Life on the front line.

[Dubbag]

Lasting 6-9 months I believe.

Let’s face it......we ain’t all going to catch it at once are we!?

It's an interesting point Mick....
Consider it like this.....there was some kind of lockdown in the States for a short period...then the economy argument kicked in...and then you had an opening up...and then you had a surge of infections that brought a lot of hospital in the Texas state close to capacity....and that was after a partial shut down. The math are there.

We may not all get it at the same time...but the contagion figures point to a lot more getting it at the same time then a winter flu....there in lies the danger...it really doesn't take much to collapse the health systems at the moment...that is the palpable fear right now.

[mickd1961]

It's an interesting point Mick....
Consider it like this.....there was some kind of lockdown in the States for a short period...then the economy argument kicked in...and then you had an opening up...and then you had a surge of infections that brought a lot of hospital in the Texas state close to capacity....and that was after a partial shut down. The math are there.

We may not all get it at the same time...but the contagion figures point to a lot more getting it at the same time then a winter flu....there in lies the danger...it really doesn't take much to collapse the health systems at the moment...that is the palpable fear right now.

Look at the numbers of £’s that Sunak is putting into propping up livelihoods and businesses Dubs.

Surely the right move is to pump this sort of cash into the NHS and to build the capacity and nursing staff needed.......this would allow life to then continue as normally as anyone wishes it to for them ( personal choice and responsibility )

The economy could return to normal so there isn’t these constant downturns due to Covid.

If a “Covid Tax” was then introduced and ring fenced specifically to fund these extra services then I think very few would argue against that tax.

At the moment we are putting the cart before the horse and we’re dealing with things the wrong way around entirely.

[DaveP67 is back!]

Viruses when they mutate usually become less deadly and therefore more successful, after all it’s not doing a good job of it kills the host! In this case if confirmed then potentially the rise is cases with a relatively low mortality rate may be a sign that the mutation is indeed a weaker more contagious variant, this would be fantastic news for obvious reasons.
In the meantime we need to be more vigilant than ever.

[Dubbag]

Was off work for 11 days...just returned yesterday.....I left with no cases on our ward and returned with 3 confirmed and 4 awaiting test results. Also had a hand written note above our PPE stuff saying use sparingly and re use when possible....ominous signs indeed....
Nationally we have seen a sharp spike up in general infections across the country....which means a lot more of the vulnerable groups are more exposed to this disease then back in April....but it is the same across the board in other countries...explains the shortages of PPE even now...

Across the pond and I see that President Trump's doctors are talking about possibly been released tomorrow.
An interesting statement by the medical team...
Back in April/May time, what was most concerning about this infection was the speed in deterioration of a patient who had good oxygen levels. It would literally change in an hour, which is very swift...Now thankfully, treatment has evolved over this past few months and medical teams are able to pre treat a condition before a deterioration sets in..
However, be that as it may....most medical teams would resist discharging a patient too quickly, mainly because of the unpredictability of this disease.

[Dubbag]

And finally some good news of sorts. The winter flu season in the southern hemisphere appears to have been a none event.

Gone missing in action. Very few cases reported and in some instances almost single digit figures recorded. To early to say why but possible reasons could be social distancing, hand hygiene etc.... It also must be remembered that many people just stopped using hospitals and doctors surgeries. But all of which could have helped reduce the spread of the virus.

Over here flu season is beginning but perhaps not as bad as had been feared.

Our ward has opened up its Covid-19 ward again as the numbers begin to move into exponential territory.

[Dubbag]

Was listening to a good discussion yesterday at work. A number of consultants were talking about the recent turn for the worse regarding Covid-19 here.As Ireland is about to introduce more stricter restrictions...it is becoming clear to the medical profession that two main points seem to be in play now.
1. Apathy to the ongoing pandemic.
2. The long Covid-19 implications from a medical/business point of view.

The first is well documented by now...people are fed up and want to return to normal....they have done what has been asked and lets move on...While apathy may very well grow i the world population.....it means nothing to the virus....it will continue spreading along side indifference to it.

2. This I found the most interesting...it appears that there is mounting scientific and medical evidence that people who were infected with mild symptoms early on, are just as likely to suffer severe after effects from the disease as someone who was actually in an ICU setting and on a ventilator...This is becoming clearer each day as more and more evidence comes in from GPs up and down the lands...It seems it may very well be, behind the sudden shift away from the herd mentality that seems to be in vogue for a while in some places...

Younger people and by default healthier people are presenting with symptoms akin to relapses months after an initial mild infection. More worrying is the fact that many people have never been tested and have endured the mild symptoms early on and so thee for are not even registered in the actual numbers. These include increased effort at breathing for simple tasks, liver function issues and headaches taste and smell not returning and elevated fatigued symptoms, to mention just a few signs...Here we are talking about healthy young people for the most part...Many are unable to return to their normal work practices or have to do reduce hours....many months after a mild infection..
Governments are likely to have to address this as the evince grows. I know recently the UK put £10M into help...I believe this is not even a drop as this develops..

So it has started to become evident that a herd immunity is not without huge risks, seeing as many people could be economically unable to return to proper work. This is not shown up in the death column.
It can be seen as a worrying development at this stage in the pandemic...A bit like realizing that the WWII was not going to end after a few months of endurance...

