Thread by @DocsNotCops

THREAD on our latest blog

Doctor and member of @DnCGlasgow, Anna O’Neill, asks "How many more crises will it take to get the message across?"

docsnotcops.co.uk/not-pandemic-p… #PatientsNotPassports (1)

We'll be joining #ClapForOurCarers tonight at 8pm, but we'll be chanting - as loud as we can
📢Test, test, TEST!
😷 PPE!
💙 Keep Key Workers Virus Free! (2)

Last week @BorisJohnson joined #ClapForOurCarers-applauding NHS staff on national TV outside No.10.

As leader of @Conservatives - the party that has systematically undermined the health & social care sectors for a decade under austerity cuts - this could not be more ironic (3)

In 2017, 323 @Conservatives MP’s in the House of Commons displayed their stance on adequate healthcare provision; cheering & applauding a successful block to Labour’s bid for public sector pay rises and improvement of emergency services thelondoneconomic.com/politics/recap… (4)

Our point is not to discredit acts of appreciation towards frontline workers (like #ClapForOurCarers).

The Covid-19 pandemic has instilled a sense of solidarity within our communities that recognises the need to care for one another during a time of great uncertainty & panic (5)

But as the clocks tick in A&E departments and a sense of impending doom preoccupies the minds of care workers, we should all reflect upon the circumstances that have led us here. (6)

We are amidst a staffing crisis (kingsfund.org.uk/projects/posit…)
Under the Conservative government cuts to training budgets, pension changes, record patient demand & an increasingly pressured working environment saw nurses & doctors leaving the NHS in droves over the last five years (7)

Let’s also remember that one fifth of the NHS workforce are not British citizens – so we will continue to see a reduction of staffing as Brexit unfolds (nuffieldtrust.org.uk/news-item/one-…) (8)

The UK has one of the lowest numbers of both regular hospital beds & critical care beds per person in the EU

There are 6.6 Intensive care unit beds per 100,000 people. The EU average is 11.5 (12.5 in Italy)

ICU units are already running at 80-100% capacity on a ‘good’ day (9)

To top it off, the UK has the second lowest health spending per person out of all G7 countries (ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulati…)

In short:

We are not equipped for a pandemic

and the Conservative Government are to blame (10)

A genuine interest to #SaveLives means prioritising the health & well-being of all individuals & communities

Has govt provided necessary support for
people with disabilities
in the asylum system
people living in poverty
with no accomodation
in need of mental health support? (11)

#COVID19 will impact our society unequally.

The psychological & emotional strain secondary to unemployment & physical isolation will have a disproportionate impact on
people in precarious work
living on low incomes
with little savings, or
with insecure immigration status (12)

Demands from the health community include:
immediate secure housing
secure incomes, and
access to healthcare for all

As in this open letter from @Medact @Doctors4NHS and others to @MattHancock @DHSCgovuk weownit.org.uk/blog/open-lett… (13)

Docs Not Cops have been campaigning for healthcare access for all since 2015

There are people living in the UK asylum system who already struggle to access adequate medical care

In the next few months, it is imperative that every individual has free access to healthcare (14)

Will the Conservative government make radical policy change to create an adequate health and social care sector?

Junior Doctor Andrew Meyerson hit the nail on the head in his article published just before the General Elections last December theguardian.com/commentisfree/… (15)

We are at a juncture where our sense of normality has been dramatically shaken and it will fundamentally reshape our perspective on societal values and priorities. (16)

The world won’t be the same again,
so let’s work towards taking our future
from the greedy hands
of those who believe our health and happiness can ever be
weighed up against profit.

Never mind if they are clapping.

docsnotcops.co.uk/not-pandemic-p…
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