TV crews on Covid wards - is it OK

I don't think filming desperately ill people is going to stop those who are out and about.

I said a while back that the patients they were filming looked very uncomfortable.

I saw one where a woman was being discharged after having been in ITU. The reporter was saying "you must be so happy to be recovering"
The woman, who looked shell shocked and battered by it all, looked confused by the question, as if to say "why would anyone be happy that this happened to them?"

I dont think ppl can properly consent to filming when they are weak and tired. Its easier to nod than to argue against it...

Without those so-called intrusive reporters, none of us would know what’s going on. They are trying to inform. No one is on camera without permission. Pixelated if they say no. Do you think Dominic Cummings and crew would let us know the actual reality if we had no media? They’ve only just reluctantly added the sad death toll from care homes. Journalists often get it wrong. But we do need them!

A lot of faces are deliberately blurred from the camera so the important message will still come across without individual identification. Just because most Gransnetters might, hopefully, be considerate towards others it doesn't mean that quite a large percentage of the population just won't bother. Which is why some people need constant reminders.

I agree with some of this but i also agree with Seeker4 life. Sometimes i think we need to see this to bring everything into focus. It certainly makes you think. Having said that i dont think it should be shown every night.

TV crews and reporters are providing their own PPE.
It's usually stated before every report that comes from inside a hospital.

They only needed to have one photographer and reporter in once, on the understanding the results would be available to all news outlets. Then anyone who is still in any doubt how hospitals look in a pandemic can watch the footage again
on iplayer or youtube.

I think the reporters are invited onto these wards because the Frontline Workers want more that a five minute clap once a week. They want everyone to be aware of how dangerous this virus can be, of how hard they are having to work 24 hours, seven days a week, for no-one yet knows how long, to get our 'loved ones' through it.

Usually if you listen to the end of the report it is reported that the journalists and crew replaced the PPE that they used

Yes I am totally aware of the suffering of the patients Semperfidelis. I used to be a palliative care nurse, and treated patients with dignity.
One does not rule out the other.
Soldiers on the battlefield suffered, and reporters were there to record it. Does no one think these reporters are actually on the patients side?

What about the patient? No mention of their feelings? Don't assume that, because they might be unconscious, they have no awareness. The possible upset felt by Hugh Pymm and other journalists is nothing compared to the suffering of the patient.

Cameras in hospital wards? No. Although some of the patients are unconscious, I still they have the right to a quiet and peaceful environment as far as possible. They must be suffering mentally as well as physically and cameras being rolled around won't help.
I think this footage helps to terrorise people when it is shown repeatedly. The balance of news just now is very skewed to scare stories and warnings. This does not help towards developing positive attitudes towards facing the disease, rather than feeling defeated from the start.

I have heard bbc reporters explain that they take their own PPE and donate some more for NHS staff. I think they are respectful and that we need to know what is really happening. The reporters and cameramen are also putting themselves at risk, and they do so, because they believe, supported by NHS staff, that we need to see the reality. Patients faces are blurred out, except where they have said they want to give a message to viewers - and the messages all add up to this: STAY HOME! Protect the NHS and other people.

Thank you Joplin.

Maccyt1955 - I agree. Also, not everyone watches the news, or even the same news, so if these reports stop even a few people from behaving irresponsibly & spreading this virus they will have been more than worth it.

No justification for this over reporting. As usual, the media are hell bent on stepping over the line and in my view have behaved questionably throughout the whole virus coverage. I think in days to come, this will come to light.?

How many times do we need to see the patients with their faces blurred, though?
I'm sure most people have an idea of what the set up looks like.

If you stop ranting and actually listen...you will find that the reporters are actually being very respectful and handling their visits to the wards sensitively.
They have asked permission or been invited in.
This is good journalism and NOT voyeurism.
Watch Fergus Walsh, the brilliant BBC health reporter, or Hugh Pymm. They were profoundly affected by what they witnessed.
We have always needed reporters on the front line.
If you look, you will see the faces of the patients are blurred.
Another case of Gransnet not being aware of the proper facts.
Sorry....but this post has really irritated me.
.

They have made a point of saying that they bring their own PPE in. Also it makes people aware of just how awful this disease is- especially to all those flouting the lockdown thinking they are invincible. It also shows us exactly how hard the NHS staff work and how tough it is for them, and how sensitively they all deal with the dying.

I wouldn't say that each time they show people in ICU or the hospital may be brand new every time.
There is still a core of people that think it will never happen to them - they are the ones breaking all advice given, carrying on visiting friends and family for little reason, going miles by car to take their dogs or themselves for a walk, cycling way away from their own area, refusing to queue at supermarkets, and being rude to retail staff, I could go on and on !
Seeing people seriously ill in hospital really has the idea that it will hopefully give them a shock if it was to happen to them - but I very much doubt that it will make a difference.
The rest of us, to some extent also need to see just what is happening still, rather being lulled into a false sense of security when the numbers start to fall.

No you don't know the situation.!!...only by seeing these media films can I understand what my Brother is going through..the patients are not shown or identified,

It is hospitals or their trusts who have the final say re media filming. Most cameramen have sound equipment on their cameras so there would be only 1 of them, not a posse.

For all posters who are voicing their disgust that the media is being allowed to film in hospitals and care homes, I say this.
Are you prepared to take the word of doctors as to how patients are treated, how bad it good conditions are, how many are on makeshift wards or trolleys, how many dead are swaddled and left in corridors because mortuaries are full...or would you rather see the reality for yourself because then and only then, will you know the incontrovertible truth?

I think anyone with a modicum of intelligence knows what the situation is in the critical care wards. I think its unnecessarily intrusive and must be so hard for relatives to see when they are not allowed in to comfort their loved ones.

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