Covid and Work, Covid Advice and General Chat

Daphne917

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Only rheumatoid arthrits is included, not osteoarthritis.
I’m wondering if it’s included because some patients with RA are prescribed immunosuppressants. My brother has RA and had to shield because of his meds.
 

DCUKMod

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I’m wondering if it’s included because some patients with RA are prescribed immunosuppressants. My brother has RA and had to shield because of his meds.
RA is a far- reaching condition. My father lived with it, and it was implicated in his demise. All pretty unpleasant.
 

Bluetit1802

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Bluetit - I have read rheumatoid arthritis is in there, along with Lupus (and a couple of others escaping my mind). I am assuming that is because of the auto-immune response and possibly higher than usual inflammation levels present, almost as a matter of course with the conditions.

Yes, I knew that. I should have made it clear I was referring to osteoarthritis, which is generally a disease of the elderly whereas RA also affects the young.
 

Max68

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Interesting day today. Was intrigued as to why the Science Teacher I support was doing his lessons via Zoom from home and therefore had other teachers in support as well as myself.

Nothing official was said to me but I heard on the grapevine that his daughter, who is at another school, was in a class with a child who tested positive for Covid so from what I can gather her whole class was told to isolate. Thus my Science teacher, being her father, was also therefore in isolation. However none of the children or staff at my school (including myself) who were in class with him last week have been told to do the same and as I say nothing at all has officially been said.

Now it's a small school. Students move to teachers and as it's such a small school it's 100% certain that every student in Secondary will have been in at least one of his classes last week. So taking any testing for Covid out of the equation because I don't know his status regarding that, "if" he had been positive then the risk was there that he could have infected anyone in that class, including me, and with students visiting every class that week the potential was there to infect the whole school. Yet he is the only one isolating at home and nothing official has been said to me when I am his subject specific LSA?!?!
 
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JRT

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Interesting day today. Was intrigued as to why the Science Teacher I support was doing his lessons via Zoom from home and therefore had other teachers in support as well as myself.

Nothing official was said to me but I heard on the grapevine that his daughter, who is at another school, was in a class with a child who tested positive for Covid so from what I can gather her whole class was told to isolate. Thus my Science teacher, being her father, was also therefore in isolation. However none of the children or staff at my school (including myself) who were in class with him last week have been told to do the same and as I say nothing at all has officially been said.

Now it's a small school. Students move to teachers and as it's such a small school it's 100% certain that every student in Secondary will have been in at least one of his classes last week. So taking any testing for Covid out of the equation because I don't know his status regarding that, "if" he had been positive then the risk was there that he could have infected anyone in that class, including me, and with students visiting every class that week the potential was there to infect the whole school. Yet he is the only one isolating at home and nothing official has been said to me when I am his subject specific LSA?!?!
Oh no. Hopefully it will just have been a precaution and none of his family including him are infected. Its frustrating not to be told though and doesnt help with trust with employers.
I suppose at the moment tests are difficult to get anyway. It is concerning as wonder what the figures on infections would be if the testing system was working
 

Picci

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Thank you everyone for your kind words, I really appreciate everything you’ve said.
At the weekend I visited my parents and I happened to mention how dizzy and tight chested I’d been feeling of late. My parents happened to check my fit bit to see my pulse rate as they know I’ve been stressed for some time.
My pulse was 106 bpm. . I’m very fit and my resting pulse is in mid to late 50s.
They told me to get it checked out. I suddenly got quite concerned, as the more I thought about how I was feeling the more I realised how many dangerous symptoms I had.
I called in sick on Monday and had a long conversation with my GP. She signed me off with anxiety and literally ordered me to step back and try to relax.
X
 
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JRT

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Thank you everyone for your kind words, I really appreciate everything you’ve said.
At the weekend I visited my parents and I happened to mention how dizzy and tight chested I’d been feeling of late. My parents happened to check my fit bit to see my pulse rate as they know I’ve been stressed for some time.
My pulse was 106 bpm. . I’m very fit and my resting pulse is in mid to late 50s.
They told me to get it checked out. I suddenly got quite concerned, as the more I thought about how I was feeling the more I realised how many dangerous symptoms I had.
I called in sick on Monday and had a long conversation with my GP. She signed me off with anxiety and literally ordered me to step back and try to relax.
X
I'm so glad to hear that Picci. Take lots of care
 
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Daphne917

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RA is a far- reaching condition. My father lived with it, and it was implicated in his demise. All pretty unpleasant.
My brother has it quite badly - both hips replaced by age of 50 and he had nodules growing on his rib cage which caused a pneumothorax in both lungs and an ongoing abscess which took about 2 years to heal. There has been times when we thought we’d lose him but he has his good and bad days.
 

