Do people want to be ‘vulnerable’?

Jodie
And anyone else who is

My post of today's date 11:11:41 explains the categories.

And very well explained Callistemon.

It's a pity you did it twice, and still people haven't taken time to read your post. ?

Copied and pasted from the official Government website, Marydoll, as included in the letters that people seem eager to receive for some unfathomable reason.

Callistemon, the difficulty is that posters on here have different perceptions of what Sheilding means and the difference between sheilding and vulnerability.
There has been so much conflicting advice.
Advice is being offered, but may not be relevant to a particular country, as Scotland, England and Wales have variations on how to access support.

Added to that, there is the confusion caused by people thinking the general Govt letter to each household is actually a sheilding letter.
It is a generic letter, a sheilding letter is addressed to you personally and has your hospital CHI number on it.

Everyone is vulnerable, where Covid 19 is involved, no-one knows how they will react if they become infected.
However, there are people who are at extremely high risk of severe illness or death with COVID-19, these are the deemed clinically extremely vulnerable, who received sheilding letters. A doctor has to make that decision, whether a hospital consultant or GP.

For example, having a condition like asthma is not a pre-requisite for a sheilding letter, it all depends on the severity of the condition and how it is perceived it will affect you. There is so much needs to be taken into consideration, before that decision can be made.
My three children and granddaughter are asthmatic, one severely, so are vulnerable, but they don't fulfil the criteria for sheilding.

People are bound to be missed, given the numbers involved.
The responsibility then lies with you, the patient to contact your GP or hospital consultant for advice, if you think you have been missed.

People are scared, angry, worried etc and unkindness is definitely spilling on to the threads. There is also a lot of misinformation abounding, that only causes confusion.
We need to support each other, by being kind, respectful and sharing accurate information, which just might make life a little more bearable.

My son has Down's syndrome, autism, low immunity and severe asthma. We did not receive a letter for him, to be quite honest I don't care about receiving a letter for him but mixed messages from health and government is quite confusing for some people, I suppose to some it would just clarify what they can and can't do.

Really and truthfully it's all about common sense ?

Daddima - I had a letter. I didn’t know I was “vulnerable” and I’m “just anaemic” too. I need intravenous iron every few weeks, it seems my upper gastric pipes slowly weep blood so they pour it in one arm and when it runs out they do it again. I was enormously shocked by the fact they would send a letter to me, but they have. I’m looking at life differently now, I wish I hadn’t received it.

Example of Shielded letter as sent to patients in England
www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2020/03/at-risk-patient-letter-march-2020.pdf

My husband had his NHS letter weeks ago - it did not specifically mention either vulnerable or shielded, it said he was at high risk of being hospitalised if he gets the virus. It did say he should stay home for at least 12 weeks, and there are some restrictions on me (not in the vulnerable group) also as I live with him. I am not sure what the difference is to be honest.

Thanks Soupy - that is exactly the same letter my husband received, so presumably he is "shielded" rather than "vulnerable", although I still do not understand the difference between the two.

Hang on - just checked the NHS website and it said that people who were formerly classed as "vulnerable" were now classed as "shielded", nothing like public services to change things unnecessarily!

Marydoll thank you,i must read the letter i got again,i am not on any medication at all, but i am mid 70s,
I am classed as vulnerable in general because of age i suppose,

I didn't get the letter posted above,with name and nhs no on etc,.classed now as shielded apparently

That letter looks familiar

Can someone please clarify for me which letter my mother will have had? She is 85 and has no listed underlying conditions. She is saying that she is allowed out for exercise and to do things like post letters, but my sister and I don't think that she should be doing either - she has a garden, and someone nearby who is willing and able to get things for her if she needs them, so it seems as though going out for a walk is an unnecessary risk.

