Just watched it.Did anyone else see it?Did I hear correctly - we have to continue shielding once the 12 weeks are up?It was wrapped up in so much waffle I couldnt hear a definite answer to the young mother's question.
Latest gvt briefing.: Just watched it.Did anyone else... - NRAS
Latest gvt briefing.
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MadBunny
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I don't think there is any change, shielding is ongoing until instructed otherwise. There was some confusion as letters did say shield for 12 weeks, but the assumption is sheid until instructed otherwise.
Ah-I was under the impression that it was 12 weeks.Naive of me to expect otherwise I guess.Especially as theres still a long way to go.
I am surprised you didn't know that Sheilding means we are in lockdown until 30th June unless instructed otherwise by consultant or GP. My letter from the NHS and Government and texts from NHS all say the same. UK that is.
Hi... I had the shielding letter early April to stay on the naughty step until 25 June. Last week I had a previously arranged phone call from my rheumatoid nurse for funding for Benapali, who told me I can go out for a walk with a mask in my pocket in case I come across a crowd!! I've been walking daily and I feel so much better.... Had I not had that call.. I would still be in! Just an idea maybe check with your team... These letters were just sent out in bulk... Not just for individual purposes I was told, to be on the safe side.
Enjoy the sunshine and stay well. X
I knew it was 12 weeks but my letters never specified a date, just 12 weeks from the date of the letter. I started anyway on the 23rd March having read the different charts about who was high risk and decided to use common sense. I haven't included the weeks before I got the first letter.Each letter had 2 different dates, one 6th April, one 9th May!!! So: 6th July or 9th August? Obviously The date is irrelevant now anyway.
Hello,
it is different for me because I am older than most on here and have underlying condition caused by RA medication.
My OH and I where in Tenerife at the start of their outbreak . When we got back to UK end of February we had to self isolate for 14 days. We have been in lockdown for 2 weeks longer than everyone else.
I am getting fed up with it now and went for a little walk wearing two masks last week.
lovely to talk to you
Nichola Sturgeon seemed to acknowledge Shielders without
being prompted. Seems a more nuanced approach is being considered. I guess it will be a case of wait and see how things go when folks are having cream teas in their gardens/returning to work etc.
Yep just have to wait and see. I like the cream teas comment-if only!
The Ro value is only just below 1. Ithink they’re having to balance being cautious with the likely public reaction if lockdown were to continue for all. At least they want to try to “shield” us for the moment. It’s now up to Each one of us to decide whether we are willing to take some small calculated risks Rather than stay locked in.
I'm just glad that we got acknowledged. It's been overdue.
I know many people have written to the office of the PM and their own MPs asking for some idea of what the shielding community are to expect next.
I thought that it would continue past the date in my letter.
But it has given me a lift to know that we've been acknowledged and I hope we will hear more soon.
From the Kidney information which in my case rates higher than the RA its at least 30th June and some have already had texts saying do not relax. So it's so muddled, I think rushed through to deflect the Cummin's issue. Personally as it not who I meet, but who I meet meets and so on so I'm staying shielded. Its hard but for me just not worth the risk yet. But I'm lucky shielding is easy when the family is grown up and safe and I can enjoy a private garden living in the country and the RA is just fine at the moment. How difficult it must be when no garden, for a lot no job, so no money and children bored. I'm pleased the dentists are going back though as do have a small chipped filling and really looking forward to an eyebrow tint, threading and manicure eventually that is. !
Im lucky in that theres only myself and my husband so quite easy practically.Ive got a lot to be grateful for.
I think Ive been a bit over sensitive today.I had to cancel our annual holiday and that brought the reality of it home to me.I know its only a holiday and in the great scheme of things not important but I was looking forward to it so much.I know I was probably getting my hopes up too much.