JohnEGreen

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My cousin was diagnosed with RA in her teens she then developed systemic scleroderma in her thirties and passed away just after her 50th birthday at one point she had persuaded her doctors to amputate her right arm as it had become useless and was causing her excruciating pain.
 

Tannith

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https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-ne...solate-after-coronavirus-22666084#source=push
Across the two countries at least 355 schools have shut completely or sent some pupils home after positive coronavirus tests - the figure is likely to be higher.
The alarming figure has been reached as a head teachers union warns that the number of pupils who have to self-isolate could increase and more schools may have to close as winter approaches.
 
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Max68

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Well it gets more concerning and farcical by the minute.

My nephew has to have a test today 40 miles away because he is off school (a week and a bit after going back) as he has gone down with a temperature and head ache. He is in an SEN school with vulnerable children. Could only have picked it up from the school unless his dad brought it home from work but no symptoms from my sister or his dad as of yet. Rightly concerned all round.

My MP replied and still no further down the road but once again shifting responsibility by the Government. Her reply was -

"At this time we are still wating on a response from the Department of Health and Social Care.

You may consider seeking assistance/guidance from any teacher’s union you are a part of to establish if there is any possible legal route you maybe be able to pursue.

I will continue to look out for your response, and will forward it immediately.

kind regards,"

Now this reply is laughable on three counts. Firstly she is suggesting that I may not have even spoke to the Union before on this! The second is that she is also suggesting if there is any possible legal route I can pursue but this would be against her own governments ridiculous guidelines!! Thirdly she is the Employment Minister!!! :banghead:
 
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JRT

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Well it gets more concerning and farcical by the minute.

My nephew has to have a test today 40 miles away because he is off school (a week and a bit after going back) as he has gone down with a temperature and head ache. He is in an SEN school with vulnerable children. Could only have picked it up from the school unless his dad brought it home from work but no symptoms from my sister or his dad as of yet. Rightly concerned all round.

My MP replied and still no further down the road but once again shifting responsibility by the Government. Her reply was -

"At this time we are still wating on a response from the Department of Health and Social Care.

You may consider seeking assistance/guidance from any teacher’s union you are a part of to establish if there is any possible legal route you maybe be able to pursue.

I will continue to look out for your response, and will forward it immediately.

kind regards,"

Now this reply is laughable on three counts. Firstly she is suggesting that I may not have even spoke to the Union before on this! The second is that she is also suggesting if there is any possible legal route I can pursue but this would be against her own governments ridiculous guidelines!! Thirdly she is the Employment Minister!!! :banghead:
I think the only answer is that there is no answer available for vulnerable groups as far as the government or protective legislation is concerned.
The risk seems to be increasing at an alarming rate with regard to infections. On midday news yesterday disability groups raised issue again. So far all the government has done is vaguely mutter about an extra two million being asked to isolate. Who when and how is a mystery!
This morning read that government asking care homes to have discharged covid patients again or in future. At first I thought it was referring to earlier in the year. Nope. I think that tells you all you need to know. After all ,what's the problem with the death of old/sick/ vulnerable people. The government have not been held to account for thousands of deaths. There also seems to be very little public outrage about these deaths.
 
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NicoleC1971

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I think the only answer is that there is no answer available for vulnerable groups as far as the government or protective legislation is concerned.
The risk seems to be increasing at an alarming rate with regard to infections. On midday news yesterday disability groups raised issue again. So far all the government has done is vaguely mutter about an extra two million being asked to isolate. Who when and how is a mystery!
This morning read that government asking care homes to have discharged covid patients again or in future. At first I thought it was referring to earlier in the year. Nope. I think that tells you all you need to know. After all ,what's the problem with the death of old/sick/ vulnerable people. The government have not been held to account for thousands of deaths. There also seems to be very little public outrage about these deaths.
Where is your reference for government clearing out the geriatric wards to care homes? That would indeed be a scandal just as it was back in March. It did lead to an increase on excess mortality but less than in the year 2000 and only slightly more than flu in 2018.
I appreciate that the fear is being ramped up and as a 'vulnerable' I am keeping an eye on illness and deaths and would want to help my 72 year old diabetic dad, heart diseased and diabetic 80+ father in law and ancient grandma to protect themselves if that was their choice but personally I still see no reason not to carry on working and living my life and certainly do not want my niece at medical school nor my kids to miss out on such a crucial stage in their lives on my behalf and I think it is morally wrong to do so.
As we go into Autumn and Winter Covid will be out there alongside the usual upper respiratory suspects as well as heart attacks/cancer/suicides/alcoholism. Sadly a certain number of people, mainly the very elderly with co morbidities, will be vulnerable possibly less of them given the earlier spike in deaths. That means the vast majority of us will be fine if the virus behaves now as it did before.
On this 2nd season (not second wave) we should have learned a few lessons about balancing the risks (many) and benefits (few) of mitigation measures like lockdowns and face masks.
 

Tannith

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I think the only answer is that there is no answer available for vulnerable groups as far as the government or protective legislation is concerned.
The risk seems to be increasing at an alarming rate with regard to infections. On midday news yesterday disability groups raised issue again. So far all the government has done is vaguely mutter about an extra two million being asked to isolate. Who when and how is a mystery!
This morning read that government asking care homes to have discharged covid patients again or in future. At first I thought it was referring to earlier in the year. Nope. I think that tells you all you need to know. After all ,what's the problem with the death of old/sick/ vulnerable people. The government have not been held to account for thousands of deaths. There also seems to be very little public outrage about these deaths.
"This morning read that government asking care homes to have discharged covid patients again or in future." I heard that too - on the news last night. (ITV I think).They showed a highlighted document from a Local Authority to care homes in it's area asking them to confirm, by a certain date, whether or not they would be prepared to take these people without a covid test. Since Local Authorities buy a large proportion of beds in care homes they would presumably have quite a lot of power over the care homes. Possibly there is some kind of veiled threat of loss of business for care homes that refuse. Last March many said they were "under pressure" to take these patients. It looks as if in some areas at least, the whole care home scandal is about to be repeated. In the full knowledge of what happened last time. Shame on the LAs who are doing this!
 
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JRT

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Where is your reference for government clearing out the geriatric wards to care homes? That would indeed be a scandal just as it was back in March. It did lead to an increase on excess mortality but less than in the year 2000 and only slightly more than flu in 2018.
I appreciate that the fear is being ramped up and as a 'vulnerable' I am keeping an eye on illness and deaths and would want to help my 72 year old diabetic dad, heart diseased and diabetic 80+ father in law and ancient grandma to protect themselves if that was their choice but personally I still see no reason not to carry on working and living my life and certainly do not want my niece at medical school nor my kids to miss out on such a crucial stage in their lives on my behalf and I think it is morally wrong to do so.
As we go into Autumn and Winter Covid will be out there alongside the usual upper respiratory suspects as well as heart attacks/cancer/suicides/alcoholism. Sadly a certain number of people, mainly the very elderly with co morbidities, will be vulnerable possibly less of them given the earlier spike in deaths. That means the vast majority of us will be fine if the virus behaves now as it did before.
On this 2nd season (not second wave) we should have learned a few lessons about balancing the risks (many) and benefits (few) of mitigation measures like lockdowns and face masks.
Tannith kindly answered.
 
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NicoleC1971

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"This morning read that government asking care homes to have discharged covid patients again or in future." I heard that too - on the news last night. (ITV I think).They showed a highlighted document from a Local Authority to care homes in it's area asking them to confirm, by a certain date, whether or not they would be prepared to take these people without a covid test. Since Local Authorities buy a large proportion of beds in care homes they would presumably have quite a lot of power over the care homes. Possibly there is some kind of veiled threat of loss of business for care homes that refuse. Last March many said they were "under pressure" to take these patients. It looks as if in some areas at least, the whole care home scandal is about to be repeated. In the full knowledge of what happened last time. Shame on the LAs who are doing this!
Depends I suppose on how good the home is at managing those residents who are known to have Covid or may potentially have it> If the government sticks to its stated plan to provide free PPE to all homes alongside bettr organisation of agency staff plus the testing it may work much better. Yes I know that is a big IF!
 

Mr_Pot

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"This morning read that government asking care homes to have discharged covid patients again or in future." I heard that too - on the news last night. (ITV I think).They showed a highlighted document from a Local Authority to care homes in it's area asking them to confirm, by a certain date, whether or not they would be prepared to take these people without a covid test. Since Local Authorities buy a large proportion of beds in care homes they would presumably have quite a lot of power over the care homes. Possibly there is some kind of veiled threat of loss of business for care homes that refuse. Last March many said they were "under pressure" to take these patients. It looks as if in some areas at least, the whole care home scandal is about to be repeated. In the full knowledge of what happened last time. Shame on the LAs who are doing this!
Why would they be untested? There is of course a shortage of tests but no doubt some capacity could be prioritised for this purpose.
 

ert

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Jaylee

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They don't have enough tests for medical staff presently, let alone care homes, who are further down the queue:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-54156889

The home I had business with had sheltered vulnerable adults a couple of weeks back. (I was just in the garden grounds.)
The only procedure when the manager met me in the car park, in place was a sign in of personal details & a couple of questions, "do you have COVID ?"
"Have come from anywhere that has COVID ?"
Then you get a laser temp gauge monitor pointed at your forehead.
I used to work in food retail years ago. We used them to montor & check the optimisation the chillers & cold storage..