Should we be concerned about increasing hospital admissions?

[GrannyBloomers]

With cases, admissions and deaths rising quite sharply again, I am wondering if people are concerned. I read that current numbers hopsitalised in Scotland with covid are the highest that they have been.

I appreciate that there are other worrying news stories burying this and that people are sick and tired of covid but it seems to me, that we could be heading towards a significant increase in not just cases but impact on the NHS again.

The whole point of restrictions was to keep the NHS functioning and rightly or wrongly I am concerned we could be about to find it even more crippled than it has been. From personal experience there is a little NHS care available - I know people with serious chronic conditions who cannot be care for by the GP and whose hospital clinics have closed due to lack of staff.

If restrictions were brought in to manage the impact of covid on the NHS, we might be ramping towards the fabled summer wave where restrictions are once again required.

I've always been struck throughout, and especially recently, how all medical settings have many more protections in place than everywhere else. Almost like they know what's best and what works.

It doesn't always work for the patient though. DH is partially deaf and struggles with people talking to him while they are wearing a mask. I took him to A&E and the walk in centre on different occasions and A&E wouldn't allow me in and the walk in centre allowed it on the first visit. I wasn't ask to go for the fun of it, 'reasonable adjustments' don't seem to happen any more.

[quote Madhairday]@Myfanwy81 I am so sorry for your loss. I care. Please don't focus on the posts that are hurting you, they come from people who have consistently minimised all the way through. [/quote]
Yeah, they're the gift that keeps giving 🙇🏻‍♀️

Those asking about lack of infection control in hospital...... it is not that easy. Patients are tested en route into hospital. If negative, they are admitted to a vivid free ward. However... some of these people are still incubating Covid. As are staff who test twice a week but could have 5 other days where they might test positive. What happens in hospital when one patient suddenly tests positive is that they are moved to a Covid ward and then the other 5 people in their bay are labelled " exposed" and also have to be treated as if they are positive for Covid so cannot return to their care home or package of care or vulnerable partner for another 10 days, although they may not have Covid at all and might not need to be in hospital any more. We had more exposed patients than Covid patients last week. The logistics are a nightmare!!

@Lilaclavenders

Also, why do so few people apparently not understand that a pandemic doesn't stop spreading on a certain day merely because self-serving politicians decide it will?

Did anyone expect the virus to stop spreading? I don't think so.

I think we're accepting the virus and are learning to live with it. The costs of trying to restrict the virus are too big compared to the benefits.

Apart from the people who aren't learning to live with and are suffering from the selfishness of the people 'pretending' they're living with it. The latest research shows the massive health implications of Covid even for people who were asymptomatic. I notice even the right wing papers are letting Covid stories creep back in. The government's approach continues to be a complete disaster.

There won't be a Covid problem soon, because it will have been defined out of existence:

www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/13/pandemic-is-not-over-ministers-criticised-after-scrapping-uk-covid-surveillance

Even the limited reporting that remain is showing a sharp increase.

This might (stress the conditional) be related to vaccine protection waning. If that is the case, then we really do need as much surveillance as possible because if (again conditional) the next or the next or the next variant produces more severe disease, it wouid be in out interests to
a) see it coming, and
b) know what sort of vaccine gap (if any) there might be.

The antibody and advanced antiviral drugs (for prophylactic use within 5 days of positive test) are in fairly short supply and rationed via CMDUs - not even all the CEV are eligible and no-one is eligible just because of age. Don't pin your hopes on pharmaceuticals replacing the need for vaccine coverage.

I notice even the right wing papers are letting Covid stories creep back in

That's because it hasn't gone away and is rocketing up.

Just because people get fed up, and want to get back to a society where most people don't really have to think about infectious diseases, doesn't mean that we're actually safe. This can be a very unpleasant illness, not least because of its multi-organ effect and potential long-term sequelae - some of which seem unrelated to severity of initial disease

@Natfemale

I’m an old person( 70). My husband is older , with severe life restrictions from a previous illness. Neither of us ever, for as long as a heartbeat, wanted restrictions placed on children or young people for some (possibly imaginary) benefit to us. The world needs to go on, and the young must be educated, yes , and socialised too. A few extra years of life for those of us who have had and enjoyed our lives is not a suitable rationale

This really won't have been the genuine rationale. It will have been about the best way to keep society functioning as a whole.

@Myfanwy81 and @FishFingerSandwiches4Tea sorry for your loss.

@Myfanwy81I am so sorry for your loss. I care. Please don't focus on the posts that are hurting you, they come from people who have consistently minimised all the way through.

Great Post @Madhairday

@vdbfamily

Those asking about lack of infection control in hospital...... it is not that easy. Patients are tested en route into hospital. If negative, they are admitted to a vivid free ward. However... some of these people are still incubating Covid. As are staff who test twice a week but could have 5 other days where they might test positive. What happens in hospital when one patient suddenly tests positive is that they are moved to a Covid ward and then the other 5 people in their bay are labelled " exposed" and also have to be treated as if they are positive for Covid so cannot return to their care home or package of care or vulnerable partner for another 10 days, although they may not have Covid at all and might not need to be in hospital any more. We had more exposed patients than Covid patients last week. The logistics are a nightmare!!

Yes, when covid rates are rocketing in the community it must be almost impossible to manage infection control in hospital, because a high proportion of those admitted will go on to develop Covid, and then they've infected a certain proportion of those they've been in contact with and so on.

Yes, when covid rates are rocketing in the community it must be almost impossible to manage infection control in hospital

It means they cannot make much inroad into the backlog. And worst case that if anyone tries to cut corners, hospitals become unsafe for those who are ill. Because if you cannot manage effective infection control, you can kiss goodbye to things like safe cancer care, trauma care etc.

eg you can't just send an infectious person for a scan when you're also doing monitoring scans for those on chemo that day, or will it be vice verse and the cancer patient doesn't get their scan

Or is this back to that old loathsome idea that because someone's CEV they're going to die soon anyhow? So it doesn't matter if hospitals aren't safe, because the treatment might kill them anyhow? Being treated for cancer makes you CEV.

@Lilaclavenders

Also, why do so few people apparently not understand that a pandemic doesn't stop spreading on a certain day merely because self-serving politicians decide it will?

Did anyone expect the virus to stop spreading? I don't think so.

I think we're accepting the virus and are learning to live with it. The costs of trying to restrict the virus are too big compared to the benefits.

What benefits?