Why are we Forgetting Save the NHS / Flatten the Curve

[Flaxmeadow]

We, and also other countries, locked down to prevent the collapse of the health service. To prevent millions of people catching the virus in a shore space of time. To stop services being overwhelmed, not just by those dying but by those many more who would also require medical assistance

Science and government told us back in the summer that if we hadn't had lockdown, then in the UK half a million people would already have died. This is a conservative estimate and is agreed on by most scientist, and these kind of numbers agreed globally too.

This is why we have lockdowns. To flatten the curve. So that we still have a functioning NHS, functioning social services and police.

Are people forgetting all this now and if so why?

All the research showed that people get tired relatively quickly of restrictions and lockdowns (understandably) and that's why the original lockdown was not brought in until later than many thought it should be. It was then put in place as numbers began to rise quickly to protect the NHS. I know some of the SAGE advisors and it was discussed at the beginning that people would struggle to maintain restrictions for a long time based on the comparable evidence they had.

I think people also have very different viewpoints and have had the whole time. The longer the restrictions are in place, the more people will feel unable to keep to them. Some of this is down to understandable issues, like the way these rules directly affect the more vulnerable in society the most. People also just get generally worn down and tired from it. No one can say when we will be able to put something in place to make it more liveable with, probably a combination of measures including the vaccine, but we do know it will take a while. People struggle with blanket rules because they're frustrating and in many ways, they don't make sense, though they're based on sense (eg. rule of 6 does prevent people mixing in large numbers indoors, which does help prevent spread, but the number 6 itself isn't some specific magic number.) I still agree with trying to slow spread and not overwhelm the NHS, though I don't agree with all restrictions or how they've been phrased. I think if people want to change things (for example the lack of partner at scans etc), they do need to be raising issues with MPs and others, which some people are.

What hasn't helped is Johnson's reliance on an outsourced Test and Trace that's underperforming (whilst he refuses to answer Qs on this in the Commons), his blame-game against schools (testing too many pupils), students (those yoofs not sticking to rules), NHS workers (not using PPE properly and making 'false' claims that it hadn't been provided*), alongside an insistence on telling everyone it would be 'over by Christmas' instead of clearly explaining we were in this long haul for a few years (mentioned but undermined by the insistence of over by Christmas in his desire to quote War Time Politicians).

*Just highlighting that this was Johnson's claim and I don't agree with it or find it acceptable for him to claim these things in any way.

Because the NHS only needs saving due to Austerity/ massive cuts.

Saving the NHS from COVID is a big distraction from the irreparable damage our government has done.

i wonder if lockdown nationwide would work better than these national ones
how do the people under national lock down feel about it?
singled out?

@Flaxmeadow

Back in March the top bod in the NHS said urgent and vital life saving treatments would still go ahead. It's in the link I posted (article from 17th of March I think). Infact later the government had to remind people about this because people were not attending important appointments or A&E So what has happened to change that? What are consultants doing ATM? Have none of them been working since March? I can't see how that can be true

I work in the NHS. I can absolutely categorically tell you that the NHS has NOT been functioning since March! Non covid Medical staff, including consultants, have been either redeployed (at the height of things) or have been doing various admin tasks, on line training etc and doing their best to manage caseloads via phonecalls and video calls. This is not the fault of the staff, and not what they want at all, but what goevrnement decreed should happen. A huge amount of routine (but very necessary) care has simply been stopped . Things are slowly starting up again now, but the back log is massive. In my department we now have an 18 month waiting list for a particular treatment (was about a 2-3 month wait before) and meanwhile a lot of poeple on the waiting list have deteriorated to the point of presenting in crisis. My own GP surgery is STILL not offering face to face appointments. I was very unwell in July (not Covid) and it took 10 days before I could even speak to a GP by phone. Still not been able to get a face to face appointment and although I am imoroved I have now an ongoing health issue 3 months later and yet stil l can not access the appropriate medical care. So many patients have had appointments, treatments, surgery,therapy etc cancelled it is mind boggling and I can assure the health implications of it all will be felt for many, many years to come.

Have you seen the news about the minks? They had mentioned interspecies infection before, but just a few, but this quite proves it! This virus is a serious master of survival (well... ot is not even alive! The irony)
We have kept our cats indoors, but they scaped for a little while a few times. I am not letting them in the garden anymore, just in case.
I think we are going to weather it out till the vaccine or a seriously good antiviral treatment arrive.
We are in the long run, and we will get tired, fed up, bored, angry... and all sorts throughout. We need strong leaders that pick up the mood and get us back on track and calm.

bs ! the NHS shut down for people with existing conditions! the NHS sent the elderly back to care homes to spread covid and die . I look after many people who have had their cancer treatments cancelled , people denied life saving operations. 100s of people have dies this year from lack of NHS care due to shutting down for covid so bollocks to the NHS !

The lockdowns and all of the restrictions should have one aim: to ensure that we don’t have a massive surge of infections in the high risk groups that would overwhelm the NHS. The virus is virtually harmless to most people but it can be deadly to a significant minority. That significant minority, if allowed to be infected all at once, would overwhelm the health service. Given this, it would have made most sense for the government to be honest with people, explain that this virus is here to stay, and invite those who are very at risk to continue shielding with financial support. But they won’t do that because those over the age of 70 and therefore very vulnerable to the virus make up a significant proportion of the conservative’s voter base. It’s the same reason Boris won’t touch the triple lock. And this approach is probably going to cause us massive economic damage. We should have followed Sweden’s approach. The only reason we didn’t is because it wasn’t popular with voters at the time.

I think nhs care has been variable. My service didn’t stop any treatments apart from 4 elective patients, who agreed to postpone treatment. It’s awful some people haven’t been able to access services. Staff were moved to other areas, not making excuses, there’s a huge clinical staff problem in many trusts. You can see why people decide not to work somewhere so under funded, with chronic staff shortages, unrealistic expectations alongside an incompetent Tory government.

Well the NHS didn’t need saving - it shut up shop and has killed thousands through neglect. I’m bloody angry about it. The service is still horrifically substandard.

Most of us have decided the curve can fuck itself and that we need to use common sense and focus on the higher risks we now face. Feel free to stick a rainbow in your window though

People are sick of being told they are ‘selfish’ or ‘killing vulnerable people’ when for the most part they have stuck to the (inconsistent, confusing) rules as best they can

THIS!!!