COVID-19

The NHS and social care are beyond full stretch.

— Drawing on the latest performance, COVID data, and recent intelligence fed to him by trust leaders, Chris Hopson, CEO of NHS Providers, explains where the NHS is up to and why the government must be ready to introduce new restrictions at pace if they’re needed.

Omicron Variant

Far too early to say we don’t need to worry about omicron and hospitalisations.

— According to Chris Hopson, CEO of NHS Providers, if the current trajectory in COVID staff absences is maintained, pressure will grow significantly and even relatively small numbers of extra COVID cases will bring big difficulties to the NHS.

Refugees

The meaning of Christmas, according to Natalie.

— Being kind to people, helping those in need? No, a carefully-worded tweet by Tory MP Natalie Elphicke on Christmas day that never accidentally says that refugees are not welcome in the UK, and yet implies it quite violently.

COVID-19

Omicron. The worst part of the pandemic before it ends in 2022. – Bill Gates.

— According to American super billionaire Bill Gates, the Omicron variant may mean the worst part of the pandemic, but he thinks that by taking the right steps – vaccination, mask-wearing, social distancing, the pandemic could be over in 2022.

COMMENT

Who do we not save?

— Stop using words like ‘balance’ to justify a policy of mass infection, avoidable deaths, and chronic illness. This was never about balance.

COMMENT

Omicron variant – Signs so far suggest the potential threat is high.

— Given the potential threat of Omicron, it makes sense to assume a worst-case scenario and plan for this, rather than respond too late.

COMMENT

Asylum seekers crossing the Channel – Stop the BS!

— No one risks their life crossing one of the busiest shipping routes in the world for a fiver a day, a cheap mobile phone and to be stuck three-to-a-room in a dilapidated hell hole while struggling to access the legal system.

COMMENT

That subtle racism.

— An example of egregious subtle racism I faced yesterday.

COMMENT

Covid in the UK is the worst it has ever been. What’s the government doing?

— The latest REACT-1 study shows what many experts and health professionals feared would happen in the UK without mitigations: a higher number of infections in households with children is driving the rise of infection in the 65+ age group. Analysis of the REACT-1 study results by Dr Deepti Gurdasani.

OPINION

The NHS is in trouble. It needs our help and support now.

— Time to make some noise. The NHS and healthcare staff need our help and we must all fight for them. Demand your right to have your money spent directly to secure access to basic healthcare.