Covid-19

[Ella77]

Shit, sorry, I cross-posted. That’s so awful.

[happyhighlandcoo]

The Nightingale is awful. I was at the Excel in January and couldn't believe how absolutely enormous it is. Now thinking of it being a hospital and all of the space in there being filled with CV patients is terrifying. I feel devastated for the NHS staff. I'm sure they're trained to see horrible things but this is a war zone.

[Loralei]

No, don't worry. It's desperately sad but I posted it as a blurt. I've only met her a few times. I just keep being re-horrified, even by things I know, if that makes sense.

[Ella77]

It does sound like something right out of the Crimean War, so the name sounds extra doom-laden.

[happyhighlandcoo]

Yes, I'm not sure the name is very reassuring.

Sorry, Lora, I missed connecting on your post. It is really sad and just so unexpected and unusual that people we know are going through this and will have to be alone. I'm so sorry for the family.

[Dáire]

There seem to be no plans to staff the Nightingale. Doctors report they've got the lists and it's just... lists of their names. They're expected to split the existing staff between hospitals and the Nightingale.

[emma_p]

It does sound like something right out of the Crimean War, so the name sounds extra doom-laden.

Yes. I thought that too.

[viggy]

No, don't worry. It's desperately sad but I posted it as a blurt. I've only met her a few times. I just keep being re-horrified, even by things I know, if that makes sense.

Knowing in an abstract way is one thing, but someone you know being in that situation gives it a whole new realness.

[Texaco Shirley]

There seem to be no plans to staff the Nightingale. Doctors report they've got the lists and it's just... lists of their names. They're expected to split the existing staff between hospitals and the Nightingale.

That’s worrying but not surprising.

[Ruby]

There seem to be no plans to staff the Nightingale. Doctors report they've got the lists and it's just... lists of their names. They're expected to split the existing staff between hospitals and the Nightingale.

It's a mixture of people who are being redeployed (e.g. doctors whose specialisms are not being used due to the cancellation of non-essential surgery), military medics, people who have returned to medicine, private hospital staff, the Red Cross, St John's and final year medical students.

I don't actually find it sinister - I find it weirdly reassuring. It's going to be a bit of a shit show, obviously, but we're in a global pandemic so I think we need to adjust our expectations. I'd rather we were building a massive field hospital than we weren't.

[purple_dress]

Yeah I find it reassuring. I saw pictures people were posting thay made it look really bleak and sinister but it's not finished yet. One pic someone posted was just bed's with oxygen tanks and nothing else, in the massive space but the pics on the BBC have carpets and screens and it looks much more hospital like.

[Ruby]

I've read some crazy shit on Twitter about how it's basically a morgue and named after Flo Nightingale because she was a "palliative care nurse" and it's a conspiracy to euthanise people over 65. :woteva: I do understand that paranoia is a stress response but some of those people need to pull themselves the fuck together.

[nineseven]

I haven't seen the Nightingale pictures yet, but will have a look. London is not the place to get ill.

I spoke to grandma yesterday and my dad had got his wires crossed - my uncle is out of intensive care but still not well enough to come home. My aunt hasn't seen him since they put him in the ambulance two weeks ago.

Poor grandma is very bored not going out so we had a good chat about what on earth is going to happen to her hair now she can't have her weekly shampoo and set

[Ruby]

My grandma used to have a weekly shampoo & set, so her hair was a useful barometer of how ill she was.

[nineseven]

She's had a permed helmet forever - I helpfully suggested a hat.

[smalex]

I don't personally find it sinister either, I'm quite blown away by how quickly its been organised and stocked.

[Marth]

I too am reassured.

[Duophonic]

I find it reassuring too. I'd rather they did that than nothing.

Our local police force are patrolling our AONB and either fining people who have travelled there to exercise or making them turn back again. Apart from a slightly reduced volume of traffic (similar to school holidays) nothing has changed here.

[Rosa]

I'm in the reassured camp too.

[Pippedydeadeye]

I don’t find it sinister either. The thing is, no matter how much we knew it was coming, there’s just no way anyone could ever have been prepared for this, and we are all people trying to figure out what’s best, what’s feasible, what’s even legal. That includes politicians, nhs managers.

I’ve heard some stuff at work that is absolutely chilling, but it’s not helpful to dwell on it.