Oh well-an excuse for more shopping online☺
Trouble is shopping on line is not the same as wandering around Bluewater, then a pause for lunch and perhaps even going to the Cinema. But your right I'm grateful too, my grandaughter is 6 months old tomorrow and we meet her on FaceTime. We cancelled our holiday booked in May but although disappointed we can go another time. My car hasn't moved for nearly 3 months except for being moved round the drive just to turn engine over and turn the tyres. My goodness so much will have changed, the lambs are going to be mutton ! But I can make good bread despite being Celiac and not eating it my husband has loved that. So enjoy your shopping I read Monsoon may close and that a disaster as I love their stuff.
Ooh...home made bread👍I know what you mean about wandering around Bluewater.I love a good mooch and lunch and I've really missed it.My nearest shopping area is Cambridge so I have the indoor centre and the general city shops.Plus the river.That will be a shame if Monsoon does go.They closed the one in my town and other branches.I quite like White Stuff as well.My fave shopping trip is TK Maxx.A lot of rubbish but great when you find a bargain!!!
I can’t see fashion shops like Monsoon, Zara or Mango lasting very long if we are not going to be allowed to try on clothes......I read that if M&S do allow trying on, they will then isolate the item for “x” hours.
There will be more “off the rails” than on!
It does look like we will be buying on line in future...or getting out the sewing machine?
Sadly the High Street will never be the same ....as you say....,those away days around the shopping malls & outlets like Bicester Village won’t be possible any more.
Just think....we will just have to go to Paris to shop!!!
My Daughter works at Bicester Village ( I am a shielder) and was advised a couple of weeks ago to prepare for reopening on 1st June as that was originally the date mentioned. Now just waiting to hear as date now 15th June! As you can imagine we have discussed how we will manage this as a family and how the Village would manage the customer numbers, never mind each store! We think all the 'Covid' measures will be in each store, maybe a booking system with limited shopping slot time , a limit on vehicles and queuing in your car till your allotted time. We dont think you will be able to use fitting rooms and wearing masks will be mandatory. Small shops such as Pandora will find it very difficult to operate!
Well..........we shall just have to make our holidays into shopping trips!
I can’t see Spain or Italy taking such Draconian measures...and it could in fact save us money.
I bought a Max Mara coat from an Italian outlet just outside Rome...then saw exactly the same coat at Bicester for double the price!
I’m sitting here right now waiting for my dentist to open to book an appointment....for the first time in my living memory...I have toothache! Ouch!!😟
It doesnt surprise me, BV is not great for us in the UK-I think many tourists find it cheaper because they can reclaim VAT in the Village, immediately after purchase. Fortunately, my daughter does not need the job for long as her gap year comes to an end(though not quite the travelling she expected to do) as she is due to being her Uni course in September-though not sure how that will pan out as her chosen Uni is in Belfast! Good luck with the dental appointment and I hope you are not in pain much longer.
You are right....BV is only good for really, really expensive items...which as you say become even cheaper for people like the Japanese who can reclaim the VAT.
A lot of them come to the UK for free....instead of cash bonuses companies give employees overseas trips.....so then to be able to buy goods really cheaply here is a double bonus. Not many factory workers in UK boast Prada handbags...but they do in Tokyo!
I used to make a lot of my clothes and still have my sewing machine.Maybe I could take up sewing again.
I did too ...Until I made what I thought was a very tasteful copy of a 1970’s Laura Ashley dress in a very tasteful coffee and cream material...only to have my best friend tell me her grandmother had curtains in the same material!
My dress making ceased forthwith!
Love it!!!!I used to make my own trousers so I could get the flares as wide as possible.And I made a very short skirt with a narrow hem thinking that Dad would let me wear it as I couldnt let the hem down.He threw it in the bin!Remember that awful stretch nylon fabric?
How many times did you trip over your flares?
I can't remember, but with the addition of a slippery pair of platform shoes with a wooden platform it must have been quite a few! Thankfully I never did any serious damage to myself.
I had a shielding letter from the director of public health for Wales telling me to continue precautions and self isolating until June 15. Can't speak for other shielded people of course, but it's irrelevant to me how much the Welsh goverment relaxes lockdown or what they advise....it's not safe to resume anything resembling my normal lifestyle until there's a vaccine.