Mum says that she can't remember what was in her letter, and that she put it in the recycling after she'd read it, but my sister and I remain unconvinced. Apparently Mum had 3 letters - one from the council explaining which services she could access (food parcels, prescription deliveries etc), one from Johnson that everyone was sent, and another that she 'can't remember'. It is the 'can't remember' one that interests us. Thanks in advance if you can clarify.

surely if you are living with someone who is classed as "shielded " and has had the letter, which I did very early on, you should not be going out shopping either?
I am shielded because of my health problems but also because I am on high doses of steroids because of those health problems.
I also take 3 other drugs that make my immune system crap...
It would kill me for sure and probably him too, he has heart condition, injects insulin for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, etc etc..But he has had no letter,,
Maybe it would be easier to explain to him if he had one.
My daughter shops for us and leaves it on the doorstep, bless her.
She has her own to do and also shops for her dad who is also shielding with his partner
My husband is in the early stages of dementia and does not understand why he can't pop up the shop...
I am 59 and he is 72..I miss my little family so much but we just have to hope we will get through this horrible time xx stay safe everyone <3

I would have liked to have received 'the letter'. There l have admitted it. I have chronic lung disease and have lost more than 20pc of my lung function due to scarring. The disease I have is linked to cystic fibrosis. I am self isolating but have had to retire from my job to do it. I worked in a very busy large supermarket and was only entitled to 2 weeks leave as I didn't receive the letter. I am not prepared to take the risk of working there so retired before I wanted to. The letter would probably have seen me through the worst period.

There is so much confusing info on here, which I suspect may be causing some anxiety. so I have done a bit of research.
There is a vulnerable group, but it has three categories,:
Highest critical risk
Medium risk
Low risk.

Sheilding means a 12 week lockdown as advised by the individualised Govt letter, from 29th March. You cannot leave the house for 12 weeks. It is for those with the highest clinical risk. That is the important criterion.
Your GP may also have contacted you, informing you of this.
The decision is made using NHS data on the system ( codes in your file), info from hospital clinicians and GPs.
Sheilding is considered as an extreme intervention which is why not everyone is asked to sheild.
The sheilding list was formally known as The vulnerable patient list, which is where I think the confusion comes from.

There are vulnerable patients who are identified as medium or low risk, they will not be put on the sheilding , register.
However, you are asked to follow the government guidelines on social distancing and you can also make the personal decision to sheild at home.

There will be another phase of letters coming out, as another trawl has been done, to identify those missed.

If you think you should be on the sheilding list, but are not, you are advised to contact your GP.
It is a clinical decision, which is made.

To summarize, not all who are vulnerable are asked to sheild, but are advised to follow the rules.

Here is a link to a document, where GPs week advice.

www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2020/03/20200403-Clinician-FAQs-v_FINAL.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwjTnP2P8_joAhXSTBUIHVE5DCYQFjAFegQIBxAB&usg=AOvVaw1j--cIwmN6XDdX2iH6wpBy&cshid=1587452623573

Reading about the shielded members of the public is so upsetting to me that I feel thankful that I'm not in that group.

Take extra care, all of you xx

EllanVannin, thanks.
Misinformation only adds to patients' anxiety, which is why I decided to try and clarify things in my own head.

What I did find upsetting, was the attititude on this site, where a poster thought we had it easy, as we had others running doing everything for us and putting themselves at risk, while we sat at home.
Believe you me, I would do anything, rather than be sheilded.

dianetheartist no-one who lives with a shielded person is supposed to leave the home either.

Doodledog I don't know which is the third letter your mother may have received so you may need to contact her GP to find out if she is on the shielded list.

It may have been from her local support group offering help with shopping fetching medication etc, which could be a useful link to have.

Thanks EllanVannin
At least the is shining, some of us have gardens and we have a Maths lesson every day!
I feel sorry for up those who don't have gardens and are not allowed out at all.

up ? Not sure where that came from

dianetheartist that must be difficult.
I have phone conversations with my sister explaining why she must not go out but she doesn't really understand; luckily she has family not far away.

The point being made I believe, those who should be in receipt of a letter because of serious health issue, and may need help, are not getting them and therefore unrecognised. WHY? What is emerging appears to be age-related. Experience: eighty with serious heart problems no letter; younger at fifty, on immune suppressant drug therapy for a skin condition, letter received weeks ago. Nationally, those dying as a result of the virus 80 per cent have a precondition heart problem. You will note, age discrimination does not apply, nor should it, to an elderly monarch and her husband. Once the crisis is over, many questions need answers. Including why the country was so ill-equipped, with protective equipment, to deal with a pandemic. Especially, when events in 2015 for such a possibility exposed British inadequacy.