What do you think? This lockdown same as the last one? Tier-4 just another inconvenience? A SMS message from the Wapping Group Practise to its patients was forwarded to me a few minutes ago by a friend in E1W.
Here it is.
WAPPING GP Alert:
Covid-19 cases in our area are one of the highest in the borough. 1 in 3 people with Covid-19 don’t have symptoms so it’s easy to pass it on without knowing. Please keep your loved ones safe by staying at home and not socialising with people outside your household.
I have never seen a health warning from a GP surgery about a specific disease. Sure I got one about not dialing for an ambulance unless it is essential but that was a general London alert that everyone got.
This year I have been lucky enough to not know anyone who has become ill with Covid-19, even at the height of the first wave in April.
Until now.
As of writing this I know of seven friends and family members who have Covid-19. Fortunately all are recovering.
I am not claiming that what is happening now is seven times worse than April’s first wave, that would be stupid.
What I am saying is that whatever is happening now in our borough, be it in Wapping or Poplar or Bow or Mile End is extremely serious and should not be dismissed lightly.
There is a potential combination of three related threats which might well make January and February 2021 much worse than anything we have endured in 2020.
If you have information relating to what is going on within the NHS or LAS during the pandemic please get in touch via hello@eastendenquirer.org or contact a mainstream media outlet.
Threat 1
There is no room for complacency on the part of anyone. It seems that the most recent variant of the Corona-19 virus is zooming round the borough at frightening speed.
The only way to combat this is to follow the usual boring official advice which might save your life and the lives of others.
What is even worse, and this could mean a health catastrophe, is that the NHS in London and elsewhere is overloaded. So not only are you more likely to get Covid-19 you are less likely to get the best possible care from a system which is on the brink of collapsing.
Scared yet? If not you soon will be.
Threat 2
Earlier this week I was told that the London Ambulance Service (LAS) was swamped with Covid-19 cases. The below was from a Facebook post by a medic working at LAS Control.
“Two of the worst shifts I’ve experienced and it’s only getting worse. At one point we were holding 650+ calls for people waiting for an ambulance. I went to a family on Christmas Day who waited 3 hours for us and the patient went into cardiac arrest as we arrived. This is worse than the first wave and London is feeling the full effects for so many people not following guidelines.”
(The reference to people not following guidelines is aimed at people such as the group of 20 selfish idiots playing football in the sports cage in Wapping Gardens yesterday. You are not allowed to play football. It is banned.)
I am not posting this person’s identity and have not asked for their permission to use it, but I can say this is a public post and I have had the identity of the person independently verified.
You will have seen numerous stories in the media about ambulances turning up at hospitals with patients and not being able to unload them because there is no room for them in the hospital.
The patients have to be cared for in ambulances. And of course this means that the ambulance is not free to take other calls.
You may also have heard stories that oxygen supplies in hospitals are having to be constantly monitored because so much is being used by so many patients.
You should read this long Twitter thread by Dr Rachel Clarke which makes sober reading.
(While writing this I was told of a friend of a friend who died from Covid-19 leaving behind five children.)
Threat 3
In the thread Dr Clarke tells of senior clinicians in multiple hospitals telling her that they are desperate to show the reality inside our Intensive Care Units and wards but they aren’t allowed to. All media communications functions have been centralised by the NHS / Government. Hospital trusts have been muzzled too.
This results in two things. Firstly the crazy people who do not believe there is a pandemic continue do not have their misguided views challenged on TV every day, so they continue to act as if nothing is happening and more people get ill.
Secondly nobody outside the NHS knows what the reality of the current situation is. You do not know. I do not know.
The reason for this is because if the general public did know we would be scared shitless.
Which is not ideal for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. So instead they bullshit everyone from their comfortable houses out in the country far from the real horror.
Wonder if their views would change if they had to endure the pandemic in a cramped council flat in Shadwell?
The Government has not been ‘following the science’. It has been following its own selfish agenda to ensure they get elected again.
Priorities, huh?
