Published (with permission) from a friend, names redacted by me because the NHS hates whistleblowers:
“So, after Sue receiving a telephone call on Wednesday morning to tell her that a patient on her ward at NHS hospital had proven positive for Coronavirus, and instructing her to ‘self-isolate’ until March 15th; the ward have now been in touch again to tell her that she has to resume her normal shifts on Monday (March 9th).
This is despite Sue informing them that she has developed a cough and a very sore throat over the past 24-hours.
It would appear that several other people who have developed possible symptoms have also been instructed to return to work after initially being instructed to isolate themselves for two-weeks!
Sue, and her colleagues, have little choice but to return to work despite their reservations. Not for the first-time, their dedication to their chosen profession is being used against them contrary to their own welfare.
No testing has been offered to ensure that they are not infected before returning to work!
It would appear that this decision, no-doubt made at the behest of the bean-counters who run this NHS Trust, rather than clinical staff; has little to do with patient or staff welfare and everything to do with shift rotas and staffing budgets.
If the fate of the highest risk groups in the UK during the forthcoming epidemic is to be left in the hands of bean-counters and administrators rather than clinicians, there can be little doubt that the death-toll will increase exponentially and unnecessarily due to the blatant mismanagement of our hospitals.
My next call will be to my MP and then, perhaps the press might be interested in this suspiciously sudden change of policy?
Rick H