I am glad you’ve been acknowledged Wish. I’m still waiting for my letter ... ermmm .. meaning I’ve been well and truly forgotten and my doctor will be getting the letter I’ve been penning for a few weeks now whilst soaking to see if anything arrived. The general rheumy nurse was very scathing of me in general and generally unsupportive when he phoned me re postponing my Rtx so he won’t help one bit and he was rude to me.
I won’t let this go as I know I should have a letter. I won’t be mingling in a bubble either or whatever it is called. I feel some proof and acknowledgement of your health issues and meds may be needed to receive a vaccine as priority when it is available and if I don’t have any acknowledgment of my meds and conditions then I could be back of the queue.
That's not good is it! I know a lot of people have had problems with letters but thought most if not all had recieved one before now. I've heard it suggested that people who qualify for the annual flu jab will probably be first in line for a corona vaccine after health workers. I'm not so sure about that and tend to think more along the same lines as you in that some proof such as a letter acknowledging someones health issues will be needed. Hope you get it sorted soon Nk.
Yes I’m very sure that the letter will be needed for a vaccination too. I won’t let the rheumatology department fob me off! General Rheumy nurse was clueless and said it was ok for me to go in a supermarket!! I said ..my husband forbids it and I’m not keen myself ta! Told him I was having Rtx every 6-7 months and Mtx and have Doxycycline every other month for recurrent bronchitis?? He went quiet but no letter has been initiated from him. He admitted it was almost impossible for the department to identify which patients should get the letter, but why is it hard for them to look up in their rheumy patients online files? Unless he meant so short staffed, but surely a secretary/admin could help collate all had info. Anyhow I’m glad you got yours.
It's no wonder he went quiet. Surly it can't be that difficult to identify which patients should get a letter. It doesn't make sense. Keep onto them until you get some satisfaction.
I would have thought theyd be able to identify patients quite quickly.
Be careful what you wish for.
I am sure we will all continue to take every precaution we think necessary, but getting on the wrong side of your own medical practitioners could easily come back & bite you.
It is not the fault of individual GPs that some of us did not get the letters we think we should have got.
In fact depending in the actual vaccine decided on....being in a particular category could easily eliminate eligibility rather than enhance it.
I think you have misunderstood here. I am writing to my GP to say I haven’t had a letter from the hospital and don’t expect to (as the general rheumy nurse who phoned me said they can’t identify everyone to send letters to. I have said before they don’t have the staff resources .. a fact not a complaint. They admit it.) It isn’t a letter I am writing to blast my GP. Why would I want to do that? She has always been wonderful and supportive and I am sure she will either provide a letter or put my letter to her on file as evidence of my situation. She needs to be aware .. simple as that.
I never made a complaint about my GP. The general rheumy nurse only spoke to me to ask about results re an op I had and then I spoke briefly about whether to postpone Rtx due to that and rheumatology’s lack of assurance of safety in their current infusions set up. My GP will need to know re the postponement, so I’ll tell her at the same time re not receiving any official letter re shielding /vulnerability. I cannot see how telling her that could offend or get on the wrong side. Not at all.
I don’t think I should have got a shielding letter, I know I should. Many in the same situation.
Vaccinations .. neither of us know enough about this to decide if we will or won’t get one, but if being officially recorded helps my case if I was eligible for one, then I’m doing it.
I don’t like the tone of saying something could come back and bite me. I am not a trouble causer and I am (usually) extremely tolerant and a very decent person who is respectful, even to the flippant general rheumy nurse. I shall not be making a complaint about him or anyone in rheumatology, but making my GP aware of no shielding letter from rheumatology. I think that’s allowed.
Of course anything is allowed NK, maybe I did misunderstand.....But you did sound very angry. Your explanation now puts a different light on the situation
I too have had no letter from anybody...& as everything to do with the admin of circulating information of this pandemic has been so shambolic...I feel keeping my head below the parapet might be the way to go.
I have not missed out on anything I need, I was telephoned by my local council asking if I wanted a food box....so I am obviously on somebody’s list....even if I haven’t had a letter telling me that.