Leaks desperately needed
Reading a Facebook post about the pandemic yesterday there was a comment from a person who simply asked “Sounds horrific……I can’t believe that none of this is front page news (well actually I can!) x
Well the reason that the full details of the looming NHS catastrophe is not front page news yet is because that is just how the Government wants it. Official spokespeople at hospitals and trusts have been ordered not to do their job – talking to the media.
The only way the general public (that’s you) will know what is really going on is if people inside the NHS and the Trusts and London Ambulance Service tell the media what they know directly.
To be clear anyone who does so runs a real risk of losing their job. These individuals are the only ones who can balance that personal risk against the risk to our society of remaining silent.
If you are a health professional and you do want the rest of us to know what is going on please get in touch via email hello@eastendenquirer.org
Take great care when doing this and do not under any circumstances email from your place of work, even on a mobile phone.
The only way media minnows like the Enquirer or media giants like the BBC, Sky and ITV news channels can tell you the truth is if another person first tells them. Information does not appear out of thin air.
A good journalist guards their sources ferociously. All of the important stories the Enquirer (and Love Wapping before it) have broken came from a source. None of whom will ever be identified under any circumstances.
Moley goes to extraordinary lengths at time to protect the identity of sources, sometimes we will not run a story when it could only come from one person.
As with any report of wrongdoing or dubious behaviour the Enquirer will need evidence to substantiate claims. This might be a memo, it might be a screenshot of a computer screen.
First things first though.
If you have information relating to what is going on within the NHS or LAS during the pandemic please get in touch via hello@eastendenquirer.org or contact a mainstream media outlet.
It does not matter how the information sees the light of day, but see the light of day it must.
Oh and Happy 2021.
Please support the work of the East End Enquirer
If you found this story useful please consider helping the Wapping Mole and the East End Enquirer continue to cover issues like this by clicking the PayPal link below.
Donate via PayPal here.
As community journalists we do exactly what it says on our tin – we work for the community.
In Tower Hamlets, which covers most of London’s East End, that means we spend a lot of time investigating allegations of political corruption.
It is an unfortunate fact that the poorest local authority in the country is still beset by the highest levels of corruption.
As Love Wapping we were instrumental in exposing the electoral corruption of Mayor Lutfur Rahman.
The Government has gagged the NHS. The media needs NHS staff to speak out.
What do you think? This lockdown same as the last one? Tier-4 just another inconvenience? A SMS message from the Wapping Group Practise to its patients was forwarded to me a few minutes ago by a friend in E1W.
Here it is.
WAPPING GP Alert:
Covid-19 cases in our area are one of the highest in the borough. 1 in 3 people with Covid-19 don’t have symptoms so it’s easy to pass it on without knowing. Please keep your loved ones safe by staying at home and not socialising with people outside your household.
I have never seen a health warning from a GP surgery about a specific disease. Sure I got one about not dialing for an ambulance unless it is essential but that was a general London alert that everyone got.
This year I have been lucky enough to not know anyone who has become ill with Covid-19, even at the height of the first wave in April.
Until now.
As of writing this I know of seven friends and family members who have Covid-19. Fortunately all are recovering.
I am not claiming that what is happening now is seven times worse than April’s first wave, that would be stupid.
What I am saying is that whatever is happening now in our borough, be it in Wapping or Poplar or Bow or Mile End is extremely serious and should not be dismissed lightly.
There is a potential combination of three related threats which might well make January and February 2021 much worse than anything we have endured in 2020.
Threat 1
There is no room for complacency on the part of anyone. It seems that the most recent variant of the Corona-19 virus is zooming round the borough at frightening speed.
The only way to combat this is to follow the usual boring official advice which might save your life and the lives of others.
What is even worse, and this could mean a health catastrophe, is that the NHS in London and elsewhere is overloaded. So not only are you more likely to get Covid-19 you are less likely to get the best possible care from a system which is on the brink of collapsing.
Scared yet? If not you soon will be.
