It's a widely held truism that the first casualty of war is truth and it's pretty obvious we are at war with the virus. It must also be pretty clear by now that we're being lied to on a daily basis at the stage-managed No10 briefings; there's not enough PPE of the right type; there's not going to be enough ventilators and there's virtually no testing going on. The official rhetoric on all three topics says differently, so is it Dominic Cummings plan for callous 'herd-immunity' by the back door, or is it that the UK government can't organise the proverbial piss-up in a brewery?
There's so much out there on all three topics we can't possibly cover it all in one blog post, so firstly, why the problem with PPE? This from the Guardian on Friday:-
Documents show that officials working under former health secretary Jeremy Hunt told medical advisers three years ago to “reconsider” a formal recommendation that eye protection should be provided to all healthcare professionals who have close contact with pandemic influenza patients.
The expert advice was watered down after an “economic assessment” found a medical recommendation about providing visors or safety glasses to all hospital, ambulance and social care staff who have close contact with pandemic influenza patients would “substantially increase” the costs of stockpiling. The documents may help explain a devastating shortage of protective gear in the NHS that is hampering efforts by medical staff to manage the Covid-19 virus pandemic.
Doctors are threatening to quit the profession unless they are properly equipped, and NHS trusts across England have been asking schools to donate science goggles due to the shortages, the Guardian revealed on Wednesday. The health secretary, Matt Hancock, has acknowledged “challenges” with the supply of protective material to NHS staff and has drafted in the army to get supplies to frontline workers.
In recent days, his department says, more than 15m face masks have been delivered to the frontline, including 24.6m gloves and 1.9m sets of eye protection delivered on Wednesday. However documents seen by the Guardian suggest officials working under his predecessor resisted advice about stockpiling supplies of eye protection in case of a pandemic of this kind.
In 2015, what is now the Department of Health and Social Care tasked one of its independent advisory committees, the new and emerging respiratory virus threat advisory group (Nervtag), to review the UK’s approach to stockpiling personal protective equipment (PPE) for use in an influenza pandemic “to help inform future stockpile and purchasing decisions”.
Nervtag had been created the previous year to advise the government on pandemic influenza and new virus threats to the UK. The advisory group made a series of “formal recommendations” to the department in March 2016, which had been compiled by a subgroup of senior NHS clinicians and scientists, and agreed by the wider committee.
Asked what items of PPE would be required in a pandemic, the government’s advisers recommended “providing eye protection for all hospital, community, ambulance and social care staff who have close contact with pandemic influenza patients.” They said the protection could be either visors or safety glasses, adding such equipment was necessary because there was some evidence of risk of infection via the eyes when in close contact with pandemic influenza patients.
However, according to minutes of a Nervtag meeting in June 2017, a health department official told the advisers to reconsider their advice as information had emerged about “the very large incremental cost of adding in eye protection.”
A minute from the meeting stated that “a subsequent internal DH health economic assessment has revealed that following these recommendations would substantially increase the cost of the PPE component of the pandemic stockpile four-to six-fold, with a very low likelihood of cost-benefit based on standard thresholds.”
The department asked Nervtag “to clarify the detail of their advice in light of the costings, and reconsider its recommendations against the strength of the scientific evidence of the ocular route as a source of infection, and the likely incremental cost-recommendations”.
The advisory committee then changed its official advice. The recommendation over protective eyewear was rewritten so that it instead told the department to buy enough eye protection for “exceptional usage” in higher-risk circumstances and when used with respirator masks during aerosol generating procedures.
According to a January 2018 minute, the update was made “in light of emerging evidence around cost-effectiveness, and the evidence around the incremental benefits of wearing eye protection.” It is not clear at what level of seniority in the health department the Nervtag recommendations were considered back in 2016 and 2017. In a statement to the Guardian, DHSC said it would be incorrect to say ministers “intervened in this decision making”.
“As the public rightly expects, decisions of this nature are evidence-based and take into account a number of factors, including expert clinical guidance, cost effectiveness and practical consideration, such as shelf life and storage,” a DHSC spokesperson said.
“The government has prepared and stockpiled for an influenza pandemic. The documents clearly state that the scientific evidence did not support a vast increase in procurement expenditure on face masks with integrated eye protection for pandemic influenza.”
The DHSC is now scrambling to find ways to better supply hospital staff as it faces Covid-19, a highly infectious respiratory disease, with reports of doctors and nurses frantically trying to buy their own PPE and a particularly acute need for eye protection.
At prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, highlighted that the Healthcare Supplies Association had appealed to DIY shops to donate PPE. On Twitter, the association said it needed visors and protective glasses, tweeting: “Do we have to commandeer the stocks of DIY stores?????”
Hunt, who ran the department between 2012 and 2018 and now chairs the House of Commons health select committee, has in recent days led calls to better equip frontline staff battling the coronavirus. Last week, he told the BBC: “We must sort this out. We are asking people to put their own lives at risk on the NHS frontline...It is absolutely heartbreaking when NHS frontline professionals don’t have the equipment that they need.”
His spokeswoman told the Guardian: “Jeremy does not believe he was personally involved in decisions about PPE for NHS staff, but was acutely aware of the shortage of funds in the NHS budget which was why that year he fought for and secured an £8bn rise in the NHS annual budget followed by a £20bn rise two years later.”
However, the documents suggest the efforts by Hunt’s department to water down the advice on PPE impacted a round of procurement that was due to take place in 2017 to stockpile for a possible pandemic. In addition to the discussions over eye protection, the documents also raise questions about the UK government’s policy regarding face masks for doctors, nurses and other health professionals dealing with Covid-19 patients.
In 2016, Nervtag advisers told the government that intensive care units (ICUs) should be designated “hot spots” carrying out aerosol generating procedures. Therefore, they said, a particular kind of mask known as an FFP3 respirator “should be recommended for all staff at all times in these areas when a patient with pandemic influenza is present”, except for some circumstances.
One intensive care nurse at a hospital in Yorkshire told the Guardian earlier this week she had had to spend £100 of her own money to buy a full FFP3 respirator mask online. In her unit on Monday, there were no masks or surgical gowns, another vital piece of PPE kit which has also been in short supply.
There have been other reports in recent days of NHS improvising in the face of insufficient PPE, with nurses in the Royal Free hospital in north London affixing clinical waste bags around their legs, while at North Middlesex hospital they have been tying plastic aprons around their heads.
Back in 2016, Nervtag advisers also recommended the government commission an update to its infection control guidance, which by then was seven years old. The guidance, they said, needed to recommend PPE usage “in line with the current evidence base and guidelines”.
In June that year, the department responded to Nervtag’s initial recommendations about pandemic stockpiling, saying work to reflect the advice was being prioritised and progressed. However, with regard to updating the control guidance to bring it in line with current evidence, officials replied: “This work is not considered a priority at this time and will be deferred for consideration at a future time.”
Frontline doctors and nurses have said recent changes to official advice in the UK have meant many NHS staff have been wearing less protective gear than the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends when caring for Covid-19 patients. The WHO’s advice recommends different standards of PPE to the UK advice in certain clinical situations.
--oo00oo--
For those who might be inclined more towards thoughts of conspiracy, the article I highlighted yesterday on BylineTimes regarding what the Tories really think about the NHS is well worth a read and in order to have prejudices suitably reinforced:-
"Boris Johnson and his Cabinet do not love the NHS, they are ideologically against the very fundamental idea of public healthcare. It goes against every research paper and book they love; against the desires of the millionaires who set up their lobby groups and policy think tanks. It is fundamentally a project that does not fit in their free market utopia."
From BBC website:-
ReplyDeleteA 77-year-old man has become the third British prisoner to die after contracting coronavirus. The inmate, who had a number of underlying health conditions, was serving at HMP Littlehey in Cambridgeshire and died in hospital on Friday.
He is the second prisoner from HMP Littlehey to die with the virus. The Ministry of Justice said that as of 17:00 BST on Monday, 65 inmates had tested positive in 23 prisons.
The 4000 bed emergency Nightingale Hospital in London opens today. It's reported that it's already short of frontline doctors as only 1 in 50 are being tested for the virus.
ReplyDeleteIt opens too with a large volunteer force, and again it's reported that they've been advised to expect up to an 80% mortality rate for those on ventilators. That's a frightening statistic that means for every 4000 put on a ventilator only 80 are likely to survive.
Interestingly, the Nightingale also opens its doors on a day where all our national newspapers, including the Tory stalwarts like the Telegraph headline with criticism over the government's response to the pandemic, and critical of the disconnect between the rethoric been spouted by government and the realities that are being seen on the front line.
However, I can't help but think that whatever the Governments response has been, good or bad, it's just an initial response, primary action to reduce mortality. As we pass through this crisis and enevitabley come out the other side, and the sums are done to calculate the fiscal damage the virus has caused, what then for our NHS in the hands of a Government that thinks privatisation is the answer to all questions?
