The Week UK - 28.03.2020

(Nandana) #1
27

GPsonthefrontline
To TheSundayTimes
Afterthemostextraordinary
week inmy 37 -yearcareer
asadoctor,W.B.Yeats’s
memorable linecomes
tomind:“Allchanged,
changedutterly.”
InourGPpractice
inLoughborough,we
immediatelyconverted
face-to-faceappointments
tovideoandtelephone
consultations.Wecontacted
hundredsofpatientstoscreen
themforsymptoms.We
createdred(atrisk)andgreen
(routine)roomstoseepatients
safelythroughstaggered
appointments.Theworkload
washugeforall:myown
12-hourdayendedwitha
palliativecarevisittothe
homeofayoungwoman
dyingofcancer.
We willgetthroughit.
And even duringsuch a
worryingweek,therewere
happier surprises.Icontacted
a90-year-oldpatientto
undertakeavideo
consultation,nervousabout
how she would copewiththe
technology.Itturned outthat
her smartphone, thelatest
model, wasconsiderably
moreadvancedthanmy own
–andshewashighlyskilled
at itsuse.
ProfessorMayur Lakhani,
formerpresident,Royal
Collegeof GPs

Blin dtothe risks
ToTheDaily Telegraph
We wererepatriatedto
HeathrowonThursday
18 MarchfromMS Braemar
in Cuba.Therewereno
checks onpassengerson
disembarking the ship,
onboarding theplane, or
onarrival at Heathrow.
Wewerebussedto
Manchester airport,another
three-and-a-half-hourjourney,
in closecontact with fellow
coughing passengers,andthen
allowed to travel home with
the advicethat wedidnot
need to self-isolate.
Social distancingwas tobe
followed, but many passengers
ontheBraemarseemednot to
think this applied to them.No
wonderthe virus is spreading,
when600passengers simply
got offashipwithfive
confirmedcases.
Dr JohnDavies, Morpeth,
Northumberland

Ashameful shortage
ToTheGuardian
Mydaughterisaconsultantat
three London hospitals.She is
workinglong hoursandsheis
without protection.Staffhave
beenpromised specialmasks
andoveralls,butnothinghas
arrived.Despicable.
KavyaHughes,London

The trolley problem
To TheSunday Times
The obvious answerto
the pandemonium at
supermarketsis to ban
trolleys. Oneshopping basket
per customerwould alleviate
the greedofselfish customers.
Lisa England, Lindfield,
West Sussex

Only following advice
To TheDaily Telegraph
Todemonise householders
emptyingthe supermarkets
is toignore what the
Government isinstructing.
Myfamily is part of the
2.2milliontold toself-isolate.

Wehave toprovision for
fouradultsforthreemonths
without leavingthehouse.
Wearenot inthe8% of
thepopulationwhobuytheir
foodonline.Doingsonow is
impossiblefornew customers.
Itismathematically clearthat
supermarketsarerequiredto
at least double their stockin
orderto meet the demand
created by governmentedict.
SimonHenson, Witney,
Oxfordshire

Unexpected efficiencies
ToTheTimes
Iampleased to report that for
the first time, sittingat home
in mystudy,Icompleted a
full list of family cases today
thanks to moderntechnology
andthe goodsense of the
parties concernedinthese
anxious times. No onehad to
attendcourt andthe parties,
theirrepresentatives andthe
courtstaff ensured that fair
hearings ensued–to the
benefitofall,not least the

childreninvolved.Once
asemblanceof normality
returnstothefamilyjustice
system(as itwill), wemay be
abletolearnfromhow weare
dispensingjusticenowwith
theuseof technologyand
makeour servicetothepu blic
even moreefficient.
His HonourJudgeRichard
Scarratt,Canterbury

Not all in it together
ToTheTimes
Thereismuch talk ofa
wartimespirit. Someyears
ago,Iwasataweddingin
WoodhallSpa,homeofthe
Dambustersand chattedto
anelderlymanwho had lived
thereallhis life.Hetoldme
that,towardstheendofthe
War,theauthoritieswere
besiegedwithlettersfrom
residents,complainingthat
theycould not sleep because
of the noise ofbomberstaking
offandassemblingoverhead.
FrankLeadbetter,Grimsby

Synonym for synonym
To TheGuardian
AndyBullsays“cricketis
synonymicwith asense of
fairplay”.That’sanew
wordtome,soIlookeditup.
Apparentlysynonymicis
asynonymofsynonymous.
Thanks,Andy,forhelping
topassthetimeduringself-
isolation.
Mike Jones,Exeter

Co-isolation
ToTheTimes
This virushasalot toanswer
for. Ihavethisstrangeman
hangingaboutthehouse.
Hesaysheliveshere.
Mary McMillan,Haddington,
East Lothian

28 March2020 THE WEEK

LETTERS

Pick of the week’s correspondence

©THE SUNDAY TIMES/NEWS LICENSING

“I’m doing work-from-home
experience”

●Letters have been edited


Exchange of theweek

Covid-19and the agequestion

ToTheDailyTelegraph
Aswellasbeing 66 andinpoorhealth,Ialsohavethreesisters
intheat-riskcategoryforcoronavirus.Ithereforefeelqualified
tosaythis.Wearedemolishingoureconomyandsmall
businessesandwastingmanybillionsofpoundstoprotect
anat-riskcategorycomprisingabout1%ofthepopulation.
Thesciencesuggeststhattherestofusmaygetamild
formofthevirusbutwillrecover.Thebestestimatesstatethat
upto 2 50,00 0 peoplewilllosetheirlives.Thisaccountsfor
lessthanhalfof1%ofourpopulation.Thisisextremelysad
andawfulforthoseaffected,butwhilegovernmentsshould
becaring,theymustbepragmatic.Manyofthesepeople–
myselfincluded–willsuccumbtosomethingelseinthenext
fewyears.
Howcanwejustifytheimpactofthispath?Weare
spending,effectively,£1.2mperexpecteddeathonpeople
whoselifewillbetakensoonanyway,yetwecannotfindthe
tensofthousandsofpoundsforspecialistcancertreatmentfor
muchyoungerpeople.Itwilltakeyearstorecoverfromthis
ridiculouspath.
DarrylDavies,GlanConwy, Denbighshire

ToTheTimes
Matthew Parrisappearstofeel thatyoungercitizensshould be
allowed tocontinuetheirlivesalmostasnormal and thatthe
over-70sshouldbesacrificed. Isuggest hecompletelymisses
the point.If theover-70s contract the virus theywillobviously
takeup valuable capacity inthe NHS.However, withoutsome
restrictionson the less vulnerable, thevery nature oftheir
lifestylesislikelytospread the disease, infectingahigh
percentageofthepopulationyoungand old.
As amember oftheover-70sgroup,Irealisethatweare
moreexpendable. Thefacts,however, are that without
restrictionson everyone theconsequences forthecountry
could becatastrophicforus all.
Cath Manchester,Whittle-le-Woods, Lancashire
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