General / Off-Topic Supporting the NHS

Hell Razor5543

H
In this time of the Coronavirus we have been asked to do what we can to support the National Health Service. I agree with this, and will do what I can (I am limiting personal contact, although I am classified as a key worker, as the company I work for maintains IT/EPoS equipment for shops/banks). On Thursday I was one of the myriad applauding the NHS. On Friday I was the only person in earshot out applauding them again. The Royal Berkshire Hospital is just down the road from me, and one young lady, heading home, thanked me.

What upset me is the fact that I was the only person in earshot doing this. Why? Why was I the only person? The NHS is fighting the Coronavirus every second of every minute of every hour of every day. The very least we can do is to show our appreciation for all of their efforts. Is it really too much to ask that we applaud these people for what they are doing? Italy and Spain are doing this, and they have been hit far harder than the UK.

I was out again this evening, and, again, I was the only person in earshot applauding the NHS. How can the NHS keep their morale up if we don't show that we appreciate the hard work they are doing to try and save us?

I intend to carry on applauding the NHS at 20:00 every day, for as long as I am able, or until this crisis is over. Please, if you can, will you join me in supporting the NHS?
 

Arry

Arry
I think, that as a one off; it was a special event and really meant something. Doing it every day, will only make it a task and this will be a task, that will last, well beyond the next Xmas.

Without getting political, the workers on the front line of the NHS, have needed our support, for literally years now. Were we all clapping, during the junior doctors strikes? No. Have we been clapping in support of free parking for hospital staff? No. Have we been clapping each and every winter, when the staff have to cope, with less and less each passing year? No.

I have a friend, who is a hospital porter. He has been saying thank you and boosting moral, in his own way, for abut 18 months now. He leaves thank you notes, on Ambulances and cars, of staff he knows. A simple thank you note and a bar of chocolate and for about a year, this was anonymously until about 4 months ago, when he got caught. Now everyone knows who has been doing it, but he still does it anyway. That to me, is special.
 

Patrick_68000

Patrick_68000
Arry said:
Without getting political, the workers on the front line of the NHS, have needed our support, for literally years now. Were we all clapping, during the junior doctors strikes? No. Have we been clapping in support of free parking for hospital staff? No. Have we been clapping each and every winter, when the staff have to cope, with less and less each passing year? No.
Click to expand...

In France we can say the same thing.

And to bounce back on your post (without getting political), start here for support ?

main-qimg-8a95c3d84f81682534f3b272f425c050.jpg


-----------------------------------------------------

😷
 

Rubbernuke

Rubbernuke
Hell Razor5543 said:
In this time of the Coronavirus we have been asked to do what we can to support the National Health Service. I agree with this, and will do what I can (I am limiting personal contact, although I am classified as a key worker, as the company I work for maintains IT/EPoS equipment for shops/banks). On Thursday I was one of the myriad applauding the NHS. On Friday I was the only person in earshot out applauding them again. The Royal Berkshire Hospital is just down the road from me, and one young lady, heading home, thanked me.

What upset me is the fact that I was the only person in earshot doing this. Why? Why was I the only person? The NHS is fighting the Coronavirus every second of every minute of every hour of every day. The very least we can do is to show our appreciation for all of their efforts. Is it really too much to ask that we applaud these people for what they are doing? Italy and Spain are doing this, and they have been hit far harder than the UK.

I was out again this evening, and, again, I was the only person in earshot applauding the NHS. How can the NHS keep their morale up if we don't show that we appreciate the hard work they are doing to try and save us?

I intend to carry on applauding the NHS at 20:00 every day, for as long as I am able, or until this crisis is over. Please, if you can, will you join me in supporting the NHS?
Click to expand...

!Sorry mods in advance!

Having worked for the NHS for 10 years as a pharmacy tech (and my dad too as a porter) the best way to support the NHS is to vote in parties that support the NHS. For the last 10 years the current government has tried its best to take it apart (and before that as well). Actually look at whats offered - social care as well as primary (hospital) care. Simply giving back whats been cut is not enough.
 

ianw

I
Rubbernuke said:
!Sorry mods in advance!

Having worked for the NHS for 10 years as a pharmacy tech (and my dad too as a porter) the best way to support the NHS is to vote in parties that support the NHS. For the last 10 years the current government has tried its best to take it apart (and before that as well). Actually look at whats offered - social care as well as primary (hospital) care. Simply giving back whats been cut is not enough.
Click to expand...

I was trying to think of practical ways to support the people like yourself working at the sharp end.

Is there no plan to get some essential supplies for staff to pickup at work? I don't know how practical it is from a logistics point of view but I would have thought they could get extra (seeing as how they already get stuff for on site catering) milk, eggs, bread and so forth to the hospitals for staff to take home so they don't have to try and get into supermarkets personally too often.