One last thing I have noticed as well...which is different from last March.....now with testing and tracing......if anybody is contacted regarding been in close contact with an positive indivual...you now have to isolate for 14 days....Only this week we had a patient that had been cleared of the disease only to be quarantined after somehow contacting the disease....in one fell swoop...4 members of our staff had to go into isolation....the following day at least two other staff members had tested positive from community transmission...
This is taking a huge toll on our bedside staffing numbers.......Last March...when testing was scarce...many has symptoms but had to carry on working as the wards were filling up and no one was been tested.....
Cant' do that today.....an interesting winter ahead for sure...

[mickd1961]

Was listening to a good discussion yesterday at work. A number of consultants were talking about the recent turn for the worse regarding Covid-19 here.As Ireland is about to introduce more stricter restrictions...it is becoming clear to the medical profession that two main points seem to be in play now.
1. Apathy to the ongoing pandemic.
2. The long Covid-19 implications from a medical/business point of view.

The first is well documented by now...people are fed up and want to return to normal....they have done what has been asked and lets move on...While apathy may very well grow i the world population.....it means nothing to the virus....it will continue spreading along side indifference to it.

2. This I found the most interesting...it appears that there is mounting scientific and medical evidence that people who were infected with mild symptoms early on, are just as likely to suffer severe after effects from the disease as someone who was actually in an ICU setting and on a ventilator...This is becoming clearer each day as more and more evidence comes in from GPs up and down the lands...It seems it may very well be, behind the sudden shift away from the herd mentality that seems to be in vogue for a while in some places...

Younger people and by default healthier people are presenting with symptoms akin to relapses months after an initial mild infection. More worrying is the fact that many people have never been tested and have endured the mild symptoms early on and so thee for are not even registered in the actual numbers. These include increased effort at breathing for simple tasks, liver function issues and headaches taste and smell not returning and elevated fatigued symptoms, to mention just a few signs...Here we are talking about healthy young people for the most part...Many are unable to return to their normal work practices or have to do reduce hours....many months after a mild infection..
Governments are likely to have to address this as the evince grows. I know recently the UK put £10M into help...I believe this is not even a drop as this develops..

So it has started to become evident that a herd immunity is not without huge risks, seeing as many people could be economically unable to return to proper work. This is not shown up in the death column.
It can be seen as a worrying development at this stage in the pandemic...A bit like realizing that the WWII was not going to end after a few months of endurance...

One last thing I have noticed as well...which is different from last March.....now with testing and tracing......if anybody is contacted regarding been in close contact with an positive indivual...you now have to isolate for 14 days....Only this week we had a patient that had been cleared of the disease only to be quarantined after somehow contacting the disease....in one fell swoop...4 members of our staff had to go into isolation....the following day at least two other staff members had tested positive from community transmission...
This is taking a huge toll on our bedside staffing numbers.......Last March...when testing was scarce...many has symptoms but had to carry on working as the wards were filling up and no one was been tested.....
Cant' do that today.....an interesting winter ahead for sure...

I really feel for you lot in the NHS who are having to deal with this Dubs.

The problem is though that instead of one leak that we’re trying to plug, this disease is creating a colander with too many holes and not enough fingers.

I still see no other way around this other than to ramp up health provision and staffing to deal with it until maybe a vaccine is created.

The actual death rate is staggeringly low at around 0.012 across the whole planet so the mathematics involved in wrecking the world economy do not make sense.

A new respiratory unit and the requisite number of staff to be able to cope within a huge number of additional destinations throughout the country may be the only way forward.

You talk of “apathy” which is in effect “battle fatigue” throughout the country........it will be this that brings things to a head.

As humans we are not conditioned to living like this and the dam will burst over the next year.

[Baggiemadguern]

The two final sentences on this post I wrote in mid September and they were poo pop’s by some. We are now Covid free again, having had two cases in the last four weeks. Locking down hard worked for us and we remain able to do everything we did before Covid, other than travel without isolating upon return, and that is because it was dealt with properly in the first place.

I feel for you guys going into winter in the mess you are in. The best hope is that the virus will burn it self out and I doubt that will happen in time for winter or any to,e soon.

Stay safe.



‘Unfortunately, as winter approaches there will be much to regret insomuch countries did not deal effectively with this virus at the outset. Standing in a supermarket queue in the middle of winter will be the least of ones worries. It might be the last chance to get things it in place, albeit is probably to late now, before what might be a winter of nightmare proportions starts.

If we thought it was bad last time, I am sure that would seem like a walk in the park compared to another round as winter approaches and food shortages worsen. And who will want to expertise for two hours in the pouring rain, gale force winds and snow.’

[Baggiemadguern]

Arghhh, someone has not self isolated upon return to the Island and were off again. Seven cases confirmed and one presumptive in three days. Hope that track and trace the twohat and fine them heavily. It is a cluster and they say it is contained. Time will tell!

[Dubbag]

Arghhh, someone has not self isolated upon return to the Island and were off again. Seven cases confirmed and one presumptive in three days. Hope that track and trace the twohat and fine them heavily. It is a cluster and they say it is contained. Time will tell!

You live on an island then?
Nice....