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anyone else seen this

jan.steamqueen67

Active Member
Messages
43
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Hi all

just had a update by email, as i signed up to the goverment emails, this was from as of 2pm 11 May 2020 noticed its gone from Stringent social distancing to advised to stay at home.

I am still working type 2 , high blood pressure on tablets for both work in a emergency control room, nhs but i was just interested why the change this has not been mentioned anywhere, anyone else seen this

Janey
8. Clinically vulnerable people
If you have any of the following health conditions, you are clinically vulnerable, meaning you are at higher risk of severe illness from coronavirus. You are advised to stay at home as much as possible and, if you do go out, take particular care to minimise contact with others outside your household.

Clinically vulnerable people are those who are:

  • aged 70 or older (regardless of medical conditions)
  • under 70 with an underlying health condition listed below (that is, anyone instructed to get a flu jab as an adult each year on medical grounds):
  • chronic (long-term) mild to moderate respiratory diseases, such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema or bronchitis
  • chronic heart disease, such as heart failure
  • chronic kidney disease
  • chronic liver disease, such as hepatitis
  • chronic neurological conditions, such as Parkinson’s disease, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis (MS), or cerebral palsy
  • diabetes
  • a weakened immune system as the result of certain conditions, treatments like chemotherapy, or medicines such as steroid tablets
  • being seriously overweight (a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or above)
  • pregnant women
As above, there is a further category of people with serious underlying health conditions who are clinically extremely vulnerable, meaning they are at very high risk of severe illness from coronavirus. You, your family and carers should be aware of the guidance on shielding which provides information on how to protect yourself still further should you wish to.
 
Hi. It sounds like just another .Gov email. It's the 'extremely vulnerable' who are padlocked up in their homes. I suspect like me you are just 'Vulnerable' and need to 'Be Alert'
 
Hi Jan, yes, it's been discussed on other threads and of course it is hot off Yesterday's press! Thanks for starting a new thread on it though as most discussions so far are on older threads so might be missed. As before, I guess it's the interpretation (particularly by Employers) of the 'as much as possible' and 'minimising contact with others outside your household'. I would say that any Employer MUST consider whether you are able to work from home and if not, take all steps to minimise this contact referred to. I do think however that it is much stronger, specific advice to those deemed clinically vulnerable so in that respect it's better than the sometimes confusing guidelines previously. We are all in different occupations of course so we won't all end up doing the same but personally I am in an occupation that carries a high risk over & above some others so will be continuing to discuss any concerns with my Employers (and this makes it easier for us and harder for them to dismiss genuine concerns). Maybe you could re title your post to reflect the subject matter @jan.steamqueen67 x
 
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Daibell said:
Hi. It sounds like just another .Gov email. It's the 'extremely vulnerable' who are padlocked up in their homes. I suspect like me you are just 'Vulnerable' and need to 'Be Alert'
Click to expand...

Hi there, nope, it's on the new updated govt website, there are now two groups of those at risk, the extremely clinically vulnerable (shielding) and the clinically vulnerable (us) and the advice to us is as above. As for the rest of the general public, the advice is to be 'alert' (which obviously makes sense for all of us of course). x
 
Im worried every day not getting as much sleep as i used to, i know i will catch it at some point as co workers have tested positive so only aa matter of time just dont know whether i will survive my sugar readings where 53 54 56 tried for the 48 but could not get there but last april it was 80 back to where it was when diagnosed in 2011 think it was becasue my husband very close to nearly dying with pnemonia and in DKA but was not diabetic but now type 1, i was highly stressed, but my gp said that would not cause sugars to go up, so they put me on a extra tablet as well as metformin and that and my next test was due this month or next for my next results but thats not been done yet, so scared every day sorry but cant help it i know im a keyworker when i got the job i was not diabetic been in the job 20 years wish i could leave but i cannot afford to. just got to pray becasue if i got it dont think i would survive and im overweight but i have lost three stone but contary to beleif i did not eat cakes all day think its been working shifts i think thats not helped maybe, just got to try and be realistic
 
Occupation should be taken into the equation. I have exactly the same conditions.

Work for nhs cleaning infections. I was placed on a+e despite being classed vulnerable. Ended up going off sick with anxiety and got a note off doctor for 12 weeks but this is not same as the letter so dont know what will happen with sickness record or indeed what happens when my time is up.

How can you stay at home as much as possible, going out to work? How do you avoid/minimise contact with others working in a hospital (15000+ staff) surrounded by the infection. Impossible! should be allocated a letter based on that saying as we are unable to follow social distance we should stay at home.
 

