To those who think it's over

[user1497207191]

The Weston Super Mare hospital has announced this morning that it's closed it's A&E due to an increase in the number of Covid patients the hospital is currently treating.

This highlights why "tourist" hotspots have been trying to persuade people from away not to visit them.

Also highlights that there are still plenty of Covid cases around and it's still spreading.

This is why the lockdown needs to carry on, with very slight relaxations over a long time period. Those who think it's all over and we can get back to normal are deluded.

Last year it was told to close permanently as it was under resourced, it was re-opened to help with covid patients. This from September last year
www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/local-news/weston-hospital-ae-closure-ccg-3357000

Hospitals regularly close their A&E departments because they're full and cases are diverted elsewhere, even before this. It happens so frequently it doesn't even make local news normally.

TheAdventuresoftheWishingChair

I double checked WHO. That's not correct. 80% are mild or unsymptomatic, 20% need hospital care.

For COVID-19, data to date suggest that 80% of infections are mild or asymptomatic, 15% are severe infection, requiring oxygen and 5% are critical infections, requiring ventilation.

source: www.who.int › docs › 20200306-sitrep-46-covid-19

But to some extent it doesn't matter what the percentages are on hospital care - and I suspect you'd agree - the pertinent number is how many need hospital care vs how much capacity our hospitals have. Once a hospital hits full capacity of Covid-19 patients, as WSM has, it affects everyone locally who develops an urgent medical condition or gets in an accident - people die from other preventable causes due to having to travel further for emergency care of other conditions.

Is the british public really less strong and sensible than any other nation

People have admitted going to Cheltenham Races despite having symptoms,

People have admitted going to Liverpool football match despite having symtpoms.

In the early days, people didn't wash their hands nor respect social distancing when they were advised to do so.

People were still flying to the Med on holiday the day before lockdown was announced despite lots of other Med countries being already in lockdown.

People still went into crowded pubs on that Friday night after pubs had been told to close that day.

I think that answers your question.

They've barely started getting back towards normal as it is

Most hospitals have been operating quite normally thoughout this crisis.

What's your proposal OP? Indefinite lockdown, with a huge reduction in the taxes which fund the NHS? Not to mention people being discouraged or unable to seek care for anything other than Covid?

One small, underrescourced hospital having to shut its A&E temporarily is hardly a reason to shut down an entire country of nearly 70 million.

Some places may still suffer a brief localised spike, but the overall trend is looking a lot more positive now than seemed likely a few weeks ago.

Weston's A&E dept is small....most major emergencies are usually sent to Bath as the dept in Weston can't cope with them anyway.

Hospitals regularly close their A&E departments because they're full and cases are diverted elsewhere, even before this.

Thats true, but without test, track, trace up and running, capacity in our local hospital is one of the few ways we have to see what the localised situation is for Covid-19. I'm going out for a bike ride with my kids shortly, but if I lived near WSM I wouldn't - because if one of us were hit by a car there is no local hospital for emergency treatment.

It was Eid yesterday and although I knew some folks who were always adamant they were going to see their parents that day, I don't think the Dominic Cummins debacle helped. Feel like a bit of a fool today seeing photos of family get-togethers on social media .

Can't stay in lockdown much longer. Call me deluded, I really dont care.

That doesn't mean I think we should go back to how it was before right this second, but I do think some things can move faster. Visiting family, more outside places to be open, schools etc.

Pubs, restaurants, hair dressers, big scale events etc should stay closed for now.

The economy needs to be saved/built as soon as possible or there will be no hospitals for anyone to attend. Or at least no NHS anyway.

@user1497207191 I'm afraid there would be no hospitals if we don't get the economy pumping again. Your view is very short sighted.

So do you check the status of the local A&E dept each time you leave the house Somerville? Most of the time you'd be blissfully unaware.

So do you check the status of the local A&E dept each time you leave the house Somerville?

