Thursday 14 January 2021

Tough on the causes of death

  

The government PR machine appears to be manoeuvring to establish that the present danger of the NHS being overwhelmed by the coronavirus emergency is caused by the appearance of a new and more easily transmitted form of the virus and the failure of thoughtless minority of people to observe the government's guidelines.

Given that the flue virus, with which we are familiar, changes its form every year, and perhaps even more often, that the corona virus should change its form should come as no surprise.

As for the thoughtless minority, the Home Secretary, M/s Priti Patel, has instructed the police to move more  quickly to crackdown on those who indulged in "egregious" rules breaches.   

Perhaps the thoughtless minority are taking the cue from the prime minister's seven mile trip to ride his bicycle round the Olympic Park (the rest of us are ordered to exercise only from our own doorsteps) or his journey from London to Bristol for a photo-opportunity at a mass vaccination centre (the rest of us are told not to travel unnecessarily).

 Be that as it may, the main cause of the danger of the NHS becoming overwhelmed is not the "thoughtless minority" who perhaps aren't all that clear on what is egregious and what isn't,  but the government's failure to implement the findings resulting from Exercise Cygnus.  Details of this are given in an earlier post, but here's a reminder.

Exercise Cygnus was the simulation which the government ran in 2016 to test the UK's ability to deal with a pandemic.  

 2016. 

This Conservative party was in power, Mrs May was prime minister and  Mr Johnson was in the cabinet.  The simulation revealed all the facts of under-preparedness, lack of physical capacity, PPE, ICU beds  and staff shortages which have become apparent in the past 12 months.

Yet  the findings were not acted upon.  Instead the report was  kept secret, and only revealed after intense pressure and in heavily redacted form last October.

They knew

Their cheeseparing attitude to public spending makes them responsible for our shameful record, which now amounts to 85 000 excess deaths. 

 When the reckoning  is made in a full  public enquiry I hope M/s Patel and her ilk, or whatever ministers have replaced them, will be just as keen for a "crackdown" on those responsible for this negligence.   

 And we, the electorate, should put aside the silly nonsense that we can have Scandinavian quality public services on minimal levels of taxation and be willing to elect politicians who are prepared to spend public money to keep us safe. 

8 comments:

  1. the rest of us are ordered to exercise only from our own doorsteps

    No we aren't. That's never been in any legislation, at least in England. I'm not even sure it's ever been official guidance, not that that matters, because guidance is not law so only what's in the legislation is actually binding.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, that's the "guidance" I've heard on the radio several times.

      Delete
    2. Well, that's the "guidance" I've heard on the radio several times.

      You shouldn't believe everything you hear on the radio.

      Delete
    3. I trust the BBC as much if not more than the Guardian.

      Chanel 4 News also has a lot going for it.

      Delete
  2. I trust the BBC as much if not more than the Guardian.

    Well, if they're telling you that 'the rest of us are ordered to exercise only from our own doorsteps' then you should stop trusting them, as they are spreading misinformation.

    The current restrictions are given in legislation at:

    https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/1374/schedule/3A/part/1

    And the relevant bit (exception for leaving home for the purposes of exercise) is:

    '2. (2) Exception 1 is that it is reasonably necessary for the person concerned (“P”) to leave or be outside the place where P is living (“P’s home”)—

    […]

    (c)to take exercise outside—

    (i)alone,

    (ii)with—

    (aa)one or more members of their household, their linked household, or

    (bb)where exercise is being taken as part of providing informal childcare for a child aged 13 or under, one or more members of their linked childcare household, or

    (iii)in a public outdoor place, with one other person who is not a member of their household, their linked household or their linked childcare household,
    '

    So as you can see the only restrictions on exercise are that you can only do it in a public outdoor place with at most one other person who is not 'a member of [your] household, [your] linked household or [your] linked childcare household'.

    Absolutely nothing about 'from your own doorstep'.

    You may have been misled by the over-zealous actions of some police forces; for example, the celebrated case of the two women issued with fines for driving (separately) to take a walk (together, as allowed under 2. (2) (iii) above). However the police force involved has admitted that it was wrong to issue those fines, and there is no law against what those women were doing. The fines have since been rescinded.

    Continuing to claim that there is such a law requiring exercise 'only form our own doorsteps' is spreading misinformation, whether it's being done by the BBC, you, or a cabinet minister (some of whose habits of freelancing and making up additional restrictions, beyond those in the legislation, on the spot when interviewed has been one of the most depressing and disturbing features of this whole kerfuffle).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think I got it from a cabinet minister interviewed on the BBC. Thanks for the clarification. I shall now continue to meet a friend for walk in a park that is not exactly on my doorstep with an easy conscience.

      Delete
    2. with an easy conscience.

      Glad to be of service. Spread the truth; fight misinformation.

      Delete
  3. BE SMART AND BECOME RICH IN LESS THAN 3DAYS....It all depends on how fast 
    you can be to get the new PROGRAMMED blank ATM card that is capable of
    hacking into any ATM machine,anywhere in the world. I got to know about 
    this BLANK ATM CARD when I was searching for job online about a month 
    ago..It has really changed my life for good and now I can say I'm rich and 
    I can never be poor again. The least money I get in a day with it is about 
    $50,000.(fifty thousand USD) Every now and then I keeping pumping money 
    into my account. Though is illegal,there is no risk of being caught 
    ,because it has been programmed in such a way that it is not traceable,it 
    also has a technique that makes it impossible for the CCTVs to detect 
    you..For details on how to get yours today, email the hackers on : (
    atmmachinehackers1@gmail.com ). Tell your 
    loved once too, and start to live large. That's the simple testimony of how 
    my life changed for good...Love you all ...the email address again is ;
    atmmachinehackers1@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete