I was contacted by a health care worker who works in one of the UK's emergency departments about their experience of this epidemic. What i'm posting up is a transcript of the conversation i had with them, with certain parts edited out to protect their identity. The reason for giving them anonymity is because there is a very real danger of them losing their job due to the crackdown on hospital workers being able to talk about the severity of what is going on...not my words, theirs :(
For those of you who think the rules dont apply to you, that its ok to break distancing rules, that masks infringe on your human rights and all the other pathetic behaviours that just show your care for your fellow human being comes secondary to you being able to just do what you want because "thats your right", read this and please think twice about how you are behaving. The last answer to my question in this interview sums it all up....
We can be better than all of this, please try xx
ME: "One of the things I am very interested in hearing about is the range of symptoms that you have seen come through your doors, especially regarding “long covid”.
X: “Long covid can affect anyone. Whether they get mild symptoms originally or not. Whether it carries on from the initial illness or appears months later. It can cause random tachycardia (high heart rate) that makes you feel like you have run a race even though you are just standing washing up. Irrational breathlessness, chest pain, recurring respiratory infections that are not covid. These are just some of the effects of long covid. Some people experience joint pain and headaches. I know very very fit and healthy people that had a mild case of covid and have had long covid symptoms since April. They are unable to resume what was their normal life. All tests and diagnosis come up lacking. It is as if their body is just left broken. There is nothing to treat. PTSD is also another unspoken symptom of covid.
The new strain also seems to be particularly awful. People are becoming sicker much faster. They go from feeling ok to being very very poorly. People in their early 40s with no last medical history on ventilators within a few days of contact with a positive case. It’s scary.
Not everyone has a temperature or a cough. Some presentations are stomach pain. Or just a feeling of fatigue. It is so varying in symptoms and complications it is very hard to pin down."
ME: "Do you think in your experience from what you see out there in the media, is there a downplaying of some of the severity? A lot of what you’ve said isn’t being talked about in the mainstream and you have to dig to really find it."
X: "Yes it is. We are not allowed to talk about it. They don't want to scare people. For example we had double our capacity of confirmed covid patients in Emergency Department the other night. After the covid beds got filled, the rest had to be put the corridor. On top of that we had more patients having to be put in other areas and were queueing in other areas to get in. There were no beds in the hospital. Once they are at capacity, they cannot take any more. ED can't ever shut their doors. We are short staffed as staff are off with stress and covid or long covid as well as back injuries from the vast work we are doing. No one wants to come from other areas to book overtime with us so our staff including myself book extra because we feel responsible for each other. No one is looking after us. Also patients in other areas end up having covid too, we just don't know initially. We have covid patients come in and die within ED. We are having an increase of suicides and attempts. We are still getting abusive patients regularly. On average 3 members of staff cry each shift.
It is dangerous and getting worse. We run out of PPE regularly. At least now it is restocked within a few hours but during that time we can see upwards of 15 patients
People don't realise how ill they can get. Then on the other side of things people that do need medical attention for non covid things come in when they are seriously sick and require double the care because they were too scared to come in earlier."
ME: "How did you and your fellow staff feel when they announced “people can have christmas and other households over”...your collectives hearts must have sank through the floor..."
X:"Completely. A lot of our foreign nurses can't see anyone anyway and haven't all year. Even those that have family locally knew better and stayed home much like we did. The worst thing is the consequence of Christmas has yet to hit."
ME: "Are children spreading this strain more as well? The whole idea of opening up schools to me seems like a nationwide suicide"
X: "Previous strain studies showed that children previously were only contracting it from an adult in the majority. However the new strain is passing from child to child easier. Yes there is increased risk. However there are thousands of at risk or at need children not on radars so by maintaining school settings keeps those children fed and better protected. I understand that. There are children that by having prolonged periods at home with their so called care givers or guardians puts them at higher risk of abuse. Yet with school routine they are separated enough that so far nothing has happened. It's a sad state of affairs that this needs to be considered but it's truer than ever."
ME: "I listened to an interview with a teacher today who said that in each school year tier bubble in her school there is no distancing and and students are not being careful. She said the teachers are terrified of going back into this situation and are genuinely scared of dying.... it seems we cant win either way on this one"
X: "No this is very true. But if I had to pick between a virus that the majority can recover from or children being starved or abused I know which I would pick. I have also seen the effects of child neglect and abuse from the lockdowns. It's horrendous"
ME: "It makes you wonder where we are as a species that if we actually have to spend more time with each other, things get worse. Relationship abuse rising, child abuse rising...depressing doesnt even start to cover it. Ok, the golden question in your opinion..if people were to follow the rules, not mix, socially distance and wear masks, what would the result be from what you have experienced so far?"
X: "If they followed the rules completely? Easy, it would be almost if not completely wiped out. A virus can only mutate and multiply if it has somewhere to go. If it can't spread it dies. It's gone. The end."
If you read all of this, please do the right thing. if you dont, you are directly contributing to this and for all your complaining about your favourite pubs being shut, losing jobs, loss of freedom, you are making this last longer.Please be a better person in the new year...for those of your who have done your part, Thank you for not being a selfish cunt xx