TV crews on Covid wards - is it OK

I think it's brill that they're allowed in, the doubters, cynics and ignorant need to see exactly what it's like!! It's not like they're there 24/7 and using copious amounts of PPE. It should be show over and over, at regular intervals.

I agree. I think it is unnecessary. Once maybe so we all get the picture - but endlessly day in day out - I don't think so.

But it is the same with so many news reports - they send someone to stand outside somewhere, when they could just as easily done so with a picture of the place behind them. Waste of resources.

I thought the issue with PPE was not the cost, but the availability. Donating something from a very small pool isn’t helping- it is still using up that pool.

Similarly, if the reporters are bringing their own PPE, we need to know where they are getting it, so that the NHS procurement people can do the same.

The reporters provide their own PPE. I think we need to see how terribly ill some people are with this virus. Some people are not taking it seriously enough. It is very worrying to see how badly it affects some people and we have lost some excellent NHS staff. Terrible times.

Patients faces are always blocked out. I think they replace any PPE that they use. This has to be seen....It makes us understand why we are doing this....

I think it’s disgusting that they think it’s okay wasting PPEs and then replacing them, they shouldn’t have any in the first place. At this time when they are in such short supply, I don’t think anyone except health staff and other essential workers who need them should be allowed to buy them.

It's a shame that they can't just donate it. Instead of going in and fuelling people's anxiety.

I just think we should use the off button. Perhaps it isn’t the answer but it’s effective. I watch the 10 o’clock news and that’s it. The press briefing is a joke so no point watching that.

I watched a very distressing tv interview with a man whose wife had apparently been show quite clearly on a tv ward visit. He was distraught, because he wasn’t allowed in, yet the tv crew was.

I agree, but filming should be limited. Its very upsetting to people who have relatives being treated when you consider they cannot visit their loved ones. Funeral attendance is also limited. So a double blow.

Good point, jangeo44

You agree that it is intrusive and not necessary to see night after nighr.

So do you agree or disagree that filming should take place in ICU?

I think they are showing these sick patients to try to convince these stupid individuals what will happen to them if they continue to break the rules. Some are still of the opinion they are invincible

No, that is not the answer.

We can turn off, switch over but the fact remains it is still happening.

The debate is whether it should be happening or not, not whether or not we want to watch it.

Er..... why would you be watching it then?
It is intrusive and not necessary to see night after night.

So: switch channel. Problem solved!!

I agree, I cant understand why reporters HAVE to be there in person. It's the same when there is an announcement from somewhere anywhere in the world, a reporter is outside talking., why?? No extra news is gleaned..

I don’t understand how they can film in ICU without permission of the patients even though their faces are blurred out. Very few if any patients requiring IC would be capable of giving consent considering their level of consciousness. How must their next of kin feel at home desperate to visit and can’t but a film crew are allowed to enter.

Bloody ghouls, should be sent home and should NEVER have been assessed as “essential workers”

Re. the news people on wards: I think their job is to keep us informed about what the virus is really like. I also think it has another purpose - to frighten people into observing lockdown. We would not know the reality and horror of it at its worst otherwise. I did note that yesterday, an ITV report said that the hospital actually invited them in. So they must have wanted us to know the reality of things on the frontline. They are the ones, after all, who have to cope with the fallout. It is very sobering indeed.

I haven’t watched the news for a few weeks now, and reading these comments makes me understand why. I will carry on and just pick up news occasionally on my radio.

I don’t object to the filming in ICUs and some of the reporters say they are using their own PPE. It does showcase the brilliant work the staff are doing.
I object to the grief stricken relatives interviews. Why on earth do they want to make a public display? 15 minutes of fame? The death of a loved one is a tragedy best mourned in private not with TV viewers. Sorry but I use my off switch at such times.

I don’t think they should be there either. I know the press have a job to do but they try to get as much drama as possible. I remember at the start of lockdown one reporter interviewing someone who had held his father’s hand as he died, it’s just not helpful. They’re also putting themselves and their families at risk and also risk spreading it to others when they really don’t need to be there. It’s wrong.

I agree with Hetty. Unfortunately there are people who will say things are not as bad as we are told and it is 'fake news'. This brings home the seriousness of the situation and maybe make some folk who think it will be ok to pop out a few extra times, or mix with family to think again. In any broadcasts I have not seen anyone's privacy affected and the journalists say they have used their own PPE or donated. I also think that most patients would accept this reporting if it helped stop someone else become so ill with this awful virus.

We need to see what is going on in those wards just to stop those who think its ok not to socially distance etc.
ALSO, if you heard the reporters THEY TAKE IN THEIR OWN PPE so not taking away from the staff

I would be horrified if I was in hospital and pictures of me in distress (and without my makeup!) was shown on TV.

I also complained the the TV companies when they had reporters outside St Thomas’s Hospital when Boris was there when we had already been told that any announcements on his health would only be made from No. 10.