Women arrested for public order offence for filming empty outpatient department

[bathsh3ba]

www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/gloucester-news/woman-arrested-connection-video-filmed-4841311

I don't understand why it is a criminal offence for a member of the public to post a video of an empty outpatient department. It doesn't even tell you anything useful - the outpatient department being empty doesn't mean the wards aren't full. In fact it might even mean it's more likely the wards are full.

Granted I haven't seen the post so maybe she was inciting a riot or something, but on the face of it, this seems like a pretty heavy handed policing approach.

I wonder if certain MNers on this thread, worried about her civil liberties, would be upset if she had entered a school without permission instead, refused to leave, refused to wear a mask and then posted footage of their DC on social media? "There's no Covid in schools" could be her next campaign.

Is filming for private use also forbidden? I only ask because my DD was in hospital for an operation as a baby, and has been back for regular check-ups, and we always filmed/took photos of her visits to explain to her when she was older what had happened and why she has this scar etc etc. No-one ever challenged us but we were only filming ourselves and her, not nurses or staff or other people.

Our outpatient waiting room is empty... because 95per cent of appointments are taking place by phone or video call AND the 5 per cent that have to come to clinic have their appointments spaced so they will be the ONLY patient waiting when they arrive. Staff also have to avoid waiting room and main staircase when patients are in clinic.

@DianaT1969

I wonder if certain MNers on this thread, worried about her civil liberties, would be upset if she had entered a school without permission instead, refused to leave, refused to wear a mask and then posted footage of their DC on social media? "There's no Covid in schools" could be her next campaign.

Excellent point.

it's really sad that these idiots full of misguided self-importance who are treating it all as a game will end up causing more censorship and making it much harder for real journalists, be it paid or citizen

"Is filming for private use also forbidden?"

Seriously. You answered yourself. "No one challenged", because you were only filming yourself. Otherwise there will be no photos or videos of anyone in hospital.

@bathsh3ba

Is filming for private use also forbidden? I only ask because my DD was in hospital for an operation as a baby, and has been back for regular check-ups, and we always filmed/took photos of her visits to explain to her when she was older what had happened and why she has this scar etc etc. No-one ever challenged us but we were only filming ourselves and her, not nurses or staff or other people.

It has been taken on a case by case basis in many places. As a rule HCPs are supportive and accommodating to patients so you have been allowed to do this with discretion although bad behaviour such as from the woman arrested could cause stricter and more blanket policies which will make things harder in the future for the genuine. When I have been very unwell consultants have allowed me to record appointments so that I remember what they say, it would be awful if this sort of helpful use of tech got withdrawn because of immature "look at me" types.

[quote bathsh3ba]@Xerochrysum I'm not trying to spread fear. I was hoping others might have more context because, on the face of it, it sounded like censorship. If there was more to it than just filming and posting it, then fair enough, but the article did not make that clear.

I did state that the video doesn't prove or show anything and might even support the opposing viewpoint to hers. I also said I thought she had behaved stupidly and disingenuously. So I'm hardly supporting her viewpoint.[/quote]
As the woman was arrested and bailed the alleged offence is the subject of legal proceedings, therefore there are strict limits on what can be reported. The author of the article has given as much detail as they are able.

Someone's done the same thing in our local hospital - filming in outpatients on a Saturday. At night. Claiming the hospitals are empty, covid isn't real. What a tit.

Anyone who still thinks she has been hard done by, please just Google her. She hasn't been all that quiet about her "anti tyranny" stance.

The hospital she was filming is my local general hospital. It has its highest number of coronavirus cases since March. Whilst we have cases / 100000 people less than most of the UK the rate is rising quickly.

This is a hospital that was recording zero patients just a few weeks ago!

She is utterly bereft of common sense, empathy and or a sense of shame!

She's a shit stirrer. Serves her right.

Even in the week most OP depts are empty at the minute because all the consultations are being done by telephone/video to save unnecessary trips to hospital and too many people sitting together.
People who have to be seen face to face may wait on their own in another room so no one is visible even when the clinics are operating to capacity.

