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Its a long one... Firstly, let's just be clear; someone who thinks that the approach to Covid management should have been different, is not a Covid Denier. This is an insult hurled by those wanting lockdowns to try and smear any other thought process. And it is an insult.
Its a long one... Firstly, let's just be clear; someone who thinks that the approach to Covid management should have been different, is not a Covid Denier. This is an insult hurled by those wanting lockdowns to try and smear any other thought process. And it is an insult.
2 Now I have that off my chest, I decided to have a look at the things I have said and written since March 2019 that have seen some vilify, insult and try and smear me. How did these things stand up in the face of Covid being very real?
3 In April I expressed my concern that more patients would suffer and die as a result of lockdowns rather than of Covid itself. My view on this remains the same & every word I utter is in despair and concern for those being harmed. I am not, as accused, happy for anyone to die.
4 Since then:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(20)30388-0/fulltext
https://www.uklcc.org.uk/75-per-cent-drop-in-urgent-lung-cancer-referrals-during-lockdown-say-experts/
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/cancer-patients-to-pay-heavy-price-for-checks-lost-to-coronavirus-lockdown-h60pd7s98 https://www.ncri.org.uk/uk-cancer-research-could-see-167m-drop-in-funding-as-a-result-of-charity-income-loss/
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(20)30388-0/fulltext
https://www.uklcc.org.uk/75-per-cent-drop-in-urgent-lung-cancer-referrals-during-lockdown-say-experts/
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/cancer-patients-to-pay-heavy-price-for-checks-lost-to-coronavirus-lockdown-h60pd7s98 https://www.ncri.org.uk/uk-cancer-research-could-see-167m-drop-in-funding-as-a-result-of-charity-income-loss/
5 Incase you don’t want to read, the lancet say :
“Substantial increases in the number of avoidable cancer deaths in England are to be expected as a result of diagnostic delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. Continued...
“Substantial increases in the number of avoidable cancer deaths in England are to be expected as a result of diagnostic delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. Continued...
6 cont.. Urgent policy interventions are necessary, particularly the need to manage the backlog within routine diagnostic services to mitigate the expected impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients with cancer.”
7 So despite being called a liar, as someone happy to see people die and many other insulting things, it looks like my concerns were genuine and coming from a place of compassion and concern.
8 Then in June, when we were 10 weeks past the peak of the pandemic (8th April) I wrote this…
9 This really riled people. I was trolled, insulted and again called a lair. And yet I was able to list 10 patient scenarios demonstrating this was real and now we see that NHS wait list have already reached an all time high. It doesn't take much research to find this evidence.
10 https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/press/press-releases/impact-covid-19-waiting-times-NHS-patients
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9146715/NHS-waiting-list-ops-hits-record-high-4-46million-people-need-hospital-treatment.html
From the most complex to simplest thing, GP’s could not access them. I accept that there was a ;postcode lottery and it varied by trust.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9146715/NHS-waiting-list-ops-hits-record-high-4-46million-people-need-hospital-treatment.html
From the most complex to simplest thing, GP’s could not access them. I accept that there was a ;postcode lottery and it varied by trust.
11 Then I wrote a piece about the decisions that were taken to not escalate care home patients to hospital for treatment when they had Covid, and other non covid but treatable issues.
12 And let's not forget, the chance of dying of Covid if you are 85 is 15%. In other words, much smaller than the chance of living. When I questioned in a doctors group why they were not sending a previously fit 90 year off to hospital I was laughed at, mocked. Asked how well..
13 I thought a 90 yr old would do on a ventilator? But most people don’t need a ventilator, infact we know that ventilators are not a magic tool, so why deny a 90 year old oxygen if that is all they might need? I questioned these blanket decisions. I was told they didn't happen.
14 Now it appears they might have;
https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4733 https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/do-not-resuscitate/93223/
https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4733 https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/do-not-resuscitate/93223/
15 So what’s my point? My point is that there is NEVER one side to a debate. My concern for patients started me on this journey. My distress at the damage we are doing to our children, our mental health, our economy, our long term health.
16 Make no mistake, poverty breeds ill health and that lasts for decades. Recession kills. As a doctor, I care about every single person in society. I am not suggesting it’s easy. I cannot be not sure that my suggestion of a different approach is the right one.
17 But we have to be able to discuss it, look at the evidence, critique all arguments. Rather than just shout & abuse without actually addressing anything. No view is right or wrong, just different. Nobody is happy (i hope) to see anyone die so we argue for the same end result.