If a proven vaccine is found, & if I decided I wanted it...I could just ask for it. My rheumatologist would obviously know if I was eligible.
My point was only if you are getting along OK, & not lacking any health care at the moment.....why not wait & see if any conditions are attached to receiving the vaccine? You say your GP is very supportive & in that you are very fortunate....so she would surely give you the vaccine if you were in the right category?
I have been with my GP practice for 15 years....8 GP’s,& they all seem permanently surprised when I mention I have RA.....presumably they still think you need to stumble in with a walking stick at my age if you have it.....one doctor there even though I had my Rtx infusions every month.....but as I will probably never see her again....why worry...I know & that is what matters.
So treasure your GP.....those like her are few & far between.
No no no ... I’m not angry at all .. angry isn’t really me. I don’t find it helps anything to be angry. We can all have some frustration especially if you’ve been meddled about in the past. I have been by rheumatology several times. Just frustrating re the rheumatology department who don’t have a rheumatologist available or a biologics nurse, but it is how it is at the moment .. everyone who is a consultant was sent to the frontline and totally understandable. It’s the way it is at the moment. Hopefully soon it returns to some routine again as many will be in need of help/appointments. Not reassuring though to be told that you will be side by side for infusions just now and they have double the amount of patients. That is a bigger concern for many. I think that will change again and hopefully for the better, hence my postponement.
I agree that some GPs forget how much your condition affects you and if you’re not one to visit regularly or only when last resort etc, then yes I think you do tend to get forgotten re your ongoing condition and problems/issues. Same with rheumatology. (Those who shout loudest there get most done .. I was told this years ago. Trouble is I don’t shout, but I do keep at them efficiently.)
I am not waiting .. one tends to get even more forgotten. I’ve waited over two months so that’s enough to say I think I’ve slipped through here and it needs to be noted. Waiting is not what has been recommended by the government literature I read and they advised to let the GP know.
Yes, my doc is wonderful and very supportive but she is not the main doc in the practice (who has some very different ideas to my doc. I think there is a locking of horns there.) When you feel uneasy about not doing something you know you have to do it. Lord knows none of us want to be in this category or want to say I’m vulnerable, but when it’s glaring at you that you are just that from all the “official” literature you read .....
I think having several changes of GP must be difficult indeed. The rapport I’ve built with mine is very good. She’s arranged I sit separate from other patients waiting (and same for all other immune compromised patients for a long time. Unfortunately, the receptionist lost me twice 🤨 and the tannoy didn’t work where I was sitting but it got to work eventually after two incidents of waiting over two hours for which my GP was very annoyed. I wasn’t just glad I wasn’t waiting in the general area .. I would have left.) You never know though when a different GP looks in your file and doesn’t know your background and doesn’t look enough to see everything. When something is there in black and white/ on paper etc from the patient, it feels safer to me (worked so well for my DLA/PIP) so my thoughts haven’t changed but thank you for your reply, and yes I treasure my GP as she is a lovely person too who is calm and funny and friendly and that’s a bonus. She always greets me so nicely. It helps too she was trained in rheumatology after qualifying and she’s senior in her mid 50s. Shame we can’t clone her.
I know my GP’s don’t even read letters patients write....the secretaries just scan them....& I presume bin the original.
Thankfully I rarely need to visit my GP .....if I ever did need to, I would change practice...for now it’s close with parking.
Thankfully my rheumatologist is great.....so I keep him onside,& fervently hope I stay healthy......well shall we say, don’t get any worse!
Thankfully my doc reads letters from patients and consultants before they are scanned to the file.
I have only ever had to send one before re the neglect and time taken (3 months) to start a new med by rheumatology 5 years ago as it was a desperate situation .. the doc I was seeing then (my doc went off on family related leave for a short while .. ) took it on board to contact the rheumy I had then (my current rheumy is amazing .. she’s just not there in the dept at the moment. ) and insist she speeded up the process of me starting a new med. Between several departments they lost blood results and chest X-rays and failed to chase up NICE approval. Pharmacy lost my script three times in hospital too. As a result of my letter to him the GP phoned me and brought round Oramorph after going to the pharmacy to fill the script himself and gave me double appointments for several sessions to get me sorted once I could move again. He was ready to go down with me and sit and wait at rheumatology he was so concerned. Sadly he left the practice as his wife got a great promotion in another town. He was another gem. Dr Bodey. Wherever he has gone to .. they are very lucky.
I copied that letter in 2015 to my then rheumatologist as it was not damning, just factual. She phoned me and was so apologetic as she said unless she had received this and my docs call alerted her to look in my file etc, she would have had no idea what was happening, as nurses and a junior consultant had taken on the new meds admin and she had no idea what had gone wrong. Presumed everything was ok as she hadn’t heard from me. Within a week she had sorted it. She did read my letter and acted on it.
That is disgraceful.Im sorry to hear you've been treated like that,especially at a time like this.
My council north yorkshire texted and said shielding to continue to june 30th . The PM and scientists said they were working on a way to help us .
Be nice if they could-especially for those who are really struggling .
Yes I heard that to. There had already been some Gov advice that we should continue to shield until the end of June. Not sure if anyone else had seen that.
Id already been advised to shield for 12 weeks -which takes me to 6th July.
Yes I got a council text to shield until june 30th
Will be in touch very soon. Hope you are alright. 😻
I received a letter yesterday telling me to shield for 12 weeks! What happened to the last 11 weeks!! Think it was triggered when the hospital postponed my rheumatology appointments for the foreseeable future Rather inclined to carry on as I have for the last 11 weeks but should I pack my hospital bag?
I think it was more a wait and see. The spread needs to be under better control before we are released.
Honestly, the way this shower are dealing with things that could be a while... I know it can't be an easy job, but other countries have managed to get Tracking & Testing up to speed (or so it seems).
Let us hope the virus dies out over the next few weeks. Some scientists believe it will.
P.S. I don't think I will be watching the briefings any longer, this government don't deserve my time - just my opinion, of course, and I respect all others.
Right with you Brushwork.
As for government briefings, they are so full of hypocricy, false promises, misiformation, inaccuracies, half truths, untruths, bare faced lies and deceit, that I can't be bothered to watch them anymore.
Me neitherI don't find them particularly helpful.I try to avoid the news as well as theres so much negitivity.
Hi I'm on Mtx and Rituxamab.Had no letter no 6monthly phone call from Ruma nurse or GP. I'm now concerned about any new vaccine coming out,will I be informed. I'm over 70 so I do consider myself vunerable and have been sensible, so do I now make a fuss or hope I haven't been fogotten.🤔Take care stay well
I'm on exactly the same meds & I'm sure when the time comes re vaccine you'll be contacted if not just ring them yourself just to ease your mind . Take care
There was a short news item on the Radio 4 Today programme just now about shielding . General feeling among those interviewed was that they’d been told in yesterday ‘s briefing just to carry on staying in but with no indication of how long this could be for. Also worried about how they would cope once those shopping for them etc were back at work - plus the worry of having to confine themselves to one room as others could be bringing the infection in from work. There was a doctor from the Macmillan charity saying he and others had written to the gov asking for more clarity for shielded people now lockdown was being eased.
Thanks for that, I just listened to it on catch up.
My husband has been doing our food shopping and has been working.Our house isnt big enough for us to avoid each other unless I confine myself to one bedroom all the time.We have been sensible and done what we can: eg taken the advice re bathroom use, separate bedrooms and we try not to be in the kitchen at the same time.We sit quite a distance apart and are frequently wiping surfaces, handles etc.Avoiding using any of the same equipment.At least we have a bit more space than a lot of people might have. And theres only the two of us. I appreciate that we are a lot more fortunate than many so I dont want to appear smug about what we're doing.I suppose the gvt cant put a time limit on it as no one can know when the risk will be low enough to do so.
That report makes far more sense to me than the other stuff I'm hearing.
NHS Coronavirus Service: You have been identified as someone who may be at high risk of severe illness if you catch Coronavirus. You should get a letter from the NHS to confirm this. The government are advising you shield at home until 30 June unless told otherwise by a healthcare professional.
Support is available if you need help getting food and basic care. Please complete this short form to tell us whether you need it: gov.uk/coronavirus-extremel.... You'll be asked for your NHS number which you can find on any letter the NHS has sent you or on a prescription.
If you cannot sign up on the website, call us on 0800 028 8327.
The NHS is still here for you. You will get the care you need, but it is more likely to be via phone or online.
We will send you more messages with information.
This is an automated message. Please do not reply, other than to STOP receiving texts from us I got this on the 7of may I hope this helps xx
I got a similar one but nothing about completing a form.In fairness to them tbough I did get a letter from my gp and rheumatology and an nhs phone call .
Yes, I think the original 12 weeks was set as a guideline to let us know what we could or will be in for. They didn't know then or even now, how long we will be shielding for, it all depends on the statistics and the R rate, hope your doing OK 💕
We all got put back to
I have been reading all the comments in regard to shielding with great interest. I am living in Australia, in Tasmania and our Covid cases thankfully are very low, but of course, as I am taking biologics I consider I am at risk until a vaccine is created which can be a long way off. I haven't had any letters from my rheumatologist or the Govt guiding us about what we should do - so at least you guys are being thought about! All we are told is to stay home, wash our hands and social distance (the same advice for everyone)! I go out for walks daily and have just started to gingerly step out into the 'real' world. I had a blood test last week - went there at 7am to make sure I was first - but no-one wore a mask - and this week I had a skin cancer check - again the doctor did not wear a mask. So after reading about shielding I feel more vulnerable - perhaps I shouldn't have gone to these clinics? It is so hard for everyone trying to work out what is best. We can't stay locked up forever but then again we don't want to take too many risks. It's hard for the people we live with too. They need to remember what not to do all the time! But it's great to read the comments in this forum and to feel that we are trying to work this out together. I lived in the UK for 30 years - so I feel sad that you are having it tougher at the moment than we are here but it's great to know that we are working it out together.
I didn't hear it yesterday however the likely hood of it being extended past June 30th is high. I have been ticking off the days to June 30th 
hi that could be the case I was on the phone on Friday with my rheumatology consultant and she said I will probably ne shielding for another 12 weeks I will be in a mental hospital, I don't get out that often but that's my choice when your told to stay in that's when you want to go out lol
Same here.I dont go out much either but as you say when you're told you cant you want to do it all the more.I found myself wishing Id had a few more days out before lockdown☺.
In Wales we have to shield until middle of June then await further instructions...so to speak 😁
Mark Drakeford said yesterday that they are going to have a meeting next week to see what more they can do to help the shielded group in Wales. From what I can gather expect a letter in the not too distant future.
Lets hope Boris does the same.
I'm in Wales who are easing lockdown at a much slower pace than Boris.
So am I & i think they're doing it the right way. Middle of June announcement for the shielders
As do I. l've never been a fan of Mark Drakeford or the Welsh Assembly, and although he may have got off to a poor start, and some, in the crisis but he's improved and I'm happier with the way he is running things than Bo Johnson. 
I really liked his reply to Naga Munchetty, probably on the EBC Breakfast show when she asked him... "Why aren't you following the same measures that the UK government is putting forward for England?" He replied, " Now I could put it the other way to you: Why aren't they following what's being done in the rest of the United Kingdom? England isn't the template for the rest of the UK to follow."
Excellent riposte Mr Drakeford!
Totally agree with you. I read the other night that there were over 1800 new covid cases in the UK we only had 5 in Gwent... Very happy with slowly does it approach.
Good to know so many facts but I go out for walking my GP says I am not extremely vulnerable although I take MTX I fall into category 2.I had a letter posted to me by Rheumatologist that I fall within category 2 vulnerable group on 27th of March.I was diagnosed RA 17 years ago.Ever so confusing ! Thanks friends
Joya
And now Ive just read on teletext that pepole are being removed from the shielding list without their gps being told and notified by text messaging!And scientists are warning that easing lockdown on Monday is risky.I just dont know what to believe or think anymore.
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