s going on in Italy at the moment. It’s a completely naive approach like believing all Italians have travelled This year or not been following guidelines 🙄 it’s ridiculous.

Yesterday when people were saying the goverment weren’t taking it seriously enough I thought people were being over the top, and that they know what’s best but now I’ve lost complete trust in them.

Whilst I can’t diagnose my husband, I was hoping we’d get given some advice on protecting our family, whether we should keeP our daughter off school or how I can protect my 3 month old baby, but because we answered no to both questions we were told he did not need to self isolate and could go about doing what he felt well enough to do.

AIBU or is this ridiculous way to diagnose going to see us like Italy? I am completely unable to see what measures the government is taking for this to be the delay stage, surely delay would be saying to people to self isolate if they think they match the symptoms?

You are not being unreasonable. The lady in Sunderland who died from Coronavirus had not been abroad or in contact with a known case.
The number of people with the virus is much higher than they are saying. As 80 % of people get a mild form of the illness they can recover at home. I expect as it spreads we will have more people with breathing problems at home. How the breathing problems will be treated or admitted to hospital in these circumstances is worrying.

I for one have no idea where all 373 cases are - initially they were telling us, but I’ve not seen anything since.

How do you know if you’ve stood next to someone say in the supermarket? This is how it was able to take hold in Italy.

Are we basically just letting it happen and if you need hospital treatment then they’re expecting you to know. Whilst at the same time ‘seek early treatment if you have underlying conditions’

Our region is getting nearly 19500 calls a day by frightened people. What exactly would you like to have happened OP?

I have what seems to be an ordinary cold but I am due to spend several hours in a training session with 12 or so others. If I go in I will be treated like a pariah. If I stay at home, I am a malingerer.

Re OP’s husband maybe treat it like you would an ordinary virus. Keep him away from your baby but send DD to school as normal.

111 are advised by public health. They are the messengers - they facilitate what public health wants to happen. They have absolutely no control over who goes for testing, they can only refer them on if they meet the criteria set by public health. Ultimately though they are an advice line. If you really believe he has coronavirus then he can always make the decision to self isolate himself.

I don’t get all this panic about CV and ‘self-isolating’. Surely if someone has a very sore throat and a high temperature and there is a small baby and a school child in the house you ‘self-isolate’ i.e. stay in bed, preferably in the spare bedroom so you don’t pass the virus (whatever it is) to your wife. If someone has a temperature above 38º you stay away from people whether it is CV or any other virus and you don’t send a child to school, never mind the school being concerned about attendance figures.

Don’t know really. Just a bit more common sense that it’s not just people who have travelled or know every single person they are in contact with I suppose??

Whether I risk my Daughter going to school and passing it on to someone’s family who aren’t as lucky as ours if it is worse case scenario but I know how important school is and don’t want to make that decision if it isn’t.

I don’t think I could live with it being spread to someone who isn’t able to recover and us being the source. No I’m not doing it for attention, or the time of work that will cost my family thousands of pounds. I just want to try and protect my family and my community.

It's the same in Switzerland. They're only testing healthcare staff now or those at risk of actually dying from it (presumably v old and/or with underlying issues).

Oh, and we're on the border to Italy, which is where most of our cases came from initially.

So what is it you think they should do?

Dutchoma - the problem, as I understand it, is in the 5+ days before the symptoms start, the person is infected and carrying on as normal spreading it to lots of other people, including high risk people who will then need hospital treatment or die. Then they get a temperature and mild cough and say "oh, it's not that bad" but they might have killed old Edith who they sat next to on the bus.

I don't see the issue. You're concerned he might be a risk to others so self isolate, job done.

Don’t know really. Just a bit more common sense

But what does that look like and why can't you just apply it yourself?

Thank you @SouthernComforts for understanding where I’m coming from.

Telephone triage of patients is currently directed by health protection guidance which is currently travel to x y z areas or confirmed contact with CV. 111 and GP surgeries are working within national guidelines. If and when we move to a delay phase or have a rise in cases here which were not linked to travel guidance may change.

is in the 5+ days before the symptoms start, the person is infected and carrying on as normal spreading it to lots of other people, including high risk people who will then need hospital treatment or die

There was an article on the BBC saying that they're now not so sure that you pass it on before you show symptoms and that you are likely to develop symptoms within 5 days of contact. If so, I wonder if 7 days self-isolation should be more widely practiced - it's more palatable to both individuals and employers. They had said it was likely to be introduced in a week or so but maybe they should introduce it now, and say you extend to 14 if you are not feeling quite right at the end of 7.

The downside is that they think people can be carriers without symptoms!

@JackMummy12
I understand too.

I feel exact the same as the OP. I too have a dry cough (and I dont really get coughs) and had a temperature on and off for days. I haven’t been out of the country but have been in hospital. I’m carrying on as normal but fairly sure I’ve got A virus. If it’s THE virus, how do I know?????

OP. Colds and regular flu will still be going around while corona virus is too. Take the steps you would normally do if someone had the flu. Wash hands, husband to dispose of use tissues and not leave them around the house, disinfect the house surfaces he would touch (including door handles etc), have your husband stay in bed away from the children etc - follow what would normally be done if someone in the house is sick so as not to pass it on. I’d certainly be in touch with you GP if after taking paracetamol, the temperature doesn’t go down.

I was reading yesterday about someone who worked for the NHS who was only allowed to self-isolate with a doctor's note so she ended up going to the GP, which you're really not supposed to do, because the stupid HR were insisting on this note.
I think many employers will be more flexible on the need for a certificate, but it's going to be a factor putting people off self-isolating if they haven't been tested.

My question isn’t about my husband, it’s about surely more measures should be taken so this isn’t being spread

It is being spread anyway.

The measures being taken are trying to ensure the increasing infection rate is spread over weeks/months not all at the same time, to ease the load on the health service.

So say your husband decides to self isolate - will you, any kids, any other relatives/friends? He may have infected people (especially those living in close quarters) during the 5 day incubation period - and beyond since he has symptoms.

But to put it in perspective, it is probably just a cold anyhow - there is a lot of it about...

"If they have x amount of money to spend on this, I'd rather they spent it on treatment for the few % that need it, rather than testing everyone with a cold."

The government can allocate an amount to it. There's no fixed amount.
They wouldn't have to test everyone with a cold. If you have the main symptom of a cold, which is a runny nose, you're unlikely to have it so that excludes most normal cold sufferers.
I think it's silly to ONLY test people who've just come back from a hotspot when it's clearly spreading here.

Crazy - that's useful, thankyou. I keep imagining all sorts of things "wrong" with me and I'm not normally like that at all. However, with parents in their mid/late 80s I am really anxious about passing anything on to them. I'll bear your info in mind!

does he have underlying health issues op
how old is he?

@SouthernComfort But how can you self isolate if you have no symptoms? My point is that you should self isolate if you do have symptoms, whether that is A virus or THE virus. Flu can kill old Ethel as much as CV, so you stay away from her when you have a sore throat or a streaming cold.