Do people want to be ‘vulnerable’?

I have a very rare auto immune illness and take immunosuppression medication to control it. A few years ago my stepchildren who live with their mother developed chickenpox and I was warned about contact as this could pose a serious risk to my health so when the coronavirus outbreak hit I started shielding anyway although 'The Letter' didn't come for 2 weeks. I was made redundant in February and after a short period of unemployment (first ever time at 55!) I found a new job I was really looking forward to starting .. sadly I couldnt because of shielding. Thankfully they understand and I sincerely hope they are still able to employ me when I am 'released'. My fiance works for the NHS (not in patient contact) and is needed at work so he is my only risk but we are being very careful. I completed the online form but said I didn't need food parcels etc as my fiance does the shopping too. Yes, it is very lonely at home all day when I want to be at work (and cant afford not to work either) but we must do all that is necessary to keep ourselves and everyone as safe as possible. I successfully got a 3 month mortgage payment holiday and really hope I can get back to work within the 3 months. I miss my 3 grandchildren terribly but we stay in contact through video calls so we can see each other while we chat which helps. We have also had to postpone our wedding until next year ? It is certainly not a 'club' I'm glad to be part of but I want to stay healthy so am doing what I have been advised to do like it or not. Stay home and stay safe ??❤

35Callistemon and Marydoll. Yep I'm in 'the club' and I loath being reminded at 55 how vulnerable I am too. I'd happily swap my poor health with those who want to be on the 'Vunerable' list thank you very much.
I had only just been told I have a serious lung condition and was being referred by the Vasculitis Consultant to get an opinion before commencing treatment ?? then bang, along come Covid-19 ?. In addition I have chronic back pain, rheumatoid Arthritis and COPD. So I'm in limbo now with no treatment and feeling very vunerable to this disease ?. Therefore I would say, you stupid people wanting this letter us unlucky ones have, do come experience my/our world if having 'the letter' means that bleedin much to you ???.
Apologies rant over (heck
I feel better for than though ????).
Be safe and take care of yourself everybody. God bless you all ??❤️❤️??

I've had The Letter, I didn't receive it until early April, and thought I was ok to go shopping once a week. Now it seems that I am much more ill than I thought, which is upsetting. Also I can't get a delivery slot either and I absolutely hate being labelled vulnerable. I live on my own anyway and have no family nearby so I will have to break house arrest soon. I wish I hadn't had the letter.

Marydoll, if you have 'the letter' and a Tesco account you can phone their helpline for vulnerable people on 0800 917 7359 and get priority slots within 24 hours.
Asda also do a Volunteer Shopping Card scheme where if you have some
one who can shop for you, you sign up and get a special card which you put money on like a gift card. The card's then sent via email to your volunteer who'll get a barcode to use on their phone. Here's the link: cards.asda.com/volunteer

Hope this helps.

I am vulnerable. It’s very scary as I have very little immunity to anything due to steroids , copd, and asthma.
I think it’s going to be even worse in a way when lockdown ends and the virus is still around

I have PA - psoriatic arthritis, also inject immu-suppressant once weekly (etanercept) plus methotrexate, so have my "letter" for Sheilding I don't mind sharing that here, but I was irritated by one neighbour asking why I've got a food delivery slot. My health is my business, surely? The neighbour also has psoriasis (not arthritis) and went to his doctor to find where his letter was ...... Shouting out my health issues over the garden fence, fun times (!)

My son-in-law has had the 'vulnerable' letter. This only allows my daughter to shop with the 'oldies' but the supermarkets are not accepting this letter to arrange priority deliveries, even if you haven't got anyone to shop for you.

Some people seem to have fallen through the net, like your father Buttonjugs, and his GP should be told about that omission. I'm in the 70+ group, not specially vulnerable, though not very mobile. Advised to self-isolate by reason of age. My GD, aged 28, has MS and is in the 'shielded' category and has just received a second letter, shielding for another 12 weeks.

