Excess Deaths... Links required for any Covid references.

[ajohn]

Our population is ageing,

A little misleading. Part of the problem in this area is bed blocking due to lack of suitable places to send people who need a certain amount of care.

Hospitals switched to a different way of working some time ago now. Getting people in and out as quickly as possible aided by same day anaesthetics to some extend but the same ideas hold what ever they use or are doing. It's best to get people out rather than have them lying about in beds.

It's hard to find meaningful figures that show how things are over all. Specific things such as death in hospital etc isn't that clear as it only counts that aspect such as time in hospital before death which doesn't relate to beds in total. This is acute care too, not general. This is a bit of an interesting read

NHS hospital bed numbers

The number of hospital beds in England has more than halved over the past 30 years. This explainer looks at data on hospital beds, explores the drivers underpinning the changes it shows, and considers whether further reductions to bed numbers are realistic.

www.kingsfund.org.uk

Politics is currently making more hospitals needed noises. Also diagnostic centres what ever those turn out to be and we all know staffing is low and that may even reflect on usage levels of the current bed count.

 

[gant]

Isn't bed blocking in part due to some nursing home staff laid off for not having the jab never to return?

 

[ajohn]

Isn't bed blocking in part due to some nursing home staff laid off for not having the jab never to return?

I had to find a care home for my mother. Doing my best it took a little over a month and she was in hospital while I did it. Well before covid etc.

A common problem was no places available. Another in a couple of instances where rip off merchants. My mother needed pills to be handed out so they saw it as nursing care so want a hefty top up on their charges. She had mobility problems, help with bathing etc. Some just do not want people with that problem.

In the end she went into a nursing home. More expensive than care but actually less than care plus a so called top up charge.

 

[noseall]

Is that life is back to normal or the new normal?

That’s up to the individual. Take the pragmatic approach like me.

 

[motorbiking]

More or less (radio 4) did a thing on this a few weeks ago. Covid complications don’t show as Covid deaths after the 30/45 day limit (or whatever it is). The conclusion was a lot of accelerating deaths due to long(er) Covid.

 

[gant]

That’s up to the individual. Take the pragmatic approach like me.

Are we afforded the choice we once had?for instance if you attended Doncaster racecourse you could get a drink at the bar using cash. Now it's card only since cash was tarnished with the label of carrying the virus.

 

[gant]

I had to find a care home for my mother. Doing my best it took a little over a month and she was in hospital while I did it.

A common problem was no places available. Another in a couple of instances where rip off merchants. My mother needed pills to be handed out so they saw it as nursing care so want a hefty top up on their charges. She had mobility problems, help with bathing etc. Some just do not want people with that problem.

In the end she went into a nursing home. More expensive than care but actually less than care plus a so called top up charge.

Was it the government that gave the ruling to lay off care workers in nursing homes if they hadn't had the jab?

 

[ajohn]

The conclusion was a lot of accelerating deaths due to long(er) Covid.

The BofE report is interesting. They mention an increase in economically inactive people. Related maybe - pass.

Some people do not realise what low blood oxygen levels do - they lead to organ damage or complete failure. Blood thickening featured as well. People needed all sorts of support while they recovered including dialysis. They had to be rather inventive with that to cope as insufficient kit.

Maybe we will get a decent analysis of what is going on at some point.

A fair number of us have a brand new jab to look forward to later on this year. Seems it will be rolled out from 50 and up and should result in less people in hospital and offer a bit more scope on mutations from Omicron.

 

[ajohn]

Was it the government that gave the ruling to lay off care workers in nursing homes if they hadn't had the jab?

Why did I find a place was a problem ~20 odd years or so ago then.

 

[gant]

Because they pay them buttons?
Not the brightest thing to lay people off when you pay them buttons. They tend to find other jobs and wondered why they ever put up with the conditions.
At the start of this pandemic, was it the government who emptied the hospitals of their aging bed blockers into the nursing homes to spread the virus round better?

 

[motorbiking]

The industry just needs a shake up. How can it be cheaper for folk to perpetually be on cruise holidays vs assisted living.

 

[ajohn]

The industry just needs a shake up. How can it be cheaper for folk to perpetually be on cruise holidays vs assisted living.

Having visited a number sometimes the workers talk about the owners.

I'll stick to the large house variety and in some cases they really are large. 50+ people or more. Some of the style of house I live in have been converted. I'd say ~ 6 or so people in care.

The owners have a mortgage to pay. Forget that and then think about the properties. Say it's a large one, pass really but say value is £1,000,000. It all reflects in the charges yet the people working in there are relatively lowly paid and may even work in several. A few hours in each.

My mother had a carer call in daily to help her for a while. Nothing special person wise. I often wished I had asked one how much she was paid and would bet that the agency she worked for charges would suggest more. I do know some one that did this over a small area. She is now a registered carer for her own mother. If I see her at some point I think I may ask.

 

[motorbiking]

My father is currently paying 60k a year for a few hours a day. The workers get low pay, but the agency takes a slug and there are all sorts of health and safety issues, constant assessments and checks. Kinda need an Au pair like option.

 

[Deleted member 18243]

Covid is over folks.. get with the new scares like drought, monkeypox and Apple devices.

 

[JP_]

Is that life is back to normal or the new normal?

I guess it depends. For me, it's back to normal. I am doing all the things I was doing before covid came along - working in the office, going to pubs, shopping freely, visiting friends, going to gigs, dining out etc. There are no covid restrictions whatsoever affecting my life.

The new normal is the old normal.