If shielding means you get full pay without having to work in some jobs surely some people will push their doctor to say they need to shield

[Treesofwood]

And their GP is going to feel they have to agree due to the repercussions should that person be unlucky?
It is a huge and unhelpful job to push onto GPs
But also it can be manipulated.
Of course the blanket shielding from March wasn't great either. Not sure what the answer is.

Shielding is stil, being done by the list of specified conditions.

Do you really think anyone would push for a cancer diagnosis, or something else of that magnitude?

And yes, there is a catch all 'other' conditions at the bottom of the list, but that's for consultants use, within separate published guidelines.

If you don't need consultant input into your care, you are very, very unlikely to be vulnerable enough to shield.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19

It is a huge and unhelpful job to push onto GPs

It might be if GPs were the ones making the decision, but they aren't.

Roseandrose There are a huge number of conditions of varying severity that people could be asked to shield under. Asthma, type 2 diabetes, obesity. I don't think people will be pretending they've got cancer.

Saskia, the suggestion is that GPs will be involved. Not guidance yet but often these things that are leaked come to pass.

inews.co.uk/news/obesity-coronavirus-shielding-local-lockdown-711311

I'd imagine that there would be as many people told they could shield who'd say they'd rather not as people not eligible for shielding who'd push to be included though, as I assume shielding would mean also not seeing friends and family indoors (possibly unless they were also shielding?)

So would it sort of balance out, is what I'm thinking?

It was my hospital consultant’s team that wrote to me to ask me to shield. I don’t even know if my GP knew.

Consultants should make the decision and any government funding should be very strict as to why the employee can’t do any form of work for their employer from home.

@Summerflowers101

It was my hospital consultant’s team that wrote to me to ask me to shield. I don’t even know if my GP knew.

Same for me.

I'm not registered with a specific GP, just the surgery (not to be registered with them after tomorrow) and the surgery knew nothing about it in the beginning.

Ah OP it must be a miserable existence to always think the worst of people. Unless it’s an approach you would take, takes one to know one and all that.

It would be cheaper for the government to have invested in the NHS and track and trace then this wouldn’t have been quite as necessary.

What? that's what you sit and worry about that people will push to be shielded who don't need to be .
Come on
Your one of those aren't you thinking those furloughed are benefit cheats and those that not wearing a mask because they are exempt you think they don't want to .
How about the shielded need to be shielded or they may get seriously ill . I don't think any random person can push a GP to be shielded. You either have a life threatening condition or you don't .

Yes there were people I knew who very much pushed the definition of shielding in the first lockdown. That is human nature.

My dh has a heart condition. He has been unable to work for the past 18 months . His works sick pay ran out , then SSP ran out. He went on ESA ( employment support allowance . Got called into a medical by DWP, passed that and was put in support group esa ( which means little chance of returning to work due to illness.)
He has just got the lowest rate pip for daily living allowance but nothing for mobility.
He was told to shield until paused for all in the summer.
If told to shield indefinitely ( as thousands of other s could be told to )
How will those ill enough not to have a job , get paid to remain at home ?
More likely ( and this is the cynic in me ) People will be told to shield if they can , get friends /family to shop for them and to just take responsibility for yourself.

There will be people who take advantage but hopefully it will be the minority. Unfortunately we had 2 people who continued to refuse to come in to work and we had to involve unions (who supported they should be working !).

What a twisted and devious thought of mind you have to actually consider this. Isn't there a saying that those with such suspicious opinions of others are just projections of that individual's own behaviour? You obviously have been fortunate enough not to have been in the position to shield as you know nothing about it.

Victoriabun I think it is awful that people in the past were not as protected financially and actually on a society level too. But because its covid I think it will be different. If you are told to shield as a teacher I can't see you losing your job. I might be wrong. And there will be people who will push to shield.
I am sure there will be people who refuse to shield too. But I am not sure it will balance out workforce wise. And might leave some sectors short. Just musing really.
Making this an individual decision will be harder I think for people to draw the line. It can get very serious in a very small number of people without life threatening conditions.
Also, I have not heard how the children of those asked to shield will access a decent education.

Mrshoho there are people who did not find shielding a bad thing. True they were not living alone and had a stressful job that couldn't be done from home, and a lovely home and garden. Shielding was a very different experience for different people.

Just to point out that not everyone who was shielding was paid full pay or even Furloughed some were only paid SSP!

My husband was one of those that had to shield. He had a phone call from his consultant in March bluntly tell him that if he caught this virus he wouldn't survive. He got letters from the gov spelling it out to him. To look at him noone would think he was at risk. He's self employed and was working 6 days a week. We've got a nice home and a garden but it was still a nightmare worrying about his health and our finances. It's easy to make judgements towards people but you really have no idea. He's working again now, the kids are in school and I'm working in a school too. He's already said he won't be shielding again if he's advised to as his greatest risk is at home.

I imagine multiple HCPs will need to be involved as GPs don't always know and I can see why the Royal College of GPs would be concerned with this reporting. It shows a lack of understanding of how many parts of the system work.

However, as pp said, not all jobs give full pay in this situation. Many get either furlough or sick pay.

Also, there were sick notes where people could have weeks, months without losing their job before COVID, a few of which were people taking the piss, just as there are those who work even when they shouldn't. I really don't think COVID is going to be all that different, possibly just more public.

[quote Treesofwood]Roseandrose There are a huge number of conditions of varying severity that people could be asked to shield under. Asthma, type 2 diabetes, obesity. I don't think people will be pretending they've got cancer.

Saskia, the suggestion is that GPs will be involved. Not guidance yet but often these things that are leaked come to pass.

inews.co.uk/news/obesity-coronavirus-shielding-local-lockdown-711311[/quote]
My best friends son has moderate to severe asthma and a host of other allergies.
He usually ends up in hospital some winters with his asthma. Anyway she tried to keep him off school and requested for a shielding letter and the consultant wouldn’t allow it. Instead his inhalers have been changed and he will be closely monitored with regular checks.
Also I know some one with type 2 diabetes, but she has been told to control her diabetes with diet better and will be monitored and isn’t being allowed to shield either.
I really do think shielded people are ones with severe health problems and conditions that they can not do anything at all about. It’s not easy convincing your GP to allow you to shield the list of diseases and conditions is very tight and limited.

I imagine the pay will be SSP for most people.

You AGAIN!

Jesus wept, is there no limit to your constant stirring?!

@Treesofwood Are you in the shielding category yourself?

Are there any jobs where you can still receive full pay for doing no work? I know that happened temporarily over lockdown but I've not heard of it still going.

Certainly it was never the case for teachers, they were WFH. The teaching guidance has mandated for even clinically extremely vulnerable teachers to go into school since late June.

On the idea people will fiddle the system- o don't see how. I have acute asthma and a high BMI but I don't even hit the criteria.

Perhaps apply your mind a little more and you may realise this is a classic government tactic of divide and conquer ie "leak" that fat people will be off work, enjoying themselves in their lovely houses and gardens at full pay (bonus points for including the magic words "at the taxpayers expense) wind them up and watch them go. Which, like all their other look sideways not up tactics will be hugely successful, especially with people like you, as you so neatly demonstrate.

You've really taken the ball and run with it. Well done! Sadly for you it's kind of backfired and as you can see, people just think you're a bit of a tit.