It must be difficult enough dealing with long shifts and the stress of being at a hospital with all this going on without having to faff about in queues at supermarkets/shops afterwards. Respect and good wishes to all involved.
 

Rubbernuke

Rubbernuke
ianw said:
I was trying to think of practical ways to support the people like yourself working at the sharp end.

Is there no plan to get some essential supplies for staff to pickup at work? I don't know how practical it is from a logistics point of view but I would have thought they could get extra (seeing as how they already get stuff for on site catering) milk, eggs, bread and so forth to the hospitals for staff to take home so they don't have to try and get into supermarkets personally too often.

It must be difficult enough dealing with long shifts and the stress of being at a hospital with all this going on without having to faff about in queues at supermarkets/shops afterwards. Respect and good wishes to all involved.
Click to expand...

I moved on from the NHS about five years ago, and even then it was tough. We were told to save millions each year which became unobtainable and led to more and more cuts and outsourcing.

I imagine out of hours services for pharmacy (since a lot of it comes from robotic vending) are extended, and from what I've seen all non-essential operations and wards are / have capacity for CV 19 cases (my old Trust had a new building complete that would be ideal for this).

The difficulty is separating out CV 19 patients from others who are vulnerable. My old hospital being mainly 1980s vintage (it had a WW2 era building until three years ago) has a decent layout with cancer and other delicate patients able to have separate entrances. I imagine the Tesco (about 5 mins walk) down the road sees a lot of hospital staff and has some sort of arrangement.
 

Rubbernuke

Rubbernuke
Ian Phillips said:
Whilst this is about the British NHS, I'd make a plea to every nationality to support their health services in any way they can.

I spoke (whats app'ed) with a nurse in NY yesterday. Tired from the work and her whole team dealing with anxiety about the lack of PPE as well as patients with the virus.

They need support.
Click to expand...

This is true too. I saw a report on how Iranian doctors and nurses are working themselves to death and it is heartbreaking.
 

Rubbernuke

Rubbernuke
ianw said:
I was trying to think of practical ways to support the people like yourself working at the sharp end.

Is there no plan to get some essential supplies for staff to pickup at work? I don't know how practical it is from a logistics point of view but I would have thought they could get extra (seeing as how they already get stuff for on site catering) milk, eggs, bread and so forth to the hospitals for staff to take home so they don't have to try and get into supermarkets personally too often.

It must be difficult enough dealing with long shifts and the stress of being at a hospital with all this going on without having to faff about in queues at supermarkets/shops afterwards. Respect and good wishes to all involved.
Click to expand...

I forgot you can also volunteer https://www.england.nhs.uk/2020/03/your-nhs-needs-you-nhs-call-for-volunteer-army/
 

Arry

Arry
ianw said:
I was trying to think of practical ways to support the people like yourself working at the sharp end.

Is there no plan to get some essential supplies for staff to pickup at work? I don't know how practical it is from a logistics point of view but I would have thought they could get extra (seeing as how they already get stuff for on site catering) milk, eggs, bread and so forth to the hospitals for staff to take home so they don't have to try and get into supermarkets personally too often.

It must be difficult enough dealing with long shifts and the stress of being at a hospital with all this going on without having to faff about in queues at supermarkets/shops afterwards. Respect and good wishes to all involved.
Click to expand...
This IS happening, maybe not everywhere, but in my area, food dumps are being dropped at hospitals, just for the staff.
 

Arry

Arry
Ian Phillips said:
Whilst this is about the British NHS, I'd make a plea to every nationality to support their health services in any way they can.

I spoke (whats app'ed) with a nurse in NY yesterday. Tired from the work and her whole team dealing with anxiety about the lack of PPE as well as patients with the virus.

They need support.
Click to expand...
Last year, I spent a lot of time, in hospitals. For myself, I had to go in for gallbladder issues and my father had a bad stroke in June and passed away in December. He was in the hospital for about 4 months and I tried to visit him, about 3 times per week and because of this, I could see the dedication and commitment of the nurses etc.. I know that I can say without doubt, that 99% of nurses are a special breed of human being. Not just because of what they do, but their mentality seems to be tuned to care and their altruism is off of the scale and then, when you think about the wages most of them earn, you can see, that it is not for the money. Then there are the support staff and as I said above, I have a friend, who has been a hospital porter, for decades; again, he is made of some special stuff.

So thinking about it, I will apologise to the O.P. and say, good on you, carry on. I don't have any NHS workers passing my door, to clap to, but I think that from now on. If I see a nurse, or someone in a NHS staff uniform, I will give them a little bow, an acknowledgement, of what they mean, to all of us.
 

jasonbarron

jasonbarron
Ian Phillips said:
Whilst this is about the British NHS, I'd make a plea to every nationality to support their health services in any way they can.

I spoke (whats app'ed) with a nurse in NY yesterday. Tired from the work and her whole team dealing with anxiety about the lack of PPE as well as patients with the virus.

