Breathtaking: facts and lies re COVID in the NHS

Conspiracy theories are usually amusing.

On a more serious point the National Audit Office has recently reported on the government's progress in renewing its facilities for managing dangerous diseases, currently at the Porton Down and Colindale laboratories.

The report states, 'In our view, as things stand, the UK’s future resilience to dangerous diseases and value for taxpayers’ money are both being undermined by failures in decision-making for a key part of the national infrastructure.'

Not a very optimistic comment. One would have hoped the Tories might have pressed hard on this.

Sorry that was rude of me.
However, I can't take these conspiracy theories seriously.

songstress60

Covid was NO accident. It was created on purpose by world leaders to reduce the world's population and lockdown brought in an invasion of civil liberties. There should be no more lockdowns. Look at partygate.

🤣

It's a shame that world leaders can't get together and co-operate on other issues too, isn't it?

Iam64!

There’s nothing like a good conspiracy theory 😵‍💫🙃

Covid was NO accident. It was created on purpose by world leaders to reduce the world's population and lockdown brought in an invasion of civil liberties. There should be no more lockdowns. Look at partygate.

I’ve just started watching. It’s increased my anger towards Johnson and Hancock - again

I doubt any thinking has been done about future pandemics by politicians who can't see beyond the next General Election. Civil servants will have been thinking about it but have little time to do so as they spend most of their time trying to implement half-baked policies invented by politicians.

There were 11 pre pandemic exercises, (only discovered I understand, after a Freedom of Information request by a doctor, including Exercise Cygnus 2016)

The NHS is now in a worse state than when Coronavirus started and I see no evidence that there is better preparation for the next Pandemic.

Thank you for flowers HousePlantQueen, my husband loves them.

I think it was 2016 when the exercises for readiness of a pandemic were done and it showed we were not prepared and instead of doing something about it nothing was done to ameliorate the problem.

Pre Pandemic exercises were carried out and the government SHOULD have been prepared.

How many more would have died if we hadn't had 'lockdown'? We just don't know. Does no-one remember the polio and diphtheria outbreaks, when public places were closed? It surely reduced the number of people affected.
The truth is that it was obvious that there would be a pandemic sometime and the government was not prepared for it. It was all last-minute and panic-stricken.
Hopefully, they will learn from their mistakes.

As well as being untrue.

Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic the Scottish Government has been working with the governments of the UK, Wales and Northern Ireland as part of a four nations approach.

The Scottish Government response has been guided at all times by the most up to date and expert scientific advice. *When the four nations approach aligns with the science, evidence and advice applicable to Scotland, the Scottish Government supports it. On the occasions when the evidence supports the case for different approaches, the Scottish Government has made, and will continue to make, decisions which reflect the government’s top priority of minimising the harm in Scotland.*

Under the devolution settlement, the Scottish Government is able to take a different approach when the evidence and advice suggest that is the best course of action for Scotland.

Decision making has been and continues to be guided by the latest scientific evidence from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) and the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Modelling (SPI-M) which feeds into SAGE. SAGE provides advice to both Cabinet Office Briefing Room (COBR) and the group of Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) group. This group consists of the chief medical officers of all of the nations of the UK. Further advice was given to Scottish Ministers by the Chief Medical Officer of Scotland and the Scottish Government Covid-19 Advisory Group.

That's not helping.

I think we need to remind the world what a mess government made,so many people still think BOJO et al were "doing their best" well if lying ,robbing the country blind and handing billions to their chums..and lets not forget the partying ...was "doing their best..then may your god protect us next time around for the incompetent fools.
And yes I am still very angry ,we lost a lot of good people friends and colleagues,neighbours ,my friends lovely 34 year old son and family IF we had lockeddown the 3 or 4 weeks earlier as the Scottish government wanted and closed airports to folk travelling from all over the world we would have done so much better.Sadly WE dont have the power to do these things that affected our country we had to WAIT to be allowed before we could do very much!!