Threat 2
Earlier this week I was told that the London Ambulance Service (LAS) was swamped with Covid-19 cases. The below was from a Facebook post by a medic working at LAS Control.
(The reference to people not following guidelines is aimed at people such as the group of 20 selfish idiots playing football in the sports cage in Wapping Gardens yesterday. You are not allowed to play football. It is banned.)
I am not posting this person’s identity and have not asked for their permission to use it, but I can say this is a public post and I have had the identity of the person independently verified.
You will have seen numerous stories in the media about ambulances turning up at hospitals with patients and not being able to unload them because there is no room for them in the hospital.
The patients have to be cared for in ambulances. And of course this means that the ambulance is not free to take other calls.
You may also have heard stories that oxygen supplies in hospitals are having to be constantly monitored because so much is being used by so many patients.
You should read this long Twitter thread by Dr Rachel Clarke which makes sober reading.
(While writing this I was told of a friend of a friend who died from Covid-19 leaving behind five children.)
Threat 3
In the thread Dr Clarke tells of senior clinicians in multiple hospitals telling her that they are desperate to show the reality inside our Intensive Care Units and wards but they aren’t allowed to. All media communications functions have been centralised by the NHS / Government. Hospital trusts have been muzzled too.
This results in two things. Firstly the crazy people who do not believe there is a pandemic continue do not have their misguided views challenged on TV every day, so they continue to act as if nothing is happening and more people get ill.
Secondly nobody outside the NHS knows what the reality of the current situation is. You do not know. I do not know.
The reason for this is because if the general public did know we would be scared shitless.
Which is not ideal for the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. So instead they bullshit everyone from their comfortable houses out in the country far from the real horror.
Wonder if their views would change if they had to endure the pandemic in a cramped council flat in Shadwell?
The Government has not been ‘following the science’. It has been following its own selfish agenda to ensure they get elected again.
Priorities, huh?
Leaks desperately needed
Reading a Facebook post about the pandemic yesterday there was a comment from a person who simply asked “Sounds horrific……I can’t believe that none of this is front page news (well actually I can!) x
Well the reason that the full details of the looming NHS catastrophe is not front page news yet is because that is just how the Government wants it. Official spokespeople at hospitals and trusts have been ordered not to do their job – talking to the media.
The only way the general public (that’s you) will know what is really going on is if people inside the NHS and the Trusts and London Ambulance Service tell the media what they know directly.
To be clear anyone who does so runs a real risk of losing their job. These individuals are the only ones who can balance that personal risk against the risk to our society of remaining silent.
If you are a health professional and you do want the rest of us to know what is going on please get in touch via email hello@eastendenquirer.org
Take great care when doing this and do not under any circumstances email from your place of work, even on a mobile phone.
The only way media minnows like the Enquirer or media giants like the BBC, Sky and ITV news channels can tell you the truth is if another person first tells them. Information does not appear out of thin air.
A good journalist guards their sources ferociously. All of the important stories the Enquirer (and Love Wapping before it) have broken came from a source. None of whom will ever be identified under any circumstances.
Moley goes to extraordinary lengths at time to protect the identity of sources, sometimes we will not run a story when it could only come from one person.
As with any report of wrongdoing or dubious behaviour the Enquirer will need evidence to substantiate claims. This might be a memo, it might be a screenshot of a computer screen.
First things first though.
It does not matter how the information sees the light of day, but see the light of day it must.
Oh and Happy 2021.
Please support the work of the East End Enquirer
If you found this story useful please consider helping the Wapping Mole and the East End Enquirer continue to cover issues like this by clicking the PayPal link below.
Donate via PayPal here.
As community journalists we do exactly what it says on our tin – we work for the community.
In Tower Hamlets, which covers most of London’s East End, that means we spend a lot of time investigating allegations of political corruption.
It is an unfortunate fact that the poorest local authority in the country is still beset by the highest levels of corruption.
As Love Wapping we were instrumental in exposing the electoral corruption of Mayor Lutfur Rahman.
Share this: