Shielding, strict social distancing and social distancing

[TEDDYM]

Is anyone else confused with these? The government state shielding and social distancing. Yet in the flow diagram from Leeds hospital there is a strict social distancing group telling you to not go out, work from home, get somebody to get your shopping etc, very much like the shielding advice but not covered by a letter to that effect. How do you get an employer to understand this group when they are only aware of shielding and social distancing groups?

[heatherevans28]

I'm not from Leeds so haven't seen their flowchart, but the guidance for the whole of the UK has always had three tiers.

Social distancing is for everyone. Strict social distancing was for anyone who got the flu jab basically (although I know they have made this category more descriptive now) and then shielding was for those of us on high immunosuppression or transplant/ cancer patients (again this category now includes a few new illnesses).

Up until now strict social distancing meant you could go to the pharmacy if essential and on your daily exercise as long as you were extremely cautious about the 2m distancing and hand washing etc. With shielding you are not meant to leave the house for any reason at all, and are also meant to isolate from those within your household if they cannot shield with you.

The shielding advice has not changed (and I doubt it will for months yet) but as the lockdown eases then I would expect those strict social distancing to be differentiated. This is definitely what we are seeing so far in the guidance being released in England.

It can be confusing, but reading the official government guidance and nhs advice definitely helps to clarify matters.

Hope this helps x

[Willow1414]

Hi TeddyM

Yes it is a little confusing , I’m also interested Leeds , seems that you just need to read a bit further has it’s not had clear has what medications your on , if you flaring or have other conditions these have to be considered. You need to read the Link sent through from lupus uk . Anything not quite clear or you feel that you have been missed from getting a shielding letter needs to be discussed with your consultant or nurse on the helpline ,

Hope this helps

🦋❤️

[TEDDYM]

Hi everyone, thank you for your responses. I got the information about strict social distancing from the Lupus UK coronavirus document. I have copied the section about strict social distancing. It says...

How to follow strict social distancing rules

People in the ‘moderate risk/vulnerable’ group are advised to practice stricter social distancing rules that the rest of the population. You should:

Stay at home (no unnecessary journeys or social contact)

Ask friends, family members or delivery services to do errands for you (such as shopping for food or collecting prescriptions)

Not exercise outside your home

Not go to work, school or public places

Not use public transport or taxis

Let your doctor or nurse specialist know if you are worried that you may run out of medication.

This is where I am getting the confusion from. As unlike social distancing as advised via government, this is saying you should not go out, you should not go to work etc. So very much like the shielding but without the letter to cover you.

Thank you.

[Tykle in reply to TEDDYM]

Interestingly, the new advice for schools is saying that the clinically extremely vulnerable (with the letter) should not go to work while those merely clinically vulnerable should try to work from home but should go to work if they can't . They should take extra care to socially distance (some chance in a primary school!) Dont you love the term "wherever possible"? It covers such a multitude of evils!

As this is a govermnent document, it shows that the two vulnerable groups are being treated differently and I imagine the gap will grow as things progress.

This is from the document:

"Clinically extremely vulnerable individuals are advised not to work outside the home. We are strongly advising people, including education staff, who are clinically extremely vulnerable (those with serious underlying health conditions which put them at very high risk of severe illness from coronavirus and have been advised by their clinician or through a letter) to rigorously follow shielding measures in order to keep themselves safe. Staff in this position are advised not to attend work. Read COVID-19: guidance on shielding and protecting people defined on medical grounds as extremely vulnerable for more advice.

Clinically vulnerable individuals who are at higher risk of severe illness (for example, people with some pre-existing conditions as set out in the Staying at home and away from others (social distancing) guidance have been advised to take extra care in observing social distancing and should work from home where possible. Education and childcare settings should endeavour to support this, for example by asking staff to support remote education, carry out lesson planning or other roles which can be done from home. If clinically vulnerable (but not clinically extremely vulnerable) individuals cannot work from home, they should be offered the safest available on-site roles, staying 2 metres away from others wherever possible, although the individual may choose to take on a role that does not allow for this distance if they prefer to do so. If they have to spend time within 2 metres of other people, settings must carefully assess and discuss with them whether this involves an acceptable level of risk.

"

[TonyWT]

There certainly is a problem with loose terminology, and from time to time has made me very angry. I recall getting severely 'ticked off' once in the Army, by the 'top brass', for using loose words in a staff-paper I drafted. In Behçet's UK we have been trying to keep track of categorisation terminology for Coronavirus (COVID-19), as it is not helping one jot, and causing confusion amongst the myriad of organisations, provisions of services (supermarkets delivery for example) et al that rely on the terminology.

VULNERABLE PEOPLE (CLINICALLY VULNERABLE / PEOPLE AT RISK / HIGH RISK)

The current government guidelines are for vulnerable people who are at increased risk of severe illness from coronavirus (COVID-19) to be particularly stringent in following social distancing measures.

EXTREMELY VULNERABLE PEOPLE (CLINICALLY EXTREMELY VULNERABLE / PEOPLE AT MOST RISK / VERY HIGH RISK / HIGHEST CLINICAL RISK)

The current Government guidelines are for people, including children, who are at very high risk of severe illness from coronavirus (COVID-19) to practice shielding. This means stay at home at all times and avoid any face-to-face contact for at least 12 weeks. People who fall in to this group should have been contacted in writing.

So using the term moderate risk, I would suggest, is not helpful. The context is made more complex by what is being promulgated within the Devolved Nations of course though, by and large, conforms to the aforesaid.

Tony

Chair Behcet's UK)