A million people have now signed up for Universal Credit in the last 10 days. That's a million more free prescriptions. Just one item a week on prescription for that million people represents almost half a £billion a year on prescription charges alone.
The NHS was struggling long before Covid19 came along. It's now preoccupied with fighting the virus. But when the sums are done and the full cost of the fiscal response to Covid19 is calculated what then for our NHS?
Coronavirus is a game changer, and when the game changes so do the rules. There will be many deaths caused by Coronavirus, I just hope the NHS isn't one of those casualties.
'Getafix
I wonder if the mortality rate for the Nightingale is being accurately represented. The 80% is the high end, as reports I've seen suggest that between 50-80% of those who need ventilation are likely to die. It cannot be assumed that when at full capacity all 4000 patients will be on ventilators, as whilst there will be intensive wards, there will be times when less intervention will be required. So I think it's highly unlike that of 4000 only 80 are likely to survive a stay in the Nightingale.
DeleteYou're right to point out that the reports predict that 50 to 80% of those put on ventilators will die. 80% is the high end, but that's why I said "UP TO" 80%.
DeleteI also accept that there will be different levels of interventions at the Nightingale, and not all will require a ventilator, that's why I specifically related my comment to only those that will be on ventalators.
"That's a frightening statistic that means for every 4000 put on a ventilator only 80 are likely to survive."
If you accept the predictions you quote in your comment that the likely mortality rate for those put on ventilators will be between 50 to 80%, I dont really think its a misrepresentation to suggest that" UP TO" 80% on ventalators will die.
'Getafix
We agree there is a high mortality rate for ventilators (wherever they may be situated). But you referenced your comments in relation to the Nightingale which happens to have a 4000 capacity - a figure you didn't pluck out of thin air. Thus in your worst-case scenario you had 80 leaving the Nightingale alive. For reasons already given, I don't think your remarks are likely to fairly represent outcomes at the Nightingale. Taking the best-case scenario of 50% mortality, we can perhaps agree that between 80 and 2000 patients of the notional 4000 on ventilators will survive.
DeleteFrom Telegraph:-
ReplyDeleteA former chief inspector of prisons has called for the early release of some prisoners to help overcrowded jails cope with the coronavirus pandemic.
Lord Ramsbotham, a former army lieutenant general before heading the inspectorate, said he was “very worried” that prison staff depleted by the coronavirus would not be able to handle the crisis.
He said many prison officers were inexperienced as the service had lost the equivalent of 80,000 years of operational expertise through cuts to staff in the past eight years at the same time as violence and drug abuse had risen.
“The remand prisoners in particular should be let out,” Lord Ramsbotham who has written to The Daily Telegraph with a cross party coalition of 50 peers, police and crime commissioners, leading academics and charities to urge ministers to suspend short jail sentences during the pandemic....
Still no mention of the poor at risk probation officers that’ll be required to see them in probation offices without PPE and no social distancing (which is now 6metres).
DeleteSome folk maybe clapping for them at their street doors tonight!
DeleteIt is shameful how Parliament has effectively abandoned some public service workers in recent decades, especially those in areas of public policy MPs can get least electoral benefit by supporting.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/voices/nhs-coronavirus-foreign-staff-visa-extension-home-office-a9440856.html%3famp
DeleteDo NOT be fooled by the smiling assassin:
ReplyDeleteJeremy Hunt co-authored book calling for NHS to be replaced with private insurance
'Direct Democracy: An Agenda For A New Model Party' called for the 'denationalisation' of the NHS
The Health Secretary is listed as one of the authors, though he has previously denied that he wrote the chapter on the NHS and says it does not reflect his views.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/jeremy-hunt-privatise-nhs-tories-privatising-private-insurance-market-replacement-direct-democracy-a6865306.html
__________________________________
Maybe it’s not surprising that so much of the media takes at face value Hunt’s self-presentation as a nice guy with a “consensual approach” (slogan: “Unite to win”). For most of his tenure as health secretary – except, perhaps, during the junior doctor dispute – they fairly uncritically adopted Hunt’s persona of the ‘champion of patient safety’.
Perhaps most damagingly, he oversaw a significant cut to the amount that hospitals were paid per procedure (payments which make up three quarters of their income). Hospitals now receive on average 10% less for treating a patient than the treatment actually costs the hospital (by the admission of the head of the main regulator, Ian Dalton).
https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/ournhs/what-did-jeremy-hunt-do-to-the-nhs-and-how-has-he-got-away-with-it/
________________________________
Jeremy Hunt, the new health secretary, personally intervened to encourage the controversial takeover of NHS hospitals in his constituency by a private company, Virgin Care, raising fresh concerns last night over his appointment.
