it's no joke

Fri 20th March 2020:

Northwick Park Hospital, one of our regional London hospitals is announced to  now be critical with its capacity on ITU and basically bursting at the seams. I have friends who work there, in other specialties, and may be drafted up to work on ITU. Comfort zones are being threatened to be tested for all of us.
A humorous meme going around: "Stay home. Unless you want to be intubated by a dermatologist". I laugh out loud and forward to all my friends.  And have seen the same poking fun at orthopaedic surgeons, and no doubt most other non-acute specialities the profession have had the same joke on them!  Then I think of my family and stop laughing.

The government announces the so-called Furlough scheme, to provide measures for financial assistance and support to workers having to stay home on account of the recommendations to prevent the spread of the virus.  This may bring welcome relief to so many, and I also hope for my Mum in particular, the only one of our parents still working full time.  I worry how people, businesses, the country, will emerge financially from this, as we also have no idea of how long we will be facing this crisis. 

A video of a distraught nurse is shown on the news-she has been working all hours and when she goes to the supermarket after her shift there is nothing left on the shelves.  This panic buying has got to stop.  The staff, the elderly, all need food and supplies and the selfishness of so many has now been exposed by a person in need and on the frontline.  I hope this does something to change people's behaviour.