If you are in any doubt about policy decisions for dealing with the virus, please read this, published just yesterday, from the massively respected Richard Horton, the editor of the Lancet.
thelancet.com/journals/lanc...
(The title appears in the article and is from an NHS health worker.)
Very interesting. Apart from this the NHS has been underfunded for at least 10 years and working at full capacity most of the time under normal circumstances. With this pandemic they have no chance of coping. Nurses have complained of under staffing for years and many have been driven out of the profession by stress and poor pay. Now it's come home to roost and our wonderful dedicated health workers and us normal folk are, as usual, paying the price. x
Absolutely Bev - chicks coming home to roost. Very worrying and distressing when you see nurses like the one shown over and over on the beeb who couldnt get any food after a 48 hour shift. Those people are precious, they should be protected.
And paid properly.
I'm verging on angry that the lowest paid ie care workers, delivery drivers, nurses et al are some of the lowest paid and now holding the country together . Most care workers do a great job on subsistence wages and running out of protective clothing.
Thanks J for posting this link. X
Political bias/opinion should not be examined until proven that this pandemic could have been averted. It does not help the confidence of sufferers- just as our brave soldiers were killed/maimed during Blairs unnecessary war - due to lack of protective equipment.
Those soldiers might have wished enough fuss had been made in time for something to have been done. Things have improved now - not enough but a bit - through people objecting noisily about what is not ok. It helps to make a noise.
No-one believes the pandemic could have been averted - why would you even suggest that? - but nations who have are better prepared have less deaths.
I never claimed or said "this pandemic could have been averted" - where did you get that from...???
That makes for very difficult reading Jean and it’s shameful. The NHS has been on its knees for years and now look. The poor staff are desperate for things that should have been in place weeks ago. My heart goes out to them all. Xxx
"Lets get it done" takes on a frightening new meaning and will probably have to be replaced with "Too little Too Late",sadly at the expense of many trusted and valued staff who to date still remain unprotected whilst they fight to save the population. 
Sorry but I don't respect him at all! He cannot be trusted. Under his editorship the Lancet has form in publishing inaccurate (and politically biased) articles and research.
Just one example - and there are many - in the late 1990s he published Andrew Wakefield's discredited anti-MMR research and refused to withdraw his backing from Wakefield for about 10 years. Consequently measles is on the rise around the world even today, and the actions of backers like Horton encouraged Wakefield and the Anti-Vaxxer campaign, thanks to which many children have not been immunised and are exposed to measles and its complications (one of which is lifelong lung disease.)
He may have a medical background but for nearly 30yrs now he's been principally a journalist. He is far too political and interested in point-scoring.
I didnt know Horton is/was an anti-vaxxer Hanne62 - of course I disagree with that, but everything else I have read backs up his view of virus provision, or lack of it, expressed in this editorial.
I have to agree with you. This is what Horton was saying on his Twitter account on 24 January this year - "A call for caution please. Media are escalating anxiety by talking of a “killer virus” + “growing fears”. In truth, from what we currently know, 2019-nCoV has moderate transmissibility and relatively low pathogenicity. There is no reason to foster panic with exaggerated language." Two months later and he has changed his tune. And you rightly point to his unhelpful approach on vaccinations.
Agree Hanna62. and with Bkin. There are too many voicing negativity. The govt (Boris) was most probably incorrectly advised by the medical experts and of course china’s capacity for misinformation.
We all know the NHS has been underfunded for by successive govts and progressively hampered through the open-door EU borders policy, poor management (standardisation across all hospital trusts is one aspect), pharmaceutical companies threatening prosecution if the NHS dare go elsewhere to avoid costly medicines (pregabalin in my case), the govt removing the bursary for nursing training, even staff parking charges! As mentioned, this is not the time for negative govt bashing, we all have a duty to perform, wait til it’s over and hope this govt learns the lessons, eg listen to the WHO not their own advisors.
So true vaccine is important my lung condition bronctiactasis came about because of no vaccine and a virus I hope a pray lessons will b learned keep safe every one xxx
I have never had any doubts that we have always been three weeks behind the point where decisions should have been made. I commented a few weeks ago that the only way to stop an infection spreading was to contain it and prevent spread. Waiting for herd immunity was never a realistic option. As for the NHS not being able to cope. Any patient who used the service in the last ten years could tell you it struggled to maintain even a basic service at times.
Absolutely Bessie x
The NHS has been wholly unprepared for this pandemic. ......
The entire world has been wholly unprepared for this pandemic
and can you imagine the uprising if the government had locked down earlier than it did, there were thousands in denial even when it happened and some still are. There would have been a lot of criticism even then.
I don't think his reporting is helpful at this time. I guess always those who just want to beef about anything in the hope it will sell the newspaper or individuals who just want to be the focus of attention ---- when at this time we need to all pull together to achieve the best outcome we can for us all. This business of putting someone else down to make another look good is just not going to win my support at all.
