Over the past few weeks we have spent W/E in the Lancashire Dales and a long W/E in Plymouth, as much as I want to blame Boris, I have to say people in Lancashire were prone to ignore social distancing and not wear masks where required. In Plymouth and surrounding areas there was a clear adherence to whatever rules were being applied and as importantly a clear understanding of what is at stake.. Make of this what you will..
I see that the “glitch” in our world beating, test and trace system was due to it being reliant on an Excel spreadsheet that had reached it’s maximum number of columns, so no more could be added. World beating. https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/p...hqTBhK6sa1NKJh12BB73eRFSxm0kk-leGxCKHQ35dtTHw
These excuses get more tragic by the day , gotta give Boris credit for consistency though. He must be up all night thinking them up, no wonder he looks ****ing clueless during the day. The poor guy must be knackered!!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-us-2020-54427390 Really not sure what to make of this. 50% of me says total scam and publicity stunt 50% of me thinks he will override the doctors orders to leave hospital so not to look "weak". I hope it is the latter as even though he think she is indestructible, a 74 year old unhealthy overweight man isn't.
You do know that Boris doesn’t actually set up the computer systems. You would have to go down several layers of management before you reach the person who should have known better and didn’t. I know people always talk about the blame stopping at the top, but it would be a master class in micromanagement if Boris selected the wrong Excel system. Someone cocked up and that person is way down the line. I suspect government pay isn’t good enough to attract the best staff in IT
The so-called NHS Test and Trace system is in fact almost entirely outsourced to private contractors like Serco. The fiasco over PPE contracts shows how much due diligence the government do with these things, and Test and Trace has sadly borne that out.
Couldn't agree more and read earlier about legal challenges to the government awarding of contracts without tender. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...over-cummings-allys-pr-firm-contract-hanbury- and from the BMJ 25/08, some big numbers here. https://www.bmj.com/content/370/bmj.m3333
Mistakes happen when speed is of the essence....or people convince you that speed is more important than getting things right. Only a few weeks into the crisis when they started daily updates I started screaming at the TV....stop setting targets (at least in public)....it will be used to beat you over the head and increase pressure (and therefore mistakes).
I agree Fran. I was also screaming at the telly ... stop lying to us or fabricating the results and rules just to make it look good. If they were going to set targets, just come out and say the results...”We wanted 100,000 tests a day by now and we’re currently at 70,000 and working towards that target.” But no, they set the target to sound good and then bullsh1tted us to try and sound good. In the end I stopped watching them. I agree. Don’t set the targets.
Agree 1000000000%. They have treated the population like naughty school children, with zero respect. Just ****ing admit that it's a difficult situation and update us with how you're doing. The bluster and lies have made everything so much worse.
I'm not sure it's as simple as that. The media, and many of us through social media, demand to know the intricate details of a ducks arse these days, and expect a continual 60 second retreat of data and stories. I agree they should have used that approach, and they should have told that **** from Sky TV and the others to **** off, yet they'd have been criticised for doing that also. But, to be clear, they should have said what's Fats said. #borisoutfatsin
So what qualifies as a test? There's been a number of definitions. To my mind a test is complete when the result is known. Not tests available or tests done but the full cycle. Anything else is a misleading fudge. Availablity and reliability is another part of what should be the cornerstone of the CV strategy.
In my opinion, the “misleading fudge” has made things infinitely worse. Claiming to be doing in excess of 200,000 tests per day, when they haven’t been, gives the false impression that they are totally on top of things and may have led to sections of the public believing that even if they did contract the virus, it would be discovered very quickly. The problem is that once the lies are uncovered, they either have to bite the bullet, hold their hands up and admit that they have lied, or continue lying and avoiding close scrutiny. Unfortunately we have a government that follows the latter course of action. I have never been a fan of Piers Morgan, he is obnoxious, BUT he won’t allow figures, given by the government, to go unchallenged, which is why it has been more than 160 days since a senior member of the government has appeared on his breakfast show. As for setting targets in the early days. In all walks of life targets need to be achievable, based on the ability and resources of those involved. Setting unachievable targets indicates that the people setting the targets don’t fully understand what they are doing and breeds a lack of confidence in them and the systems being used, when the targets are missed.
Well said St B, I have similar feeling re Morgan the organ. The lies and deceit from whatever source, across the political spectrum, individuals and media need exposing when and wherever they occur.