Hunt, who replaced Andrew Lansley in last week's cabinet reshuffle, was so concerned by a delay to the £650m deal earlier this year that he asked for assurances from NHS Surrey officials that it would be swiftly signed.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2012/sep/09/jeremy-hunt-virgin-hospital-deal
The global counter seems to have become inexplicably stuck at a figure below 1 million. It hasn't moved for hours...
ReplyDeleteFrom Politics.co.uk:-
ReplyDeletePlease do not politicise this pandemic'. It's the rallying cry of the clueless. There is nothing about this pandemic that is not political. This is a health emergency imploding inside a vacuum of ideals. A disease transmitted by populist rhetoric, compounded by strongman posturing. An existential threat born of a series of geopolitical choices.
It is quaintly traditional for opinion writers to find, in national emergencies, undeniable confirmation of what they have long advocated. Looking across news media, this virus appears to simultaneously confirm that we were right to leave the EU and wrong to leave it, that capitalism works as does socialism, that Boris Johnson is hopeless and also Churchill. Let me buck this trend by telling you how wrong I was.
Had you asked me a few months ago, which of my two homes - the UK or Greece - would I rather be stuck in during a hypothetical pandemic, I would have answered the UK without a moment’s thought. It would have been a no-brainer. The small, chaotic, disorganised, barely-out-of-financial-crisis nation of my birth versus the economic giant and paragon of efficiency that is my current home, fabled for its people’s affinity for calm adherence to the rules?
But I have watched in horror the dithering, inefficient, muddled way in which the UK government has handled this and the self-centred reaction of some parts of the British public.
'Are you an epidemiologist?' challenge the same trolls who, for years, have been telling us they've had enough of experts. Well, no. I'm not an epidemiologist. But I don’t need to be, in order to understand the science and make a judgment on the political choices that flowed from it.
It has been obvious to me, closely following the news in both countries, that the messaging in the UK has been vague, contradictory, even flippant at times. Nonsense about herd immunity and 'taking it on the chin', were replaced by half-hearted suggestions to wash your hands while singing, then, eventually, the urging of people to stay home. Unless they can't. The UK is still not in full lockdown.
A comparison of the timelines of infection and victims in both countries, side by side with the measures they imposed is hair-raising.
The UK had its first cases on January 31st and its first death on March 5th. It took another seven days for the risk level to be raised from moderate to high. In Greece, the first cases were reported on February 26th. The very next day a popular festival attended by around 70,000 people, the Carnival of Patra, was cancelled and a huge PR campaign began. On March 4th, social distancing measures were announced and TV spots and daily press briefings began. On March 10th, schools and universities were closed. By contrast, the UK government at that point allowed the Cheltenham Festival to go ahead - an event which attracts more than a quarter of a million visitors.
On March 13th, all bars, restaurants, cafes, museums, sports facilities and shopping centres were closed in Greece. On the 16th all non-essential shops and public buildings closed. Greece had four dead by that point. Partial school closures did not happen in the UK until March 18th. Pubs, restaurants, clubs and gyms were not closed until the 20th - disastrously announced ahead of time, so everyone could go out for a last pint. By this point, the UK had 3,983 confirmed cases and 177 victims.
The UK still has not gone into a true full lockdown of the sort Greece implemented ten days ago. In the last 14 days, the rate of increase in new confirmed cases in Greece averages nine per cent. In the UK that figure is just under 18%.
DeleteThis doesn't mean things in Greece cannot still go to pot. People are beginning to relax, dangerously, to eye up possible Easter outings and gatherings. The health system here is incredibly rickety and could be easily overwhelmed. The remoteness which has protected many of the islands, could be their undoing, if the virus spreads there. But, at this stage, I can honestly say: so far, so good. And I cannot say the same, looking at the UK's measures. It has been consistently behind the curve.
Not to mention the procurement fiasco which has resulted in NHS workers having inadequate protective equipment. Not to mention the lack of testing in the UK - the thing the World Health Organisation said was the most key weapon against this virus from the start. Not to mention the joke of a government response to every challenge - 'we are ramping up efforts'. It is the equivalent of a teenager's 'okay, Mum, OKAY I'M DOING IT'.
Even down to the very basic misconceived idea of having a different minister do the briefing almost every evening, at a time when all good sense would dictate people need the stability of a constant point of reference.
