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Coronavirus - the new strain XXII

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Seanm said:
“This is v. important as there are currently more 'medically fit for discharge' patients in UK hospitals (about 10000) than with Covid (7400).
This is mainly due to shortage of care workers so govt. should look at giving generous one-off payments
1/3”

https://twitter.com/drraghibali/status/1470669991309717505?s=21

We think of health and social care capacity as being pretty fixed - not much we can do in the short term. But if he’s right then that is a huge thing that could be done right away to massively improve likely outcomes. I’d love the government to be under pressure for this kind of thing rather than speeding up vaccine passports or whatever.
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This is one of the key issues, and it has been for years: hospitals can't clear beds fast enough because there are not enough places to send convalescent or patients that need long term care. All that nitty-gritty stuff was palmed off to local authorities years ago. The government then cut funding to local councils. An ageing population puts extra stress on the whole system. Etc.
"By 2020, local authorities will have faced a reduction to core funding from
the Government of nearly £16 billion over the preceding decade. That means
that councils will have lost 60p out of every £1 the Government had provided
to spend on local services in the last eight years. Next year, 168 councils will
receive no revenue support grant at all."
https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/5.40_01_Finance publication_WEB_0.pdf
 
Rallye_punk said:
Didn't we build a huge hospital in London to deal with the extra covid patients, Nightingale? What happened to that?
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Building the hospital is the easy part. Training doctors (10 years) and nurses (5 years) and other staff is the difficult part. There's no point having a shiny new temporary facility if the only people you can spare to staff it are a few token Armed Forces medics.

(sorry, gavreid beat me to it)
 
So we are faced with huge staff shortages as well as a bed shortage, I see. Ideal! Without stating the obvious, hasn't the NHS been under strain and at breaking point for the last ten years regardless of current events?
 
Rallye_punk said:
So we are faced with huge staff shortages as well as a bed shortage, I see. Ideal! Without stating the obvious, hasn't the NHS been under strain and at breaking point for the last ten years regardless of current events?
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It has been, but this is worse, a new kind of pressure and much worse, with the stress showing on the NHS two months earlier than it usually does.
 
I can't help but feel that the whole covid thing has provided the Governemnt with a reason to attirubute all their failings.
 
PsB said:
This is one of the key issues, and it has been for years: hospitals can't clear beds fast enough because there are not enough places to send convalescent or patients that need long term care. All that nitty-gritty stuff was palmed off to local authorities years ago. The government then cut funding to local councils. An ageing population puts extra stress on the whole system. Etc.
"By 2020, local authorities will have faced a reduction to core funding from
the Government of nearly £16 billion over the preceding decade. That means
that councils will have lost 60p out of every £1 the Government had provided
to spend on local services in the last eight years. Next year, 168 councils will
receive no revenue support grant at all."
https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/5.40_01_Finance publication_WEB_0.pdf
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Yes, I think it's *the* issue of our times, personally, and already was before the pandemic. Now, Jesus. Seems to have been at the heart of the worst moment of the early pandemic, the discharge of infected patients into care homes, and even if that doesn't happen again it now looks like the issue will be key to whether or not health services can cope. The suggestion in the Tweet, though, is that despite the structural nature of the problem it could be mitigated by tempting workers who've left the care sector back with big one-off payments. I don't know how realistic it is but I'd like to see it discussed in the media by those who do.
 
PsB said:
Yes, it has been, but recent governments have tried to wish the problem away. The solution is not very complicated: more money.
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Ah yes all boils down to money, but that won't be forthcoming as we are now in even more debt due to the events of the last year. Endless taxes for our children, yay!
 
Rallye_punk said:
Ah yes all boils down to money, but that won't be forthcoming as we are now in even more debt due to the events of the last year. Endless taxes for our children, yay!
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Not if our children have pitchforks. Lots of people have done very, very well out of Covid. That wealth could go a long way if it were...shared a little bit.

The debt's not a problem, economically: we can live with it likely forever. But if it really has to be paid back quickly there are some very deep pockets out there. Short arm epidemic also, but easily cured with pitchforks. Two jabs are sufficient.
 
Rallye_punk said:
Ah yes all boils down to money, but that won't be forthcoming as we are now in even more debt due to the events of the last year. Endless taxes for our children, yay!
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As a society, you get what you pay for. Alternatively, should our children start learning how to change our nappies and how to lift us safely to take a shower? A good % of us here are going to end up with chronic health problems, incontinent, confused, unable to stand up etc. Who handles the mess? Euthanasia is not a nice option.
 
Personally I think you just be shot when you can no longer contribute to society. I am joking before anyone gets their knickers in a twist, however we don't really get what we pay for as the money is never used in the way it should be. Instead ends up lining the pockets of those who don't really need it.
 
Omicron 'poses a real threat', says Moderna chief

In the UK, Dr Paul Burton, chief medical officer at Moderna, has been speaking to MPs on the Commons science and technology committee.

Burton said he expects data in the coming days to show how well the Moderna booster improves protection against the Omicron variant.

He cautioned against claims, largely from South Africa, that the variant is causing milder disease, and warned that Omicron and Delta are likely to circulate together for some time.

“I do not think Omicron is a milder, less severe version of the current virus,” he told the committee.

"It will also lead to a situation where individuals will become co-infected…which gives the opportunity for this virus to further evolve and mutate which is a concerning and worrying situation."

https://www.theguardian.com/world/l...-surpass-50m-china-reports-first-omicron-case
 
gustavm said:
(I think some of the previous comments in this thread re vaccine efficacy are unnecessarily pessimistic)
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Thank you for the link to the BBC article but it does state:

Two doses of some vaccines offer almost no protection from an Omicron infection

This is disappointing and contrasts sharply with the optimism of a year ago when the Pfizer vaccination first came out when an efficacy of 90% plus against infection was being quoted from receiving a single jab. Since then a second jab has become necessary and now a booster to stand a less than 50/50 chance of resisting the virus should you come into contact with it. No wonder Omicron cases are doubling in number every two days.
 
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