Hello, it’s Robert Baggs here and thank you for joining me for this, my first podcast of 2022 and I would like to wish you all a very happy new year if that’s possible under the circumstances.
I’d also like to say that I’ve had a change of mind as to where this will appear and have decided that it will be on the Robert Baggs Blogspot and this podcast only, so I won’t be doing a video log as it’s a bit too much for me to commit this text to memory and I also don’t want to just read from a script.
Well, we were permitted to have a pretty normal Christmas this year after Prime Minister Johnson announced in a tweet on the 21st December that he “… wanted to confirm that people can go ahead with their Christmas plans.”
I don’t know about you but no-one gives me permission to celebrate Christmas in the way I want to so I did just that, celebrated Christmas exactly as I wanted to and essentially that’s how I live my life now, that is, I do what I want, when I want, no permissions necessary thank you Mr Johnson.
Johnson did go on to say that they were keeping an eye on things, a threat that further restrictions would be placed if he felt that it was necessary and so left an air of uncertainty hanging over the Christmas and New Year for those people who still live their lives in fear because they believe the Government are doing it all in their best interests.
Well it certainly was not in the best interests of anyone involved in the hospitality business many having to deal with large scale cancellations of meal and party reservations. All of this because the fear had been instilled in them that they would be in danger of exposing themselves to OMICRON, the latest covid variant, known to many of us as ‘THE COMMON COLD’.
And what is it with people that they are forever self-testing even when they don’t feel ill? Is this how they intend to live forever? No wonder the NHS is falling apart with so many staff isolating as they’ve tested positive but have nothing wrong with them.
So there’s a booster that seems to be the only way out of this … but that’s for now, our government is already talking about a fourth jab, how many jabs are people prepared to take I wonder. I foresee quarterly jabs being the way forward so it’s no wonder the NHS is under pressure.
Prime Minister Johnson seems to be ok with it but I wonder what Keir Starmer thinks, having caught covid in October after his two jabs and now contracting it again after his booster alledgedly?
And finally on this issue that dominates the media and general public conversation – why is it that those jabbed are so angry with those not jabbed? Do they or do they not believe the jab protects them? There is no logic.
So, on to
what I had planned to talk about this week which unsurprisingly begins with a
few comments about the so-called pandemic!
The last two years have increasingly seen the most authoritarian control over the British people that we have ever seen. Our freedom to manage our own lives and welfare has been taken away for nothing more than a bad outbreak of the flu, rebadged as covid-19 and now with the latest variant omicron, a rebadging of the common cold.
What has been most surprising is how the majority of the British public happily accept and embrace this control without question, resulting in the vulnerable, and those sick, from other than covid of course, suffering more than had this disease been allowed to run its course without restriction.
However,
this remodelling of our society by the government has not only just begun. For
several years, even before covid, the attack on the vulnerable and elderly has been
taking place, but it is only relatively recently that we see how bad it has
become and for that we must all bear some responsibility, even those of us who
believe we are enlightened.
The covid restrictions have forced a massive move to forcing society’s reliance on IT, the track and trace app., the requirement of card only payments at many retail outlets, the purchase of non-essential items on-line and also access to medical services, unless, as said, you have covid of course, all these being examples of how we have been directed to using these services on-line.
This is all well and good if you have access to, and an understanding of IT, the internet, modern phones and computers or tablets, and that is where we bear the responsibility for this. It has been all too easy for those of us who have embraced the pre-covid-19 IT revolution, to carry on with life because it is easier to do so on-line.
As an ex-NHS employee of 20 years working at all levels in the NHS, I know all too well the hoops through which we must jump to gain access to health services under normal circumstances. With covid-19 these hoops have become smaller and further apart and I have become angered on hearing about poorly elderly relatives seeking medical assistance during this politically created pandemic and the problems they are faced with in doing that.
These relatives in their 80’s and 90’s, have given up seeking help from their GP surgeries when they are faced, on telephoning, with messages advising them that “…. we are extremely busy, due to covid, please book an appointment on-line…”, to the extent they believe they have been written off and so no longer bother to seek medical advice or help when needed. Similarly another relative needed to deposit cheques in her bank account but as her local branch had closed rang seeking advice on what to do about the situation and was told that the bank only accepts cheque deposits via the on-line function.
With regards my relative’s health worries I wrote to the then Secretary of State for Health, Matt Hancock, expressing my concerns and received no reply, not even an acknowledgement!
Consequently I wrote to my MP on the subject but included concerns over the broader access issues and stated in my letter the fact that “….there are almost 9 million people in the UK over the age of 70 and suggested that a great many of those are not IT literate and are actually frightened by it… going on to say ….. as well as those under 70 who do not have access or the ability to use an IT solution…” and that being with all things, not just medical care, but with banking, home-schooling of children, and even the correspondence we all received regarding the completion of the last census advising they preferred completion on-line, (although to be fair they did say that where this was not possible we should email or telephone for a paper copy to complete!).
The question my letter essentially asked was “What steps are being taken by the government and other authorities to ensure that those people, the vulnerable and elderly, who do not have appropriate IT access or the necessary skills to cope with that process, what steps are being taken to ensure they are not being disenfranchised from living normal lives?”
Instead of answering the general query, my MP sent the letter to the NHS, so the reply only referenced the NHS aspect of this issue. This is an extract from the letter I received by way of a response and I read it because I believe it important to allow the reader or listener to make their own assessment as to whether the function of government is to serve the people or serve their own ends.
This is what
they wrote :-
“General practice is open and has
been throughout the pandemic, and people should continue to access services by
telephone, online or in person. GP practices have a vital role in the response
to covid-19; they have worked tirelessly to identify and offer proactive care
to shielded and high-risk patients, and continue to be there for all of us when
we have health concerns.
We remain grateful for the extra efforts GPs have made to support all patients. General practice has rapidly adapted in response to covid-19, transforming the way its services operate.
Practices are providing remote consultations, as well as face-to-face appointments, in order to serve as many patients as possible while protecting staff and the public from the risk of infection. In some cases, GPs may deem it necessary to offer patients a telephone or video appointment prior to a face-to-face appointment to manage the risk associated with covid-19.
NHS England and NHS Improvement
(NHSE&I) have written to GPs and their commissioners to reiterate the
importance of providing face-to-face appointments for those who need them.
NHSE&I also shared a communications toolkit to help GP practices
communicate clearly with patients about how they can access services. A £150
million fund became available in March 2021 to expand general practice
capacity, address the continued needs of patients as practices respond to covid-19,
and to deal with the backlog of care and improve services.
It is in addition to the previously agreed covid-19 support fund that helped practices with costs incurred during the first wave. There have been big changes to the way that healthcare operates, but I would like to reassure Mr Baggs that general practice stands ready to see, treat and vaccinate local populations”.
So there you have it, not being content with attempting to brainwash the British people regarding this flu outbreak, they seem to have brainwashed themselves to the extent that nothing else matters but covid-19!
So remember, when you carry out an on-line activity, that you are privileged to be able to do so and then think about how you would achieve what you have done without your mobile phone or laptop. Millions of our people are being swept aside as if they no longer matter and it is a disgrace.
Thank you for listening and I hope this has struck a chord with you. Next week I hope to talk about the NHS complaints process.
In the meantime, trust nobody and keep holding that line, there are more of us out here who actually REALLY care about our fellow man than those who simply care about themselves.
Keep out of mischief and I hope that you can join me on Friday 14th January. Bye for now.
No comments:
Post a Comment