So, no, I don't have to be an epidemiologist to know the UK has cocked up its response to this, in every conceivable way. And, no, I will not stop criticising the government for it. Because, without criticism from millions of people, clubs and pubs might still be open today and our health system overwhelmed. And, no, I will not stop 'politicising' this crisis. Because it is profoundly political. It is the consequence of a particular class of politician, who feels entitled to rule, without ever questioning whether he is capable of ruling.
There is no aspect of the political debate this virus does not challenge. Can a truly free market exist? Should the state be atrophied or muscular? Is an economy in the service of human happiness or the other way around? Can self-interest and common good be reconciled? Does the welfare system provide adequate support? Is paid work what forces us to be productive or does it take advantage of an innate need? What are the advantages of isolationism versus globalism? Who are the real key workers in our society? What is the role of expertise? Do we have the right work-life balance? Can we consume less to save the planet?
It seems to me that anyone calling for such a crisis not to be 'politicised' is just nervous about examining the answers they have given to these questions. The danger is that this will go the way of the gun debate in the US. Every time there is a mass shooting, there is a seamless transition from 'now is not the time to talk about it' to 'people just want to move on from talking about it'.
This crisis is political. If we ignore that, we waste the chance to review the choices that brought us where we are, and we compound the tragedy and loss of life.
Alex Andreou is a writer, actor and cook living in London and Greece.
https://www.politics.co.uk/comment-analysis/2020/04/02/coronavirus-is-political-don-t-let-them-tell-you-otherwise
CNN news reported global COVID-19 cases passed the Million mark earlier today.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of blaming of our govt going on but why does nobody mention that this is the fault of China. Their lies led to western govts adopting the wrong strategies initially.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.foxnews.com/world/china-lied-coronavirus-cases-deaths-patients-intelligence
Yes very good point - you mean like this:-
DeleteFox News insiders are concerned that the network could face "potential legal action" from viewers over its misleading coverage of the new coronavirus, according to Vanity Fair's Gabe Sherman, though experts say a "viable claim" against the network is unlikely.
Sherman, the author of the Fox News exposé "The Loudest Voice in the Room" who frequently covers the conservative network, told MSNBC on Sunday that "there's a real concern inside the network that their early downplaying of the coronavirus actually exposes Fox News to potential legal action by viewers who maybe were misled and actually have died from this."
https://www.salon.com/2020/03/30/fox-news-concerned-about-potential-legal-action-over-its-misleading-coronavirus-coverage-report/
I think most neutral people would agree that Fox News and the Guardian are equally biased, just obviously at opposite ends of the political spectrum.
DeleteI'm no fan of Trump at all but I'm not sure how anyone could disagree that this virus started in China and is a consequence of their horrific treatment of animals at live animal markets. SARS was also the fault of the Chinese and for the same reasons.
'Blaming' China and apportioning 'fault' doesn't get us very far though does it, beyond conveniently distracting everyone from our own governments actions of course. Distraction is a very handy technique to use when in a tight spot - why it looks like Trump is blaming all that impeachment stuff for distracting him from giving the virus his full attention.
Deletehttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-coronavirus-impeachment-white-house-press-briefing-a9440351.html
Lying is now the default position of HMG. Ths from biased Guardian today:-
DeleteBritish officials took part in four meetings where EU projects to bulk-buy medical kit were discussed – the earliest in January, according to official minutes that heap doubt on government claims of missing an email.
Last week Downing Street claimed that it failed to take part in an EU scheme to source life-saving ventilators and other kit to treat coronavirus because it accidentally missed the deadline.
No 10 initially said it did not take part because the UK was no longer a member of the EU and was “making our own efforts”. After critics accused Boris Johnson of putting “Brexit over breathing”, Downing Street clarified that missing out was an error and it would consider participating in future. It is understood the UK claimed not to have received an email from the EU asking it to participate.
EU minutes seen by the Guardian show that a British official joined eight out of 12 EU health security committee meetings dedicated to the Covid-19 outbreak since the group was set up earlier this year, shortly before China’s Hubei province was put into lockdown.
At least four of those meetings discussed EU procurement schemes on: 31 January, 4 February, 2 March and 13 March.
While the government marked Brexit day on 31 January, a British representative joined EU member states and commission officials to discuss what was then called “the cluster of pneumonia cases associated with novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China”.
At this meeting, four EU member states said the virus could require increased stocks in Europe of personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gloves, masks and goggles, and the commission said it was ready to help if asked.