If it caused harassment, alarm or distress to others which I would suspect it would have done! then yes public order offence.

any time anything appears on twitter news about the pandemic you will have deniers come out calling others sheepies (!) or saying that the media are all liars & so is the NHS & insulting anybody who tries to explain
I bet her group are on there

The people make me feel physically sick.

@bathsh3ba

Is filming for private use also forbidden? I only ask because my DD was in hospital for an operation as a baby, and has been back for regular check-ups, and we always filmed/took photos of her visits to explain to her when she was older what had happened and why she has this scar etc etc. No-one ever challenged us but we were only filming ourselves and her, not nurses or staff or other people.

Case by case. I would be very supportive of a parent wanting to do this (and have had parents/individuals doing similar, for a variety of reasons.)

If a parent wanted to film the ward their kid was in to show them later, then the answer would be no, because it’s not fair on the other patients in-shot.

I imagine she's a big part of why Siobhan Baillie asked the question about reassurance re: vaccine and asked the PM (or whoever it was on the Hands Face Space podium at the time) to condemn the conspiracy theorists.

She was in the hospital, filming a closed, empty ward with no mask or PPE, spreading misinformation and discussing a topic she didn't understand. GRH has a hectic covid ward and is still a busy hospital, but to anyone that hasn't been in a hospital around Christmas during a pandemic, the lack of people loitering in the foyer may look as though it's barren.

To add to that, many specialists, consultants and any 'spare' staff have been redeployed either to the covid ward or to support understaffed areas of the hospital, many appointments have been cancelled until further notice in GRH

There are currently 200+ Covid patients at that hospital. It looks quiet because most elective appointments and surgery are being cancelled. Cheltenham is taking overflow medical patients to make space for Covid patients in Gloucester. The woman is a dangerous idiot with the paranoid nonsense she spouts.

@WitchesBritchesPumpkinPants

She's an absolute fucking disgrace

That policeman deserves a medal.

If she wouldn't be in the way I'd happily handcuff her to a pipe on a Covid ward as she thinks it's all a hoax. Stupid cow.

This.

Piers Corbyn too. Both without PPE as it's apparently all a hoax.

@SingANewSongChickenTikka

She was wandering round a hospital during a pandemic, massless, without consent or consideration of anyone’s confidentiality. She refused to leave when asked. Sounds like a public order offence to me, nothing to do with whatever myths she thought she was exposing.

This

Public order and she is a massive dickead.

I've had probably the worst shift ever today. Worse than March in my opinion.
In a very large west Midlands hospital.

If I had recorded the outpatients department it would have looked the same. As while we are still open many patients aren't turning up.
If I had recorded ED ( the hot area) the cold part looks quieter as thankfully people are thinking do I need a&e for this.
Or ITU it would have shown a different story.

Today has made me feel even more deflated than I already was and people like this woman fill me with such rage.

The link to one of the videos. Looks to me like she was filming a closed unit
Also her attitude when arrested. Definitely more to it than meets the eye

@Northernsoulgirl45

The link to one of the videos. Looks to me like she was filming a closed unit
Also her attitude when arrested. Definitely more to it than meets the eye

She's filming outpatient areas on the Sunday after Christmas when there are no clinics running thus no patients waiting, the shops in the reception area which are understandably closed on 27th December, and the ED waiting room which isn't indicative of how busy ED actually is (and patients are being encouraged to book an appointment via 111 to ensure not too many arrive at once to allow for social distancing).

Pre-covid my job involved me visiting ED in the hospital I work in pretty often, and the waiting room would often have only 4 or 5 patients in it, but once in the majors area, it was full of patients and there was plenty of activity. It's ridiculous that she says let's see what's going on in ED, yet at no point does she actually go into an ED treatment area, so doesn't see what's going on in there.

Absolutely @RichardMarxisinnocent
I remember taking dh into A and E. He was called straight though and I was left in what seemed like a virtually empty waiting room.
However later when I visited I saw the queue of people waiting to go into a triage area.
This was ore COVID but a semi empty waiting area hid a busy department.
Very dangerous misinformation.