I can quite understand why anyone who has been affected themselves or by the illness of someone close would not want to watch this programme. There is every reason why they should be able to choose not to watch. For those of us who got through the pandemic with less serious problems, I think it is good for us to watch and be reminded. We need to raise with candidates in the election the subject of planning for the next pandemic.

Marydoll

I had a catch up with friends this morning and they were raving about Breathtaking and urging me to watch it. I explained my reasons for not wishing to watch it: DNR note on my file, lack of treatment and people dying to give others a fighting chance.
You must watch, it is so interesting!. They bave no conception what it feels like to be dispensible.

It's amazing what a bit of make up can do.
I can recommend Clinique Chubby Stick blusher, Marydoll!

I'm not a bit surprised you don't want to watch it. Surprisingly, DH does but recorded it and I told him to watch it when I wasn't there as I don't want to. He doesn't remember anything about his time in ICU and subsequent slow recovery but I lived in a state of high anxiety for weeks.

I’m sure those, or their loved ones who were affected by Covid may not want to be reminded by watching this TV drama, and there were many sad and painful posts on GN at the time and since.

I have been amazed by the resilience of the human spirit, and the way in which some Gransnetters have managed to cope and are still coping despite it all.

What this drama says to me is a reminder of how ill equipped our neglected and run down NHS was to cope with such an epidemic, particularly as I read in the BMJ 2021, that apparently 11 pandemic exercises were carried out between 2016 and 2019!

Have lessons been learnt, I wish I was confident that they have.

Some people say it's important to watch it, so as ''not to forget'' what happened. Thing is ...those of us who lost someone lockdown week or around that time, and who weren't listened to by anyone at the time - and who were not able to get an appointment or be seen - and who witnessed their family member have their face to face GP appointment changed to just a telephone call instead despite having a viral respiratory infection (ie under NHS England guidelines from Govt to Primary Care) will NEVER forget and we don't need a harrowing programme to remind us. It didn't all happen in hospitals.

Thank you all for your kindness.
I was probably feeling a bit oversensitive today and part of the problem is I never look ill and am very good at covering up. People keep telling me how well I look. I'm sure they think I am a fraud! 😁
It's amazing what a bit of make up can do.

Slightly off piste, while I was with my friends today, I was waiting for a call from the surgery, because I had once again been selected for Jury Service, despite being previously exempted on medical grounds. On top of that I knew that I had both a COPD and RA flare up.

Much to my surprise I received a call from my own GP, from whom I had never heard since the beginning of the pandemic. I got the feeling he had suffered some kind of breakdown during it, because he disappeared for a while.
He was amazing and went out of his way to support me in a number of ways.
He is writing a strong letter to the court to say I will never be well enough to do jury duty and is organising a hospital referal for my chest, as well as prescribing stronger antibiotics.
So life is looking up.

He was shocked at how I was not my usual resilient self, but this talk of letting people die has just reminded me of what an awful time it was. I had blocked it out.

I will reiterate, any clinicians I did encounter were going above and beyond what anyone should be asked to do. I wouldn't be here now (although not as well as I could have been) if it weren't for them. I have nothing for admiration for them.

maddyone

Oh I forgot to say HousePlantQueen (I always kill my house plants so I leave them to DH) anyway I am fully recovered, thank you for asking, although I feel my asthma symptoms have been more noticeable since I had Covid. I’ve had more courses of steroids since then. But I haven’t got long Covid and for that I’m eternally grateful.

For you (or maybe your husband!).

Marydoll

I had a catch up with friends this morning and they were raving about Breathtaking and urging me to watch it. I explained my reasons for not wishing to watch it: DNR note on my file, lack of treatment and people dying to give others a fighting chance.
You must watch, it is so interesting!. They bave no conception what it feels like to be dispensible.

They have no conception what it feels like to be dispensible.

Harrowing.

You always come across as being incredibly 'chirpy' and upbeat, and I admire your resilience, truly.

Have some more - it's all I can give except for a 👍to your fighting spirit!

Keep on keeping on Marydoll

That’s awful Marydoll.
Where is their compassion and empathy?