They need support.
Click to expand...
The health care providers of the world are this ages "finest generation." We're in WWIII and they are the equivalent of those who stormed the beaches of Normandy. Their heroism is as heart breaking as it is awe inspiring.

At this point all I can do is donate money to our local health services as we're still about ten days or so from seeing the beginning of the surge that will test their capacity, but I foresee a need for personally volunteering directly at some point within 3-5 weeks and that's what i'm preparing mentally for. Even if that's just scrubbing bed pans, that's where I'll be if they'll accept me.
 
Last edited:

Hell Razor5543

H
I may have come up with a low cost DIY visor. I have NOT yet made one, but I feel it should work. If anybody does try it and feels there are ways to improve it PLEASE post the changes here.

You will need a 2l straight sided coke bottle, some elastic (for the headband to hold it in place), some double sided sticky tape and a strip of stiff sponge (draught excluder may be good enough to replace the tape and sponge). The sponge/draught excluder needs to be about 25mm deep, to hold the visor off the nose.

Empty the bottle and rinse it out. Cut the top and bottom off, and then cut it once straight down from top to bottom. Smooth off the edges (round off the corners as well). Punch a couple of holes on each side at the top, for the elastic. Fit the elastic, and then fit the sponge (or draught excluder) along the top edge (as a cushion for the forehead). If my idea works you should now have a simple visor.

A typical coke bottle has a diameter of 110mm, which means a circumference of 345mm. That should be enough for your face and ears to be protected from droplets sneezed out.
 
Last edited:

Hell Razor5543

H
DIY Face Visor​



Before I explain how to make this face visor I want to make a few things clear.

1, This face visor is NOT made of impact resistant plastic, so it will NOT protect your face should you decide, for example, to do some building work around the house. Should a stone chip travel towards your face at speed this visor WILL NOT stop it!

2, The coke bottle plastic is not meant for looking through (other than to see how much drink is in the bottle). This means that the plastic may give you a blurry view of the world.

3, All this visor is meant to do is to try and protect you from any droplets that may be coughed or sneezed in your vicinity. I cannot guarantee it will succeed, but it should help protect you.

4, This visor could also help protect others from YOU! Should you be asymptomatic, when you cough or sneeze you will also be expelling droplets laden with COVID 19. This visor could also stop you from passing COVID 19 to others.


You will need 5 items, and some simple tools to make the visor.

One 3 litre straight sided coke bottle (I think a 2 litre bottle will do, but a 3 litre bottle gives more width.

50cm elastic (you can get 2m by 12mm from Sainsburys’ for £1.50, so enough for four visors).

A drying up cloth (the one I am using is 60cm by 40cm).

Some string (two lengths, about 30cm long each).

Some packing tape.

A sharp knife.

Scissors.

A tape measure.

Something to make clean ROUND holes (I will use a soldering iron). Holes that are cut may well split later.

Sandpaper.



Empty and rinse out the bottle. Remove the label. Using a mild cleaner (nail varnish remover could help) remove any glue residue (but check the varnish remover does not damage the plastic by testing it on the bottom of the bottle). Using the sharp knife cut off the top and bottom of the bottle (at the points where the bottle starts to curve in, to allow you to have as large a cylinder as possible). Keep the top of the bottle, as you will need it to make a couple of reinforcement pieces later (you can throw away the bottom piece). Examine the cylinder, and look for a vertical seam (or where there is the worse visibility through the plastic). Cut straight down from top to bottom (using the scissors, and following the seam). You now will have a curved piece of plastic roughly square shaped. Smooth off the edges (using the sandpaper) and round off the corners (this visor is meant to protect your face, not be used to shave it!). Clean it, using soapy water and a cloth (do NOT use a scourer, as the bottle plastic is soft and is easy to scratch).

Cut two straight strips from the bottle top, as wide and as long as possible (these are the reinforcement pieces). Fold them in half. Place each strip at the top corners of the main piece of plastic, with the folds over the vertical edges. Put a round hole all the way through the reinforcing strips and main plastic. Thread the elastic through the holes and knot it.

Next, about 1/3rd in from each vertical edge, along the top, put two holes, one above the other, about 1cm apart. These will be to secure the drying up cloth (as a forehead cushion) in place. Take the drying up cloth and fold it once in half (so, using the dimensions of the one I am using, it ends up 30cm by 40cm), Then roll it up so you have a roll 30cm wide and a few cm thick. Thread each of the strings through the two holes with the ends on the outside of the visor (you don’t want a couple of hard knots pressing into your forehead!), leaving a large loop on the inside off the visor. Thread the rolled up cloth through the loops, and tie the string up tight. Trim off the ends of the string. Finally stick a length of packing tape along the top of the visor, over the holes, to seal them up.

You now should have a home made face visor.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom