London hospital declaring state of disaster...

[Triptraptrip]

We are in tier 4, not far from London. I don’t want to send my DD to her primary school, I don’t want to attend my hospital appointment for an MRI next week, and my son’s hearing test at a clinic. I want to stay at home and keep everyone safe.

I am in Essex tier 4

Why are you scared ?

I'm sitting here pondering whether DS should attend his orthodontist appointment on Monday

I'm the same. I'm taking my daughter out of school for at least the next fortnight (for some insane reason school is going back even though we're at over 700 cases per 100k).

I've told my boyfriend not to come over for the next fortnight and I'm scared to go out of my house.

Are your primary schools opening? Many London boroughs are not.

Stay at home then 🤷🏻‍♀️

Why are you scared? If you are low risk, there’s nothing to be too concerned about. The hospital situation is pretty concerning but most young, healthy people won’t need it. My whole family have had it. 2x 33 year old, 3 year old & 9 month old. I was just scared about getting it & it was mild for all of us. You’d never have known the 3 year old had it.

The new strain of virus isn’t more deadly. Just more contagious. So more elderly & vulnerable are catching it & beefing hospital. If you are all low risk & stay away from Grandparents etc. .. Or, if you are that worried, just stay home. You might get might get fined but could you lie to the school & say isolating cos close contact for 10 days?!

Completely get that,OP. Our primary is shut next week, which is such a massive relief to me as I’ve been worrying so much. We’re all reasonably healthy in our household, but it’s the uncertainty and unnecessary risk taking that concerns us as you don’t know the effects of COVID til you’ve got it. Hoping that if everyone is sensible things can start to get closer to normal in the coming months

"Why are you worried if you're healthy" people are really starting to fuck me off.

Healthy people can get appendecitis, people with no underlying conditions can have car accidents. And then they will need hospital care.

There will be no space in hospitals for these things, never mind the 1000s of covid patients if the government don't act fast and close schools.

Young healthy people are dying every day from covid. The numbers may not be massive but the people questioning why you are scared are daft. Do what you feel you should to keep your family safe. Hopefully vaccines will make life safer for us all soon but right now be safe.

People cried out to have schools going back, they have throw the young and working population to the wolves!

Stay home. I hope more will vote with their feet, if they can.

Go to the appointments while you still can- the backlog will be awful over the next year!

I’m in London, tier 4.

We are staying home.

The clinic appointment is for my son’s hearing, and I think it’s fine to delay that one. The MRI is for an unidentified lump above my knee. They say it’s unlikely to be anything worrying. It’s the risk of visiting a hospital/clinic - and I don’t think my appointments are urgent. My MRI came through very quickly, 2 weeks after my consultation. School - I’m going to see how things develop over the next few days. I worry that, it’s difficult to judge the true picture over Xmas. I worry that we are so close to London and border areas where schools have been closed. I worry that I have vulnerable DM who I am on call for. I’m 48 with a 1 year old, and 9 year old. I need to stay well for them!

I totally understand why you'd be worried. I don't have any advice unfortunately but I sympathise!

OP, if you're under 50 you're statistically more likely to to die from injury or accident than COVID - do you avoid driving also?

You need to look at actual data, not the tabloids etc. I know it's hard not to get drawn in by media hype. These summaries from Cambridge university are extremely useful:

wintoncentre.maths.cam.ac.uk/coronavirus/how-have-covid-19-fatalities-compared-other-causes-death/

@Iremembertheelderlykoreanlady

"Why are you worried if you're healthy" people are really starting to fuck me off.

Healthy people can get appendecitis, people with no underlying conditions can have car accidents. And then they will need hospital care.

There will be no space in hospitals for these things, never mind the 1000s of covid patients if the government don't act fast and close schools.

This.

Please keep any medical appointments. Backlogs will bad after this. Just wear a surgical mask and sanitise/wash hands. Precautions will be in place to keep you safe as possible.

Our rates in the north were over 700 at one point in October/November. No one was closing our schools or mass testing all schools. Some struggled with infections and staffing but they still remained open even when they should of closed. Government guidance was keep open!.

If you have children in school make sure you don’t see anyone vulnerable and keep all contacts as low as possible. I’d be sending them unless lots of bubbles pop and it seems to be ripping through the school or they are CEV. Weirdly while some schools were bad in the north others in similar areas seemed barely affected.

[quote Grobagsforever]OP, if you're under 50 you're statistically more likely to to die from injury or accident than COVID - do you avoid driving also?

You need to look at actual data, not the tabloids etc. I know it's hard not to get drawn in by media hype. These summaries from Cambridge university are extremely useful:

wintoncentre.maths.cam.ac.uk/coronavirus/how-have-covid-19-fatalities-compared-other-causes-death/[/quote]
But if you do need an hospital admittance, either from Covid (remember, a lot more people are admitted than die) or for that statistically more likely car accident - or if any member of your extended family needs urgent medical attention for some reason - what then?
The reality is that hospital in NE London are not places you can rely on right now, and that's scary, knowing that the care you need might not be available. My local hospital is rationing oxygen. That doesn't sound like a hospital I want to be in.

I agree the 'why are you scared if you are young and healthy' brigade are absolute idiots. They can never seem to see past the end of their nose.

OP I think you should have your MRI. It is probably nothing but best to know, yes? Your gp certainly thinks so.

Hospitals are not necessarily a place you'd want to linger but they are set up with "clean" areas for things like MRIs and ct scans, and the non COVID areas are much quieter than usual.

Op, I went for a mammogram at our local hospital in London in December. It was extremely well organised. I was more than 2m away from any other person at all times apart from the clinician who, ahem, positioned me in the machine. She was super efficient and wearing PPE. Sanitiser everywhere. I sanitised on arrival and exit even though I touched nothing. I don’t believe there was anything other than a minimal risk for an outpatient appointment at this hospital, particularly when compared to the alternative of not diagnosing a significant disease or illness.

@QueenieButcher

You're right but OP's kids are also statistically more likely to have an accident at home requiring hospital admission than they are at school.

@BeccaBean @ChasingRainbows19 @Porcupineintherough thank you. I do think I’ll keep my MRI. I will rearrange my sons, and see how things develop over next few days for school. Doctors are seeing more patients in their 20/30s and it’s the way the virus is mutating and new strains. I’m can’t put into words how grateful I am to the NHS, and I want to keep my family, community safe - while not adding any additional burden. I don’t know if the government have got it right regarding schools where we are.

I’m going to all of my midwife appointments and I’m not scared. I would be putting myself and baby at more risk by not going to them and free birthing at home alone.