Some of the volunteers may need to go back to their jobs if they are volunteering whilst furloughed.

The needs of the clinically vulnerable will go on for longer than the lockdown for everyone else, so yes, they will have to start putting other arrangements in place.

My Dad hasn’t had the letter. He’s almost 87, has COPD, congestive heart failure and can barely walk.

Marydoll I agree with you that are almost certainly people falling through the net. I've discussed this with the person I know who started the local voluntary group. They're doing a fantastic job of running errands for people and doing shopping, but it's not a long-term solution. I don't think some of the volunteers have realised what they've actually taken on, This is going to be long-term and some people have quite serious needs. As far as I can tell, these voluntary groups will also be relied on to look after people when they're discharged from hospital. Some people have continued to be very weak for weeks after recovery and I don't think it's reasonably to rely on untrained volunteers.

It all seems as though the various organisations involved haven't got their act together.

Nortsat I can understand why you would wish that you hadn't received a letter. I'm glad I won't receive one - not because of the letter itself, but because my health doesn't require it. Stay safe!

I received the NHS letter on 29th March. On the advice of one of the Specialists at Barts Hospital I began shielding before the letter arrived and have been doing so for more than 4 weeks. It’s not fun.
My partner is isolating very carefully, so as not to compromise me.

It’s actually quite frightening watching the news and seeing people on ventilators in ICUs, knowing I have a compromised immune system and compromised lungs. My partner is very worried about getting the virus and passing it on to me.

We know a number of people who believe they should have received an NHS letter and haven’t. They are not shielding, they’re popping out to Waitrose and M&S and going for long walks and cycles. Yet they are still insisting they should have had the letter.

Personally, I’d be grateful if I didn’t need the letter.

growstuff, thanks for replying.

The first question the man I spoke to from the LA asked , was Did I have any support and why hadn't I applied for a food parcel.
I am very fortunate in that I have plenty support from family and friends and count my blessings when I wake up every morning and realise, I'm still here!

What is worrying is that people are slipping through the net, because they live alone and/or are not familiar with technology or won't /don't know how to access help.
The council official I spoke to, confirmed this.

I know a number of elderly people in our town, who have caught the virus, probably because they have gone to the shops every day, as is their custom. One has died so far and a few have been in hospital.
The police are now out and about, stopping and questioning people.

That's up to you dragonfly but I think there would be an outcry if people who are known to be at very high risk of being badly affected were forced into that situation and no support were offered.

The country is on lockdown and people's livelihoods have been affected to protect the most vulnerable.

If Covid-19 had been allowed to run its natural course, it really would have been a matter of weeks before nearly the whole country had been affected and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, had died.

Marydoll The county in which I live has established a "welfare services group", financed by the County Council. It has a Facebook page and is responsible for giving information and putting people in touch with volunteers, but not actually sending letters or distributing food boxes. There might be one in your Mum's area NannyJan.

A couple of weeks ago it was announced on the Facebook page that GPs were trawling through their records and are supposed to be contacting (ideally by text) their patients recognised as at high risk (not vulnerable).

I haven't received anything, but some other people with different GPs have received a text. I asked what was in the text and, basically, it gives the advice which I think everybody knows now and a phone number (of the welfare service) if you don't have any support and need it. From what I know, they put you in touch with local volunteers. As I know the volunteers anyway, I'm not at all bothered I haven't received anything.

Somebody else from my GP practice asked when she is likely to receive anything and was told to be patient. Apparently, NHS England has sent the lists of very vulnerable patients to the GPs and told them to go through them and check that nobody has been left off this list. Until this is done, my guess is that identifying and contacting the next most vulnerable group is not the first priority. The GPs are bogged down with admin work and, I suspect, finding that their records aren't as accurate as they perhaps should be.

I've been thinking about the confusion between high risk and vulnerable. I guess somebody can be at high risk (through age and/or medical conditions) but not necessarily vulnerable, if you have good social support from family and friends.