The EU executive stated it was ready to help countries bulk-buy medical equipment on 4 February. By 2 March, officials at the commission’s health department reported that 20 EU countries wanted to join a procurement scheme for personal protective equipment, such as overalls, gloves and face-shields. Later that month, on 13 March, EU officials discussed the combined purchase of ventilators.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/30/uk-discussed-joint-eu-plan-to-buy-covid-19-medical-supplies-say-officials
The UK government's screeching u-turn on coronavirus testing is laid bare in two internal memos leaked to BuzzFeed News over the last 24 hours.
DeleteOn Wednesday, a "lines to take" briefing note — which are sent to ministers and MPs every morning to help them handle questions from the media — instructed government spokespeople to dismiss criticisms of the UK's testing record.
If asked why the UK was not following World Health Organisation advice to "test test test" like Germany, ministers and MPs were yesterday told to reject the WHO guidance.
"When the WHO talks about testing, it is addressing the global system. Not all countries have the same infrastructure as the UK and there are countries that the WHO needs to press on testing," Wednesday's internal memo told ministers to say.
But that line was deleted from Thursday morning's memo and replaced with a new line to take for ministers and MPs that is almost the complete reverse.
"Increasing testing capacity is the government's top priority, and we are working around the clock and across the country to rapidly boost capacity," ministers are now being told to say.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexwickham/uk-coronavirus-testing-u-turn
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200401-covid-19-how-fear-of-coronavirus-is-changing-our-psychology
DeleteThe threat of contagion can twist our psychological responses to ordinary interactions, leading us to behave in unexpected ways.
DeleteRarely has the threat of disease occupied so much of our thinking. For weeks, almost every newspaper has stories about the coronavirus pandemic on its front page; radio and TV programmes have back-to-back coverage on the latest death tolls; and depending on who you follow, social media platforms are filled with frightening statistics, practical advice or gallows humour.
As others have already reported, this constant bombardment can result in heightened anxiety, with immediate effects on our mental health. But the constant feeling of threat may have other, more insidious, effects on our psychology. Due to some deeply evolved responses to disease, fears of contagion lead us to become more conformist and tribalistic, and less accepting of eccentricity. Our moral judgements become harsher and our social attitudes more conservative when considering issues such as immigration or sexual freedom and equality. Daily reminders of disease may even sway our political affiliations.
The recent reports of increased xenophobia and racism may already be the first sign of this, but if the predictions of the scientific research are correct, they may reflect much deeper social and psychological shifts.
The behavioural immune system
Like much of human psychology, these responses to disease need to be understood in the context of prehistory. Before the birth of modern medicine, infectious disease would have been one of the biggest threats to our survival. The immune system has some amazing mechanisms to hunt and kill those pathogenic invaders. Unfortunately, these reactions leave us feeling sleepy and lethargic – meaning that our sickly ancestors would have been unable to undertake essential activities, like hunting, gathering or childrearing.
The two leading prison reform groups in the country have called on the government to take further action to reduce the prison population in order to protect prisoners, staff and the wider public from coronavirus.
ReplyDeleteIn an open letter, the Howard League for Penal Reform and the Prison Reform Trust have warned the Secretary of State for Justice, Robert Buckland, that failure to act immediately could lead to loss of life on an unprecedented scale.
The charities have welcomed the decision to release certain pregnant women and mothers in Mother and Baby Units, but urged the Secretary of State to extend early release to prisoners who are either medically vulnerable or present a low risk of harm.
The letter has been published alongside a report by Professor Richard Coker, Emeritus Professor of Public Health at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, which sets out the most up-to-date evidence concerning the nature, spread and transmission of coronavirus as it applies to prisons.
Professor Coker’s report states that the risk of exposure to the virus to prisoners and staff is “far, far greater” than the risks to individuals in the wider community, adding that social distancing and personal infection control measures are “almost impossible” in prisons. It recommends that authorities “should consider alternative options to incarceration where feasible”.
Frances Crook, Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, said: “The government is in a race against time to curb the spread of coronavirus in prisons and protect the wider public.
“Many more lives will be lost unless urgent action is taken to reduce the number of people behind bars.
“We understand that advice on the impact of this disease within the prison system has been presented to the Prime Minister, and we ask that this is published.”
Peter Dawson, Director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: “All we are asking is that the government follow the science. That makes it very clear that reducing the number of people in prison is crucial to controlling the spread of infection, not just in prisons but in the communities to which prisoners return on release and staff return every day.
“Virtually every area of government is taking decisive, bold action to protect the public by following the science – there can be no excuse not to do the same in prisons.
