Contagion , the movie. | Vital Football

Contagion , the movie.

Bear1951

Vital Football Legend
Just watched the pandemic movie, Contagion. There is no doubt in my mind that the background setting was heavily influenced by our Pandemic review in 2016 that our government commissioned and subsequently failed to act upon.
 
I note some are saying we overreacted with the Nightingale Hospitals one of those you cannot win.I think we went wrong by not closing our borders and thos we had to let in should have gone straight into quarantine...
 
I have no problem with the Nightingale hospitals and if they are not much used so much the better. Closing borders and earlier implementation of all other measures would have helped but our most critical shortcoming has been to underfund the NHS for a Tory decade and specifically not to act on the pandemic study of 2016. Unforgivable complacency. Alarm bells should also have been ringing when our so called scientists were producing advice radically different from many other countries and not in line with the majority of the scientific community in this country. The role of Demonic Cummings in the SAGE meetings will be heavily criticised when the eventual public enquiry reports. Cheltenham and Champions League match at Anfield were the height of reckless stupidity. There can be no sugar coating the fact that the performance of our government has been shambolic. I wouldn't trust Matt Hancock to look after a gerbil.
 
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I agree that the NHS does need more funding ( and make better use it) but I don't think that is the problem and wouldn't have made much difference. In this pandemic the NHS has adapted well and we have not anywhere near reaching capacity. In Lincolnshire we have used less than a third of capacity.
Some of the things we do need to learn from are:

A. Being far less reliant on China and other countries tor supplies of PPE, which became a real problem when those countries are also affected and the quality becomes suspect when others are also changing supplies. We need to make more in this country. The NHS ( not Government) procurement operation and chainschavecbeen found to be wanting. Incidently, we did stockpile some PPE but it was based on a flu pandemic which is far less virulent and does not have the attrition rate on PPE.
Similar arguments apply to manufacture of other key equipment (such as ventilators) which should be in this country.

B. The NHS testing facilties were found to be limited and those facilities in the universities and science labs were fragmented and working in isolation (unlike Germany's). That is the reason it took some time to increase the capacity. We need that system in place for the future.

C. Care homes. We are no different to countries abroad where these have also been a high risk area for deaths because of the the nature of residents. They do need higher priority and funding for the future (unlike the NHS, which has had cash increases each year, social care has faced cash cuts). Interestingly, in Lincolnshire we have hundreds of care homes and an above average elderly population. We have had only had 18 homes affected by the virus and very few deaths. The reason for that is that we 6ook very early action in restricting access to the homes over 3 weeks before the lockdown.

D. Cummings is an irrelevance. Whilst he shouldn't have sat in on them, he had zero impact on their work. And that is from a couple if people who are present at the SAGE meetings.

There will, undoubtedly be a thorough enquiry once the dust settles.
Anyway keep safe and enjoy the VE day celebrations
 
Just watched the pandemic movie, Contagion. There is no doubt in my mind that the background setting was heavily influenced by our Pandemic review in 2016 that our government commissioned and subsequently failed to act upon.

Contagion is from 2011 Bear