In Scotland, the LAs only contact you if you sign up, using the Sheilding text messaging service. You have to text your CHI number to a dedicated number and then receive an automated response, which says you are now registered.
It is after that, that you receive a call from the LA, asking how they can support you.

Different countries in the UK, appear to have slightly different systems in place.

To receive the sheilding letter, you need to be extremely clinically vulnerable. My interpretation is that if you get the virus, you will probably die. That was reinforced by two different GPs and a rheumatologist, I was in contact with.

I was told to sheild, weeks before the official lockdown. My GP advised me not to attend my daughter's wedding. ?
It didn't matter anyway, it was cancelled due to lockdown. , so hopefully I may still see her marry.

If you are high risk, as opposed to extremely, clinically vulnerable, I think you are absolutely doing the right thing, by not going out! We all want to live through this.

I have had texts and the dreaded letter. If anyone would like it I am willing to donate it. I do not want to be either vulnerable or shielded. I would love to go out, pick up my own shopping, in fact I decided yesterday that if I am told to stay in for another year I will just go out and take my chances. My life has already been on hold for the last 18 months and I am not getting any younger.
Btw the lady who rang me from the LA told me the government had instructed the LAs to contact the shielded to see if they needed assistance.

I have Asthma, but have not received the 'letter'. Nevertheless, I am not going out, my partner is doing the food shopping once a week.

My 90 year old Mum does not have any health issues, and has not had any contact from anyone in authority. She is self isolating, and my DD is delivering her food shopping. I am concerned though that there maybe others out there of a similar age who have no-one. If my Mum was in that situation she would have no idea who to contact.

growstuff, I have friends and who are high risk, are self isolating, but have heard nothing from GPs.
That includes my granddaughter.
Can I ask please, what your source is? I would be interested to read it. Thanks

Callistemon I know you know and I'm a bit baffled that so many people don't seem to understand.

Marydoll In England, the letters for the most vulnerable also came from NHS central HQ, based on the information submitted by GPs. The GPs, however, are responsible for communicating with "at risk" ie Group 2 people. England and Scotland are using the same systems.

Fair enough CherryCezzy. I've heard it was an estimate anyway and there are actually more than 1.5 million.

I can understand that it wouldn't have been pleasant receiving the letter. However, presumably you already knew your medical condition. I'm not sure you would really have preferred not to be told that you are especially vulnerable and ended up seriously ill. I think many people would have said "why didn't somebody tell me?"

I'm in Group 2 ie high risk but not very high risk. I've known right from the start that I have a significantly higher risk of being seriously ill than average. I haven't been contacted by anybody, although in theory I should have been. I'm not really bothered either way because I decided for myself weeks ago that I'd by extremely cautious and have organised home deliveries from local suppliers and managed to get one Tesco slot, which is arriving next week. I haven't left the house for weeks. I even have a "hospital bag" packed, ensured that people have house keys and have a note in my purse of emergency contacts. Now I can just get on with my life, knowing that I'm doing/have done everything I can.

My friend, the receptionist told me that the letters came from the Health Board in Scotland, the GPs did not send the letters. I have never received a text and I'm signed up for NHS messaging.
Lists were then sent to GPs, to advise who were sheilding.

Posters who are on biologics for RA, may be interested to know that research has shown that biologics have played a part in helping some of those who caught the infection to recover.

Apart from the online deliveries, it sounds as though you're being supported Marydoll.

Maybe you should lobby your MP/MSP to put pressure on the supermarkets to provide priority slots.

Although it doesn't concern me personally, I'm also concerned that carers are spending hours queuing. It wouldn't be rocket science for all carers to be able to use a click and collect service as priority. The supermarkets have apparently seen a 30% increase in sales since lockdown started and prices have increased, so they must be raking it in. Carers should be caring, not standing in queues.