“Time is short, and ministers are already behind the curve. Further delay will cause avoidable deaths amongst prisoners, prison staff and those closest to them.”
Over the course of the last week, the two charities have been in urgent private correspondence with the Secretary of State, setting out their concern about the developing situation behind bars.
DeleteAs the virus takes hold in prisons, prisoners, who would otherwise have been safe to release to homes where they and those around them could avoid infection, risk becoming critically ill in an environment not equipped to treat them. This will put not only their lives at risk, but also those of the prison staff trying to look after them.
The window of opportunity to save lives is closing, and the consequences of further delay will be felt far beyond prison walls. As large shared spaces, prisons act as “epidemiological pumps”, which can drive the spread of disease among the wider community.
Explosive coronavirus outbreaks within large shared spaces have acted as preludes to wider transmission among the general population, as has been seen in a cluster of cases associated with a ski-chalet in France and in church and hospital clusters in South Korea.
According to Ministry of Justice figures, as of 5pm on Tuesday 31 March, 69 prisoners have tested positive for coronavirus across 25 prisons. Fourteen prison staff, working in eight different prisons, and four Prisoner Escort and Custody Services (PECS) staff have also tested positive. Three people in prison have died.
On the ground, there have been reports of dangerous practices. For example, in Wandsworth prison, where men with milder cold and flu-like symptoms have been forced to share cells with confirmed coronavirus patients in an ‘isolation wing’. Professor Coker’s report expresses concern about this practice.
Staff shortages due to self-isolation and changes to the regime have had a severe impact, with reports that most prisoners are effectively in solitary confinement. Some are reporting reductions in food; it is understood that Ford and Spring Hill prisons are now providing only one pre-packed meal a day to the men in their care.
There is unanimous support from prison officers, prison governors and the government’s own expert advisory panel for immediate action to release prisoners and save lives.
The Prison Governors’ Association has called for a decision to be “made and implemented immediately”, adding that it would “help delay the spread of the virus in custody due to less crowding, which in turn will reduce the burden on the NHS”.
The Prison Officers’ Association has indicated that it would support the decision to release prisoners nearing the end of their sentences as it “would free up spaces and resources to assist in an already stretched prison service”.
The Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody has stated that the government “should embark without further delay” on a programme of planned releases in order to “meet its obligation to take active steps to protect lives”.
England and Wales are out of step with many other countries that have taken decisive action to protect health and life. Northern Ireland is to release 200 of its 1,500 prisoners. Scotland has also said that it will release prisoners early.
Ireland has released prisoners who had already been determined suitable for early release. France has announced the release of some 5,000 prisoners, as well as reducing short-term prison sentences and bringing down the number of entrants into the system from 200 per day to about 30. Netherlands has stopped those who were due to be detained on short sentences from doing so for the time being. In the US, various states have released hundreds of prisoners. In California alone, 3,500 people are to be granted early release in an effort to reduce crowding.
Goddammit!! I hadn't realised how dumb I was until just now. Just watching Hancock's Half-Hour (I see he had Sid *and* Bill with him today) & it all made sense!
ReplyDeleteThe trick to these corona news conferences is to make the most outlandish claim possible, while ignoring the fact that any & all previous claims ever happened.
Its Trumpism, but with a twist - it ain't Trump.
STOP LYING. TELL THE TRUTH. STOP PRETENDING YOU'RE IN CONTROL. YOU'RE NOT. THE VIRUS IS. WE'RE JUST FIREFIGHTING IN THE HOPE WE CAN PUT OUT THE FIRE BEFORE IT CONSUMES EVERYTHING.
Hancock had coronavirus symptoms. Why is he out of isolation so soon?
Deletehttps://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thecanary.co/trending/2020/04/01/live-on-air-the-government-just-lost-4000-ventilators/amp/
Delete"STOP LYING. TELL THE TRUTH. STOP PRETENDING YOU'RE IN CONTROL. YOU'RE NOT. THE VIRUS IS. WE'RE JUST FIREFIGHTING IN THE HOPE WE CAN PUT OUT THE FIRE BEFORE IT CONSUMES EVERYTHING."
DeleteDifficult times - couldn't agree more 17:49!!!
Caps lock stuck
Delete100,000 tests a day by the end of april... hahahahahahaha
ReplyDeleteHancock states categorically in today's news conference that they met the 10,000/day target before the end of March:
"UK fails to reach goal of 10,000 daily tests - on Monday (31/3/20) it was clear the level of testing had dipped over the weekend, with just 4,908 people tested in the 24 hours before 9am on Sunday.