There are many occupations that carry a higher risk in and of themselves including yours of course. May I ask, did your Employer conduct an individual risk assessment of YOU rather than just saying 'yes you're in the vulnerable category, so what'. What steps did they take before deciding you were ok to carry on in that line of work, etc? If nothing else, you should insist on an HR risk assessment at the end of which they would have to have had written down why they thought you could continue that work and what actual steps they had taken to minimise the risk (if any). It's far better to put your case forward officially and get it ALL in writing, it forces them to consider you as an individual and to commit to paper their decisions. x
 
At beginning I was told to stay away from the infection and not carry that work out. Which was easier at beginning less so as the infection grew. Despite this was still having to refuse these jobs from supervisors.

There was no specific individual risk assessment, was just told I would be added to vulnerable list.

I was placed on public corridors with no patients and less traffic with no visitors.
I was still anxious but ok.

I was still doing the same hours as my colleagues and due to low staff in was asked to go on a+e the week I went off sick. While debating the safety of this I was told to my amazement "I was no different to anyone else and would be fine, and it was that or go home" day after it got too much as despite being split and not being cohort side there was still suspected covid patients and same as the wards they are busy staff wise etc.

The day I went home sick I pleaded to be placed elsewhere and anywhere but a+e, i was told corridor wasnt suitable I was ok with that job. I was then offered to do my usual job. I said maybe I could do the jobs where no other patients are present, they said no, and at one point said I dont know what I can do with you.

They kept saying they need letter which I wont get so
 
As I understand it, and please correct me if I am wrong, there are basically 2 sets of rules for people in England.

The first is those who are clinically extremely vulnerable who must continue to shield and stay indoors at all times. These are people with severe conditions who have (or should have had) a letter from their GP about it, and are entitled to claim food boxes and priority for supermarket deliveries. Nothing has changed for these people and they are obviously not allowed to go out to work..

The second is for everyone else, including those who are clinically vulnerable such as over 70's, diabetics and so forth on the list in post #1. These people can follow the new rules about going out more than once a day for exercise including driving somewhere to do this as long as you return the same day, meet a person from a different household in the open air (not in houses or gardens) but only on a one-to-one basis (not in a group) as long as social distancing is observed. They are advised to work from home if at all possible, avoid public transport if at all possible, and if they are unable to work from home the employer must provide a safe environment, and there will be spot checks on employers to make sure this is happening. How this works in hospitals I have no idea, other than appropriate PPE must be given.

The only "extra" for the clinically vulnerable is to be extra vigilant with their choices.
 
This has been debated a lot on other threads and my opinion still is that its too simplistic to include include all diabetics under one umbrella. There are simply too many variables to actually ascertain added risk on an individual basis (important to know when we are now making simple choices about whether we want to go food shopping or not).

I would say even for a well controlled diabetic with no other comorbidities there is some additional risk... But hard to know actually how much.. My hunch would be not much (against the general population of that age) and the risk is maybe more around dka etc but not enough known to stand by that
 

Hi there, that is definitely not my interpretation of the latest govt guidelines (now on their site). You are right in that there are two categories (for clinically vulnerable & extremely clinically vulnerable) but the main difference is that the category (clinically vulnerable) is now a standalone category relating specifically to us (and others with certain conditions) and does NOT include advice for what you might call a 3rd category, 'the general public'. It says you should 'stay at home' where possible and 'avoid face to face contact' with others. Yes, the rest of the rules would also apply but to me the biggest difference now is that they have recognised we are in a group that is higher risk than the general public.
 
I'd say we were always recognised as being at higher risk when the previous guidelines stated that clinically vulnerable were "particularly stringent with social distancing" there's always been a separation.
 

Yes, I guess the problem is that they do not know exactly how Covid19 will affect those of us with diabetes IF we get it. None of us do really so for me, (a currently healthy and well managed diabetic), who knows how it would affect my immune system were I to get it? I don't want to put it to the test so I will follow the guidelines especially as I am in a job that is high risk at the best of times at coming into direct contact with (sometimes) challenging members of the public. x
 
Jamie H said:
I'd say we were always recognised as being at higher risk when the previous guidelines stated that clinically vulnerable were "particularly stringent with social distancing" there's always been a separation.
Click to expand...

I agree but I feel that separation is now more specific.
 
Thought this was an interesting take on things and hits the nail on the head around what I've been saying... Diabetes is often bound up in a mix of other health issues/complications so it's not entirely known how risky it is in its own right (for want of a better expression)

https://diabetestimes.co.uk/top-pro...fact-checking-amid-diabetes-link-to-covid-19/

Just right to be cautious and all credit to you for continuing to work in the most challenging of circumstances
 
I think the Government advice is still extremely ambiguous. We have just had a school meeting today regarding the proposed opening of schools again in June and after the meeting there is no way on earth how I can see safe social distancing taking place.
 
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