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Covid

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Original poster

Concerned over NHS gagging

73 replies

ACertainSupermarket · 09/04/2020 12:47

Not in healthcare (obs) but how do you feel about the news that NHS staff are basically being gagged, banned from talking to the media and even having their social media accounts monitored?
There is more info available from health services in other countries than our own in UK news.

OP posts:

Holdingmybreath · 09/04/2020 18:06

Probably the department's look empty because no shots can include patients.
But largely I agree with you,most of us at the sharp end just want to get through it giving the best care in trying circumstances and 'dancing' in full ppe is not a thing.
I don't want the clapping,I am not a hero.I am mostly doing what I was trained to do and learning to do more but that's normal if accelerated in and ever changing health service.
I just at want to put my head down,get through(and it will be rubbish the other end catching up with cancelled ops etc(me included).I want to just get the most of my days off.
Others are faring worse,isolated on their own,loosing jobs,living in abusive circumstances,frightened due to vunerabilities,mental and physical,the list goes on.
So if you just keep yourselves safe,keep an eye out for you neighbours incase they need help.
Everyone is helping,all of you working from home,(keeping the economy going)isolating,social distancing etc.
If we have anymore clapping it should be for all of us to raise spirits.Actually a good song sung at 8p might be good.
Any suggestions?

Holdingmybreath · 09/04/2020 18:07

Sorry,forgot to say West Midlands so busy but not behind capacity.

Holdingmybreath · 09/04/2020 18:08

Beyond!

Holdingmybreath · 09/04/2020 18:09

Sorry,was that's long emotional rant?

EricaNernie · 09/04/2020 18:15

i am annoyed by that article.
we are never allowed to simply Talk to the press,
it is just Looking for a story,
Gagging?
i dont think so.
and do we actually want to read a story from one Angry NHS Worker,
I am getting increasingly fed up by the criticism of everything covid 19 related in the Guardian, I wouldnt read any other paper but this is just further Bad News

missyB1 · 09/04/2020 18:22

God yeah the dancing around in full PPE holding onto each other, I mean wtf??! I don’t understand what that is about. I’m probably an old fashioned fuddy duddy (trained in the 80s), but it looks unprofessional.

Leighhalfpennysthigh · 09/04/2020 18:39

Probably the department's look empty because no shots can include patients

I realised that as soon as I wrote it! Sorry.

HappyHammy · 09/04/2020 18:49

What dancing around video. I havent seen anything like that.

lljkk · 09/04/2020 18:56

This is what it is always like in the nhs, not just under covid 19

that

NurseJaques · 09/04/2020 19:06

@Holdingmybreath I agree with you, just want to get through it!

Having to dig deep but know so many people with more to worry about and worse situations so still counting my blessings.

from one front liner to another

malificent7 · 09/04/2020 21:14

I think whilste blowing is a vital part of QA...from the inside. If an organisation has nothing to hide then no need to gag. If an organisation paid for by the tax payer is faulty...everyone needs to know.

malificent7 · 09/04/2020 21:20

I am an NHS student. A group of us were chatting on social media ( private conversation) about how we were distressed about getting no ppe or even information talks about Covid 19 and how scared we were. We soon got told off.

HappyHammy · 09/04/2020 21:36

Theres no such thing as a private conversation on social media. Maybe its better to discuss concerns wwith tutors, risk management or unions.

Balhammom · 09/04/2020 22:11

I cannot think of a large company where staff are allowed to freely talk to the media. Why should the nhs be different?

There are a whole lot of reasons for this. You can be an excellent doctor, but crap at clearly communicating health messages. You may be prone to waffling or you might just not be the expert on the particular issue.

There is nothing malign about it.

BirdieFriendReturns · 09/04/2020 22:13

NHS workers are posting on Mumsnet saying they have no PPE, limited ICU training etc. It’s not like the NHS can track down an anonymous poster on here.

justasking111 · 09/04/2020 22:28

Our health board are openly asking any businesses that have PPE gear to please contact them, nothing to hide there which is reassuring and worrying at the same time.

My GPs surgery is so quiet, phones silent most of the time, patients are being very considerate at the moment knowing that things are different.

Leighhalfpennysthigh · 09/04/2020 22:28

I fully believe that individual trusts and teams may still not have PPE. However extrapolating that to the entire NHS is wrong. The media are known for hyping things up and it is not wise to give ammunition.

When we join the NHS and when we join our professional bodies we do so knowing that we are bound by codes of confidentiality.

I own a company. All of my staff sign a confidentiality agreement. It's normal and reasonable. To break it means getting the sack.

Leighhalfpennysthigh · 09/04/2020 22:30

My GPs surgery is so quiet, phones silent most of the time, patients are being very considerate at the moment knowing that things are different

And this is what worries me. Patients with genuine health concerns and problems should still be able to access care and not feel guilty for doing so. We are storing up problems for the future.

Pookah83 · 09/04/2020 22:39

Doctors and nurses are dying. If they aren't being provided adequate protection they should be allowed to publicly complain. Are people really saying they expect them to work in those conditions and to shut up about it?

Balhammom · 09/04/2020 22:44

@pookah

Message I am getting from friends is that ppe is now generally reaching the right people. In a system as big and complex as the nhs there will clearly be exceptions. However, there are proper ways to escalate them through trust management (who have no reason to ignore these types of concerns). Now that the issue is on the political radar, I don’t think individual doctors speaking out helps to identify and target those without ppe.

mindproject · 09/04/2020 22:56

The NHS must have a lot to hide. As long as NHS staff aren't talking about individual patients they should be free to discuss everything else. I find it sinister.

BirdieFriendReturns · 09/04/2020 23:01

Friend of mine is an AHP being made to work on a Covid ward, normally works in an eye clinic. She’s going to hand in her notice over it. She has never wanted to be a nurse or work on a ward and now she is expected to act as an HCA with no training.

One of her colleagues resigned on her first shift on a ward after a patient with Covid urinated on her and it went in her eyes...

Leighhalfpennysthigh · 10/04/2020 00:12

Many people are dying pookah not just HCP. Their deaths are no more tragic than anyone else's. It is disingenuous to assume that their deaths are due to perceived lack of equipment and not exposure in the community.

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