Off Topic Coronavirus

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Anybody tried accessing any non COVID, non blue light health care recently? It’s a ****ing nightmare, round my way anyway.

Had it confirmed from a GP (not one of my friendly neighbours, our actual GP) that the NHS is definitively not open for business. And in her words, it’s a disgrace. Only option to get a quick x-ray for a sprained (probably, slim chance of a small break hence X-ray) (wife) on the NHS round here is to wait until July and travel 20 miles rather than 2, because the local hospital is ‘closed’ and they have broken the machine anyway. Or to go to A&E, for something that the GP has already referred, which is mysteriously still open. All to do with our local hospital being designated a COVID centre, which means it is essentially empty now, with waiting lists building.

There is another NHS related thing that I am quietly furious about, but not COVID related, so I’ll quietly simmer on that.

Do you not have a local UCC ? Surely they can do any x-rays ?
 
Do you not have a local UCC ? Surely they can do any x-rays ?
What’s that, a kind of walk in centre/walking wounded minor injuries unit? No, you are meant to get triaged into that at A&E, if you can get into A&E.
Quite shocked reading the last few pages. Seems the NHS has been well and truly 'protected' - from patients.
It’s ****ed mate, but you aren’t allowed to say that, because it is a national icon. It’s been ****ed for a very long time, but a bit of real pressure on the system has really pushed it to the edge. The thing which protects it most is that the majority of users have very low expectations and are pathetically grateful for what they get, despite having paid for it all of their working lives. Perversely they, like the professional bodies, are fiercely resistant to any meaningful change.
 
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Yeah that’s the thing.....Urgent Care Centre.
Seems things work a bit different here than where you are.....
That’s what happens with a ‘centralised’ system which isn’t really centralised, huge variation in type and quality of service in different places and no real control. But hey, it’s the NHS, so no criticism.

A few miles north of me in Bedworth, the hospital is reporting a surge in virus admissions, up 80% in a few days, over 50 hospitalised, a recently reopened school and a factory have been closed. A glance at Worldometers for the global situation shows that this pandemic is getting worse, not better. Death rates might be falling but infection rates are surging - a record 181,000 new diagnoses yesterday worldwide, tens of thousands more than the previous high. All building up nicely for the second wave.
 
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That’s what happens with a ‘centralised’ system which isn’t really centralised, huge variation in type and quality of service in different places and no real control. But hey, it’s the NHS, so no criticism.

A few miles north of me in Bedworth, the hospital is reporting a surge in virus admissions, up 80% in a few days, over 50 hospitalised, a recently reopened school and a factory have been closed. A glance at Worldometers for the global situation shows that this pandemic is getting worse, not better. Death rates might be falling but infection rates are surging - a record 181,000 new diagnoses yesterday worldwide, tens of thousands more than the previous high. All building up nicely for the second wave.

Im not too sure about this ‘second wave’.....it seems now we are going for ‘herd immunity’ by default, and maybe the ones who were gonna die of it...have already died of it. Certainly my workload of ‘COVID likely’ jobs are reduced dramatically so it’s getting back to more normality....met a lovely bloke the other day who had been deported to Siberia by the Russians (from Poland) just as the war started (his mother froze to death)Then was released in a deal to fight against the Germans in North Africa with the Free Poles....finally doing battle at Monte Cassino where he saw his 3 best friends die.
A lovely man who admitted he still had nightmares about what he saw, I won’t lie, I shed a tear or two.

Bloody Gammon, eh ?
 
Seems Apple and Google have gone ahead with Covid-19 tracking software without the government. If you have an I-Phone it's under Settings-Privacy-Health. On Androids it's under Settings-Google Services. No App of course.
 
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Seems Apple and Google have gone ahead with Covid-19 tracking software without the government. If you have an I-Phone it's under Settings-Privacy-Health. On Androids it's under Settings-Google Services. No App of course.

Interesting - just checked my phone

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So, with the infrastucture already built for them, HMG still couldn't get an app going, probably because Joe Public is very unlikely to download it and give them access to their data.
 
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Anybody tried accessing any non COVID, non blue light health care recently? It’s a ****ing nightmare, round my way anyway.

Had it confirmed from a GP (not one of my friendly neighbours, our actual GP) that the NHS is definitively not open for business. And in her words, it’s a disgrace. Only option to get a quick x-ray for a sprained (probably, slim chance of a small break hence X-ray) (wife) on the NHS round here is to wait until July and travel 20 miles rather than 2, because the local hospital is ‘closed’ and they have broken the machine anyway. Or to go to A&E, for something that the GP has already referred, which is mysteriously still open. All to do with our local hospital being designated a COVID centre, which means it is essentially empty now, with waiting lists building.

There is another NHS related thing that I am quietly furious about, but not COVID related, so I’ll quietly simmer on that.

I've torn the MCL in my right knee, been having physio and was due a scan,two days later the hospital is closed,had a physio appt via telephone (waste of time) been working ever since (I'm supposedly a key worker) doing untold damage now I've got a bloody stick for company
 
Isn't it down to Google and Apple not wanting centralised data collection but the government not willing to bend.

I think this means that the tech giants are more concerned with data privacy (which is bizarre) and our government would rather shoot themselves in the foot (or at least prolong the epidemic) than compromise.

I could be wrong though.
 
I've torn the MCL in my right knee, been having physio and was due a scan,two days later the hospital is closed,had a physio appt via telephone (waste of time) been working ever since (I'm supposedly a key worker) doing untold damage now I've got a bloody stick for company
And Matt Hancock will be saying that the NHS is ‘open for business’ and thanking everyone for the brilliant job they are doing, while clapping himself on the back.

This is a disgrace. That’s a serious injury which requires proper treatment. Good luck Peter.

One small online community and we have 4 concrete examples of a non functioning NHS within a few hours. Scale up and it’s terrifying. Where is the media when you want them?
 
Isn't it down to Google and Apple not wanting centralised data collection but the government not willing to bend.

I think this means that the tech giants are more concerned with data privacy (which is bizarre) and our government would rather shoot themselves in the foot (or at least prolong the epidemic) than compromise.

I could be wrong though.

Think it was a combination of having to be seen to be better than actual ****ing multinational tech giants and doing it in a way that we could funnel another hundred million or so to someone linked to a senior politician.
 
Think it was a combination of having to be seen to be better than actual ****ing multinational tech giants and doing it in a way that we could funnel another hundred million or so to someone linked to a senior politician.
It's too early to compare ourselves to multinational tech giants.
 
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Another illicit pub session yesterday. I'm not sure if lockdown has made me more argumentative, or that the people I drink with are bigger ****s than I'd realised. The disgust displayed at the footballers taking a knee was quite shocking, but not as much as the belief that the government had handled the Coronavirus crisis quite well.
 
Another illicit pub session yesterday. I'm not sure if lockdown has made me more argumentative, or that the people I drink with are bigger ****s than I'd realised. The disgust displayed at the footballers taking a knee was quite shocking, but not as much as the belief that the government had handled the Coronavirus crisis quite well.
Respect the illicit pub sessions, even as a non drinker.
 
Another illicit pub session yesterday. I'm not sure if lockdown has made me more argumentative, or that the people I drink with are bigger ****s than I'd realised. The disgust displayed at the footballers taking a knee was quite shocking, but not as much as the belief that the government had handled the Coronavirus crisis quite well.

I agree Strolls....I mean if some multi millionaire footballer wants to bend his knee to end capitalism....who am I to argue.