Shielded, what does it really mean?

Well, it's not a letter that anyone wants to receive, allium.
If you didn't get one, count yourself lucky.

Can't ever remember receiving "the letter"? Perhaps lobbed into the bin with all the other junk.

Listening to the radio, I heard a gentleman say that his wife had paroxysmal atrial fibrillation and so was shielded. I have permanent atrial fibrillation after many years of the paroxysmal version, and I am nearly 85, yet am not shielded although vulnerable. Curious.

I feel left out! I am 80, and only received the general letter that everyone else received. As I’m perfectly healthy my doctor must have decided that I’m not vulnerable.
I go for a long walk every day, but avoid getting close to anyone.
The son who lives with me had two weeks off work, while they re-organised the office. The work he does is considered essential, so he has been back in for a few weeks. The precautions they are taking are very good, so he is reasonably safe. Some of the less essential staff are furloughed, so he has his own space, and there are strict rules about cleaning, using the kitchen etc.
We keep apart at home, most of the time, and wipe down surfaces after use. I wash bedding, towels and clothes more often. We are being as careful as possible.
I don’t worry about us catching the virus. It will be time to worry if we do. I don’t believe that shutting yourself away, for weeks on end, is good for anyone, physically or mentally, no matter how vulnerable you are. It’s impossible to catch the virus if you’re not mixing with people. As long as it is possible for you to get out of the house and go for a walk without close contact with people, then you should do so, for the sake of your mental health.

Last year I was rushed to hospital by ambulance.
Fortunately my box of medications, with a comprehensive list of conditions and names of consultants. On admition to hospital the doctor said she had never seen such an organised patient. It made it so much easier to treat me.

However, despite having a bag packed for such emergencies, there wasn't even time to lift it!
If you are ill enough to go to hospital, you won't be well enough to pack a bag!

If you are hospitalised as an emergency, unable to breathe, are you likely to ask the stretcher-bearers to hang on a minute while you fetch your clean pyjamas from the ironing basket, and your toothbrush from the bathroom cabinet - and don't forget your mobile phone from beside the bed, and your prescription tablets, and the phone number of the milkman to cancel tomorrow's order . . and . .

I agree Rufus
Besides the fact that there may be no time, you could feel so ill that you would not be able to pack a bag.

can gather it all in five minutes if I have to
gillJames Sorry, but sometimes you don't get 5 minutes!
When I got took ill a few weeks ago, BPPV, my carer, who fortunately was here, called the ambulance. We were off to hospital quick smart with no chance to pack anything other than some scrips. Not even the GPs list of my medical history which was somewhere around; living on my own nobody had time to hunt for anything, not even my toothbrush!
So pack that bag and place it in an obvious convenient spot.
Cheers

Nfk, mr sainsbury says I’m not on the shielding list,mdespite the letter and texts that confirm I am. They won’t accept my Nector card either, despite it being my supermarket of choice for twenty years or more.
Ah well, Tesco contacted me and I now have them deliver. Very pleased with the quality

I think we can cope with another couple of weeks shielding but if the R stays under one and life is returning to normal outside we may well move to Lock Down status. (Only without the visit to shop for food).

CBBL like you, my DH is on the shielded list. I don’t see a need to sleep in separate beds if neither of you are setting foot outside. If you and your DH are both staying in then there’s no need to sleep separately as neither of you should catch the virus.
bobdoesit you are not shielding if you are going out walking whether you are 2 meters apart or not. The shielding letter clearly states you should not go out at all. That is what many on the shielded list are doing. Like me and DH, neither of us have been for a walk at all in the last 7 weeks, much as we’d like to. We are used to daily walks and have found it very difficult to comply with the request to stay in but that is what we have done.

you are shielded and doing the right thing People going for walks etc may be on the vulnerable list thats permitted You are not on the vulnerable list if you have a shielding letter you are on the high risk list

It's quite a relief to know Mr Sainsbury had no record of you shielding either. DH is apparently not on the list either. And there's no right of appeal it seems. Waitrose was like swimming in mid and we got nowhere. Luckily Tesco were more cooperative and we've managed to get slots with them - even though it meant staying up very, very late once or twice.