There is absolutely no point in focussing who didn't do what when its already been done.
The virus is here, now, we all need to deal with that and focus on what we as individuals can do to survive it, what we can do to help ourselves who we can reach out to for help etc.
Don't expect us all to have the same view.
For a small nation South Korea appears to be a prime example of listening to the W HO and acting on their directives of test,test,test instead of trying to adopt a go it alone attitude as we initially did so the government still need to be held to account regardless of political persuasion and thankfully they appear to be finally listening now.
As I have previously stated
I completely agree. Hopefully this will halt the back door privatisation of the NHS but I'm not holding my breath. x
i am hoping that a more socially conscious nation emerges from this crisis but somehow i think we will just return to much of what we had before,but we all can live in hope. 
xx
I agree and the price of everything will rise! I expect things like VAT will go up. I wonder if they will finally go after the big companies and filthy rich individuals who use the tax loopholes to avoid paying their full taxes? Oh silly me,😏 of course not x
Presented with the same motley politicians with their I'm-in-charge-so-I-know-what's-best-for-you attitude, I doubt things will change for the better.
They'll, doubtless, pay lip service, but that will be as far as they're prepared to embrace necessary change.
It is broke, but they ain't gonna fix it!
We can not really blame politicians who basically reflect the attitude of the selfish and greedy people who put them in power.
Got it in one!
The American leader, who claims to be a genius that knows a lot of things and is right a lot of the time, only yesterday began backpeddling on his attitude of getting Americans back to work by Easter.
My guess is one of his smarter advisors probably warned him his attitude might cost him November's election and common sense won out over the wishes of Corporations.
This might amuse you DBDB (not making it a post to everybody as no doubt some wont like it).
youtube.com/watch?v=_VTp-UF...
😂😂😂😂😂
Love it!
Just received a one month ban from NRAS for my comments and posting two links on this deplorable monster, so I'm on eggshells, at the moment.
This has cheered me up no end.
Excuse my ignorance, I should probably know but what is NRAS?
National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society.
They have a site, here on Healthunlocked.
Hopefully even the nuttiest of people get the message to do wot we have to do to keep safe and government I’m shur have learned a terrible message over NHS and we are all so proud of the staff putting thire lives at stake to help us sorry about spelling as I spent most of my school years in hospital had lung surgery in 1959 would not b hear to tell my story if not for NHS
I dont expect everyone to share my view Bkin but we all have our views and there is a lot of debate around this.
no doubt
Well said I agree xx
It is upsetting to know our frontline medics aren’t being protected. From what we’ve seen in other countries, they are at considerably higher risk than the average population due to repeated and prolonged exposure to the virus.
There have been a number of deaths of otherwise healthy doctors and nurses in other countries and this was with the correct PPE. It must be terrifying for them.
We can clap and cheer every Thursday at 8 pm until the cows come home but the government must protect our medics as they are protecting the rest of us.
I have thought about this long time ago that the NHS UK is just not prepared for something like this and I feel so very sorry for all the Doctors and nurses that they have to live with the consequence of the government proceedings.
It's shameful to know, the NHS should be provided with all the funding they really need and what is necessary!
I am sorry to say that the NHS is still living in stone age and that's the fault of the government, and for this kind of action they put people at risk and this is so wrong, the health system is the heart of every country, it's a shame really. Thanks for sharing this article.
We’ve been hung out to dry, guinea pigs, all part of a government run experiment
No one could have been prepared for an epidemic on this scale, it was unimaginable. Hindsight is always 20/20 and never moves forward. Every industry has been on a just in time supply chain for years, with these demands on supplies...not going to happen, no matter who is in charge. Blaming a world leader for taking action earlier than any other world leader, based on your hindsight is really pretty menial.
Sorry dont really agree (and Im not sure insulting words like menial are helpful) - the point is there were other countries ahead of us giving a clear example of what was happening so we had a chance to be ahead of the curve rather than behind it.
But Im just one voice and there are at least several who agree with you here Schmicter so you're not alone.
I'm in agreement with you.
Russia built a dedicated hospital in 17 days, just outside Moscow.
China built one in less time, fourteen days.
Both have been up and running for a matter of weeks.
Nightingale Hospital, in London is now built and recruitment, particularly among grounded cabin crews with basic 1st aid experience, has begun.
Always lagging...always and being reactive rather than proactive.
Test, test, test was the principle in Russia and China and they did, putting those infected into the hospitals immediately and tracing back to source at all times.
Even NK took on the testing processes full-heartedly.
Our politicians relied on herd immunisation.
For that alone they need to be held accountable!
I deleted my comment......It seems you just don't get it but want to lash out at people who have opinions about facts.
Just read the article and I couldn’t agree more. In February widespread testing, WHO approved PPE given to NHS staff and training on how to protect themselves should have been the government’s priority. Instead we got this measured response that hasn’t worked. Thanks for link.
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