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Mary Belgrave's avatar

I visited a friend on an elderly care ward in Eastbourne General hospital last week. To my horror the nurses and other staff on the ward were wearing masks. Many patients were in there for a while and had various stages of dementia. Besides the masks the neglect of basic dignity and respect was upsetting.

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Valerie Nelson's avatar

It’s so upsetting Mary and I feel for your friend. Only a suggestion but might you consider (anonymously) sending a copy of the benefit risk analysis cited by Gary to the hospital managers? Direct communication seems to be the only way to get the message out there because I doubt if any of them will see it on Substack or elsewhere.

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Mary Belgrave's avatar

I will do that, and give my name!

I find it so abhorrent that qualified nurses are perpetuating this mask wearing. I actually wondered if they feel more important wearing a mask. Mad assumption I know, but when I asked one to pull hers down to talk to me properly about my friend’s care, she acted very pompously as if I was a low status visitor as I was questioning the drugs she was on. As it happened she didn’t know herself that doctors had put her on Tramodol which is highly risky for older people and was making her feel weird.

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Baldmichael's avatar

Reading that makes it sound as though the nurse was on Tramodol, but I assume you mean your friend. Mind you if the stupid nurse is vaccinated then she was on drugs!

Tramodol looks nasty stuff. I have this interest in anagrams of words and phrases telling the truth. Tramodol longest single word is 'doormat'. That would be weird.

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Valerie Nelson's avatar

I agree it’s deeply troubling. You’re a brave woman to challenge the nurse which will most certainly have made her think. Thank you for sharing the benefit risk analysis which will hopefully help to change this abhorrent policy.

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Gary Sidley's avatar

Yes, a seam of mask mania is still alive & kicking in health & social care.

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biologyphenom's avatar

Care homes. Hospitals. Schools. Nurseries.

Serious mask harms inflicted upon healthy people, healthcare workers, the elderly, young children and infants all confirmed at the Scottish COVID-19 inquiry.

https://biologyphenom.substack.com/p/newharms-from-mask-wearing

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Valerie Nelson's avatar

Thank you Gary, you’ve summarised the situation so clearly and exactly as it was. Aside from the harms to residents and patients, there was a total disregard for the health and welfare of the some of the lowest paid and undervalued workers in the country who never seem to have a voice, despite the complexity of the tasks we expect them to perform when we’re no longer able to do it ourselves.

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Gary Sidley's avatar

Thank you, Valerie - the article is built upon your benefit-risk analysis.

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biologyphenom's avatar

'‘Fluid resistant surgical masks were relatively USELESS in terms of protecting doctors and other healthcare workers from COVID.'‘

-Dr.Iain Kennedy, Chair of BMA Scotland.

https://biologyphenom.substack.com/p/scottish-covid-19-inquiry-impact-20e?utm_source=publication-search

Don't worry though they'll be back next time mandating even more harmful FFP3.

"Patients coughing could infect us because we weren't wearing the higher grade FFP3 masks."

-Lesley Roberts, 'whistleblower nurse.'

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/whistleblower-says-nhs-inaction-put-25077721

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Baldmichael's avatar

Thanks again for your post Gary, but it wasn't "regretable" that staff were compelled to wear masks it was f*****g insane! It was cruelty beyond measure on top of whatever else went on.

https://baldmichael.substack.com/p/care-homes-and-midazolam-the-murder?utm_source=publication-search

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Gary Sidley's avatar

I agree with the sentiment, Baldmichael, but do bear in mind that this article was originally intended for a mainstream/pro-mask social care publication - I'd successfully managed to get a similar article into a care home magazine and tried several times to get this one into a three other mainstream journals (alas, they ignored me). To have any chance of reaching a non-sceptical readership you have to tone the language down a bit.

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Baldmichael's avatar

Thank you, I understand Gary. It would have been helpful to state that the article was originally for publication as you say. A brief paragraph would have been sufficient. Using 'regrettable' to those of us who saw through the evil in 2020 is like a red rag to a bull! A better word here for us at least would perhaps be 'unacceptable'.

I think of Jesus's words to the Pharisees 'You brood of vipers!' when I think of those who perpetrated these crimes on the vulnerable. Although this post is not about vaccines, vipers is just right.

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