Bob, Pam andCBBL, sorry for all your problems but glad you are agreeing with some of the ‘rules’ as are we. we can only do what we think is right for us and our particular health troubles.
.Best wishes.

My Husband got the "Extremely Vulnerable" letter from the Government, as he has a number of different health problems, but these include "oral chemo" on a weekly basis. I am Vulnerable, and we are both over 70, have diabetes and Arthritis. He Flatly refuses to sleep without me. We do have an en-suite which he mostly uses, as well as a main bathroom. I make most of the meals, as he is a "bit wobbly" and needs a walking stick. He makes cups of tea and can manage to make toast. Neither of us go out. We've had a couple of "Food Parcels" from the Government, but cancelled these (many things were included that are not suitable for Diabetics). We now have a Volunteer from our nearest town, to do our shopping. Haven't been out of our home except for a quick look around the garden once or twice a week. Hubby has skin cancer, so can't sit in the sun. We cope because there is no reasonable alternative!

Just be thankful for Queensland farmers and all their hard work when you buy your fruit which is full of Queensland sunshine and vitamins!

Queensland has already done that
Can't tear myself away! That's why the inhabitants are known as "Banana Benders!"
OoRoo to you too!

Take care, Rufus even after your lockdown has eased.
I hear Queensland has already done that.

We can't see the naughty stool because Rufus is permanently on it.

Oo Roo

Rufus...where is the naughty stool???
Megs Hang on a bit! It's 1.10am Monday and I might need it myself later today!
If our Premier unlocks the cell door later today and if the car battery isn't flat after all this time, I'll nip out and pick up another!
Meanwhile keep your head down! Aliens are about tonight!
Good Health
OoRoo

My husband is 75 and ‘shielded’ because he has blood cancer. He had the original letter and has just had a text to say the period of shielding is being extended to 30th June. That makes a total of 16 weeks.
Neither my husband or myself have not been outside our house and garden since mid March. We have all food delivered. I wash or disinfect everything that enters the house. My husband is registered on the shielding nhs site and we get priority slots for interenet shopping. We are being looked after very well and kept well informed by our surgery, local authority and nhs. We have been offered food parcels to make sure we have essential supplies.
We do not anticipate going outside our home for quite a few months, and possibly only when vaccine is found.
We are lucky we do not have to leave our home. We are not taking any chances.
Once the lock down is relaxed, even a little, the danger of catching cv19 increases.

You haven’t misread the instructions (suggestions?) but other people seem to be ignoring them.
We live in a quiet village so have continued to walk two or three times a week. If we happen to see anyone else we make sure we are a minimum of 2 meters away – even if that means climbing a bank or diving into a field!
We’ve not seen any friends or family for 7 weeks and counting.
My husband was told to shield for health reasons and that is what we are doing. Having just read the letter again I think we will be at home until the beginning of June, which is fine with us. Our food and medications are delivered so we are more than grateful for that.
The only fly in the ointment is our neighbours who think it’s OK to party in their back gardens at any old time of night or day! Family members turn up in cars from goodness knows where. It’s utter madness and makes me quite cross! The trouble is it will only get worse if Boris changes things tonight.

Well I am supposedly vulnerable. Just getting over cancer and two major ops and supposedly over 70s' have suddenly become weak and feeble. We walk every day, often twice. Living in the country means we rarely see anyone on our walks. We still do our garden and go shopping once a week. Nearest supermarket is 15 miles away and we could get deliveries but we need to get out for our own sanity. Yes we take precautions about meeting people but do not clean groceries or anything like that. Life is a risk and too short now to spend it indoors. I take anything the govmt says with a pinch of common sense. I intend to get on with my life as much as possible.

It’s not funny Megs it’s no laughing matter. How childish.

No Elegran I don’t think there are different versions. The instructions for separate beds etc clearly apply to a situation where a shielded person is living with a non-shielded person who goes out of the house - shopping, working whatever. My friends who are shielding ( she has to, he joined her) would be having a desperate time if they were living separately in their house. Constantly cleaning the kitchen and the one bathroom, eating separately , spending all their time in separate rooms. I know some people are having to live like this because the non shielded one has to work and they are naturally finding it very hard.