On Friday (27/3/20), 9,114 tests were carried out on about 6,900 people, with the disparity due to the need for multiple tests following inconclusive results. This dropped on Saturday to 8,278 tests on 4,908 patients – the latest figures available." (Guardian)
The lies shamelessly trip off the tongue - no wonder the civil service and associated government managed public sector organisations are so comfortable with telling blatant, bare-faced lies; throwing others overboard; filling their pockets while those around them are denied access to pretty much anything.
I wondered why Peston hadn't come back at Hancock & co about the claims of 'not enough reagents', given that he's already debunked that lie by speaking to the chemical industry lead who says there's plenty of reagent.
ReplyDeleteSeems Hancock (or someone behind a curtain?) has a mute button that cuts off the journo's link once they've asked their tabled questions.
Ohhhh, the POWER! The P O W E R!! Its coursing through my body!!! Igor, turn it up, turn it up!!!
Get with the programme, Doctor.
DeleteIts "Igor, ramp it up, ramp it up."
https://www.theramppeople.co.uk/
Who appears to care about what is happening to Probation staff, what has happened to this blog. The NPS is treating their prison staff with absolute contempt, 'redeploying' into the community to cover telephone contacts,when they have caseloads of 80 to cover, whilst those left still struggling with OMIC are left with countless reports, being criticised by governors for reducing contact on the house blocks. A colleague was asked to prove he had asthma and told he couldn't work from home, but had to socially distant himself in the approved premises where he was being redeployed to. What is going on elsewhere on the ground ?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.tuc.org.uk/resource/covid-19-coronavirus-guidance-unions-updated-30-march
DeleteIt seems like decisions are not being dealt out fairly, senior managers evade being too specific and put responsibility on Spos who seem to make decisions very differently especially in prison and on the basis of how strong they are in standing up to the bullying from prison management. Even some prison officers hacked off that NPS probation officers are asserting they don't wish to go on the wings.
Delete20:35 thank you, useful website.
Delete21:45 - you're welcome.
DeleteWow would encourage your colleague to seek further clarification and obtain relevant medical evidence.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/02/labour-urges-government-publish-findings-2016-pandemic-drill
ReplyDeleteLabour has called on ministers to publish the suppressed conclusions of a cross-government pandemic drill that took place in 2016, which accurately predicted that the NHS would be plunged into crisis by an infectious and deadly disease.
DeleteCodenamed Exercise Cygnus, the wide-ranging exercise took place in October 2016, but its conclusions have never been made public, even though it highlighted shortages of intensive care beds, vital equipment and even mortuary space.
Jon Ashworth, Labour’s health spokesman, accused ministers of not properly preparing the NHS for the coronavirus crisis, despite the exercise three years ago.
“There are serious questions for ministers on what lessons were learnt from the Cygnus pandemic drill, which can only be answered by publishing its conclusions and the actions taken as a result,” Ashworth said.
The Labour frontbencher added: “We went into this crisis without enough staff or beds. We have long warned about critical care bed capacity and pressures on the NHS after years of financial squeeze.”
There are only a handful of references to Cygnus in public documents, although in December of that year Dame Sally Davies, England’s then chief medical officer, said it suggested that the health service would struggle to cope.
“We’ve just had in the UK a three-day exercise on flu on a pandemic that killed a lot of people. It became clear that we could not cope with the excess bodies, for instance. It becomes very worrying about the deaths, and what that will do to society as you start to get all those deaths, [including] the economic impact,” Davies said at the time.
Ministers have been accused of being slow to appreciate the threat from coronavirus, although at the time of the exercise, pandemic flu had been recognised by government to be the most serious emergency threat likely to face the UK.
Although reports first surfaced that a new infectious disease had emerged in Wuhan, China, at the turn of the year, it was not until the deadly strain had spread to northern Italy in mid-March that crisis measures began to be implemented in the UK.
In the days that followed, Matt Hancock, the health secretary, issued an appeal for the private sector to build more ventilators, while attempts were made to increase the UK’s testing capability. A lockdown, under which all non-essential workers were urged to stay at home, was announced by Boris Johnson on 24 March.
Cygnus was set seven weeks into a severe pandemic outbreak and was designed to test the NHS’s response when its service was being overwhelmed and staff numbers were being depleted because they too were falling ill.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/coronavirus-uk-cases-gp-surgery-ill-disabled-letters-a9440206.html%3famp
ReplyDeletePlease Google 'Event 201'
ReplyDeleteVery interesting read putting a whole new slant on this situation.