With a child undergoing complex treatment for another disease, which is partly on hold due to the pandemic - causing her extra pain and distress - and involving some emergency admissions through A&E, funnily enough I do. Both of local hospital and her children's hospital.

And every few days, rather than before I leave the house. I also get regular updates from her Consultant's team on when the care she needs can resume, (still not on the horizon) and on local data, though this is always a few weeks out of date. Please don't be snide, you don't know everyone else situation.

Somerville

There are plenty of towns that have no hospitals let alone an A&E dept. The nearest one to where I live is 20-30 miles away (if the weather's bad the road floods so a detour is needed). Are you suggesting that everybody in our village and the surrounding villages and 3 small towns should not go out in case we need emergency help?

the pertinent number is how many need hospital care vs how much capacity our hospitals have

Yes absolutely. Thank you for coming back with some figures. I don't absolutely trust the WHO anymore unfortunately and I think Johan Giesecke in Sweden thinks asymptomatic cases are higher than the WHO claim but I'm not an expert so it's not like I can say differently! As you say, capacity in hospitals is what matters.

We've done well in the south west, I think it was inevitable that as lockdown was lifted we would suffer. We haven't been out much but over the last week had a few days at the beach as I was planning to hunker down for the next couple of weeks to see how things were moving.

It's a tiny, struggling hospital and its A and E is always closed at night anyway and patients diverted elsewhere.

They've barely started getting back towards normal as it is, shutting them down again will continue to kill and harm people without covid

Whilst hospitals are not operating normally yet, there have been many posts on here from nurses which indicate lots of hospitals have been coping for a long time with the virus in terms of capacity. I know someone who works in London in ITU and COVID cases have been dropping steadily for weeks. Nationally I think 20% of critical care beds are being used on virus patients. My local hospital (quite a bit one) has had very few COVID deaths in total. The whole county has had minimal cases.

I share your concern about not wanting hospitals to be overwhelmed in terms of it affecting other care but would still argue for localised shut downs when places get more cases. You can't shut down the whole country because one hospital has been swamped. As a nation, we are not seeing any spike in cases because of VE Day and many people starting back at work. We would be seeing signs of that by now if there was going to be a large-scale problem.

This is why the lockdown needs to carry on, with very slight relaxations over a long time period

How long can a Western democracy demand its citizens remain on house arrest? Three months? Three years? There may never be a vaccine.

I would say that people who believe that a country of nearly 70 million people can be put under lockdown indefinitely are the deluded ones.

I agree.

It's normal for A&Es to be overrun, it's so normal that.... it's not newsworthy.

At least people got their day out at the beach

Sod the poor folk in the town.

I think that it was madness to have lifted restrictions before test/track/trace was up and running properly

I can’t imagine track and trace will work now unless they make it law. Telling people to stay at home for 14 days when they have no symptoms isn’t going to wash following the Cummings controversy. People won’t follow rules that don’t also apply to the people making those rules.

It confuses me how people talk about the economy vs protecting our health. “The Economy” isn’t a bunch of fat cat business men in suits wanting us all to risk our health and get back to work prematurely so they can smoke big cigars and play golf. The economy is what funds the services we depend on, including healthcare and education.

We need to get people working and paying tax and spending money again, otherwise it won’t just be Weston Super Mare A&E closing down.

trappedsincesundaymorn I suspect you hadn't seen my reply to a PP, above yours. I have personal reasons for caring about hospital capacity for emergencies and other diseases which, thankfully, the whole country don't have to worry about. Though plenty of us do - and plenty more will suddenly and unexpectedly need hospital care for non-Covid reasons, so I do think it's a concern everyone should have.
This is why I think that the lockdown should be eased with reference to local outbreaks - and retightened when necessary. This needs to be the new normal, while we buy time for vaccine. With the aim that rather than becoming overwhelmed once more, hospitals instead can open up capacity to investigate and treat cancer, and the like. (Which is not happening at my local hospital yet.)