sluggerotoole--2020-04-03--Is this dispute over testing a distraction from Conor Murphy’s phantom PPE order?

I can not tell you why Michelle O ’ Neill decided to dump her Health Minister in the sheugh .
NI testing is already ahead of Britain ’ s and Ireland is find some of its implementations are yielding poor outcomes ( the big lag between swab and results ) .
Micheal Martin ’ s suggestion last week that rather than give everyone a test who asks for it should be forgone for nationwide random testing so we can see where the hotspots are and so be able to plan accordingly seems sensible , but has yet to be acted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is having a good day .
BBC correspondents like Enda McClafferty ’ s reports have been particularly detailed and sharp whilst maintaining an even pressure on a system that has to adapt quickly to what is still an impending danger .
I got a sense the dFM was not upfront with her reasons for using Northern Ireland ’ s flagship politics programme to focus only on Mr Swann .
Quoting that line from a WHO presser a few weeks ago , sounded like a line from a play rather than a serious critique @ @ @ @ @ @ @ time SF created a fuss to cover a problem of their own .
And today , we may have discovered our answer .
Seven days ago the SF Finance Minister told us with confidence that a significant order for PPE had been placed with China .
This morning on Nolan we discovered he had done no such thing .
There is what we might call a ‘ palliative ’ statement from the Irish government saying that it was not possible to cut Northern Ireland in on the deal ( because southern needs come @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been battling hard to make sure that frontline medical staff have the best possible protection coming online before the pandemic hits .
The SDLP ’ s Matthew O ’ Toole on Tuesday tried to get detail on this ‘ deal ’ from Murphy… The Minister was on the radio this morning speaking about the personal protection equipment ( PPE ) that we have , we hope , procured on an all-Ireland basis .
Will he give a bit more detail ?
Is it Central Procurement Directorate ( CPD ) in the Department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Exactly how much has it procured ?
When will it be here in the North ?
What are we getting ?
Who is responsible for dispersing it throughout the trusts ?
The Minister ’ s response was pretty devoid of detail : When it comes to PPE procurement , the Member will know that the Department of Health is responsible for its own procurement .
What we undertook to do initially , because there was significant demand from other services — the blue-light services , including the police , ambulance , the Fire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ procure PPE for all outside the Department of Health .
As of last week , we have a joint approach to PPE procurement , the one that is identified in the joint order with the Government in Dublin .
We are ensuring that the appropriate people are on the ground to make sure that that order is secured , that it is the equipment that we need and that it meets the specifications that are required .
There is no point in importing it if we find that it is not what we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Before we get into the detail of the exact quantities , which are significant , we want to ensure that we have the right order secured and on its way home .
Then , we will be able to release it .
When I read that on Tuesday afternoon I wondered then ( because of the sheer lack of detail or indeed any sense of what the Minister had actually ) whether this order had ever been placed .
Turns out it hadn ’ t .
Time for us to get real , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ short essay on the human challenge of dealing with an emergency few of us have adequately prepared with an appropriate quote from William Hazlett , ‘ long-winded disputes fill up the place of common sense and candid inquiry ’ .
More prosaically you might search Slugger ’ s archives for numerous ( serious ) entries lodged down the years on the matter of bullshitting ( political and otherwise ) .
What if we ’ ve been entertained by a long-winded circus aimed at pushing damage onto a colleague with the gravest burden to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
However , the press has not abandoned its solemn duty to common sense and honest enquiry .
What ’ s coming is scary .
We ’ ve seen that from Italy .
But Italy was mugged in the dark by this disease in a way the rest of us weren ’ t .
It was growing and spreading before they had the chance to the preparations in place we already have .
We ’ ve a far better chance .
Government comms people are probably not set up to deal with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s own boss ( which is effectively what Mrs O ’ Neill is to Mr Swann ) , but it underlines the need for a more proactive approach to comms .
If , as Kirsty McNeill argues , an ‘ Appeal to the Larger Us ’ needs to come first , the dFM needs to figure out just what kind of story she wants to tell : one that allows us all to contribute to a ‘ good campaign together or suffer a bad one separately .
Whether any of us like it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are all in the same boat .
“ Ebola test laboratory in Sinje , Grand Cape Mount , Liberia ” by UNMEER is licensed under CC BY-ND

I cannot tell you why Michelle O’Neill decided to dump her Health Minister in the sheugh. NI testing is already ahead of Britain’s and Ireland is find some of its implementations are yielding poor outcomes (the big lag between swab and results).
Micheal Martin’s suggestion last week that rather than give everyone a test who asks for it should be forgone for nationwide random testing so we can see where the hotspots are and so be able to plan accordingly seems sensible, but has yet to be acted upon.
I do think the press is having a good day. BBC correspondents like Enda McClafferty’s reports have been particularly detailed and sharp whilst maintaining an even pressure on a system that has to adapt quickly to what is still an impending danger.
I got a sense the dFM was not upfront with her reasons for using Northern Ireland’s flagship politics programme to focus only on Mr Swann. Quoting that line from a WHO presser a few weeks ago, sounded like a line from a play rather than a serious critique.
It would not be the first time SF created a fuss to cover a problem of their own. And today, we may have discovered our answer. Seven days ago the SF Finance Minister told us with confidence that a significant order for PPE had been placed with China.
This morning on Nolan we discovered he had done no such thing. There is what we might call a ‘palliative’ statement from the Irish government saying that it was not possible to cut Northern Ireland in on the deal (because southern needs come first).
Meanwhile, the RCN has been battling hard to make sure that frontline medical staff have the best possible protection coming online before the pandemic hits. The SDLP’s Matthew O’Toole on Tuesday tried to get detail on this ‘deal’ from Murphy…
The Minister was on the radio this morning speaking about the personal protection equipment (PPE) that we have, we hope, procured on an all-Ireland basis. Will he give a bit more detail? Is it Central Procurement Directorate (CPD) in the Department of Finance that has procured it? Exactly how much has it procured? When will it be here in the North? What are we getting? Who is responsible for dispersing it throughout the trusts?
The Minister’s response was pretty devoid of detail:
When it comes to PPE procurement, the Member will know that the Department of Health is responsible for its own procurement. What we undertook to do initially, because there was significant demand from other services — the blue-light services, including the police, ambulance, the Fire Brigade, forensic scientists — was to procure PPE for all outside the Department of Health. As of last week, we have a joint approach to PPE procurement, the one that is identified in the joint order with the Government in Dublin. We are ensuring that the appropriate people are on the ground to make sure that that order is secured, that it is the equipment that we need and that it meets the specifications that are required. There is no point in importing it if we find that it is not what we need or not what we ordered. Before we get into the detail of the exact quantities, which are significant, we want to ensure that we have the right order secured and on its way home. Then, we will be able to release it.
When I read that on Tuesday afternoon I wondered then (because of the sheer lack of detail or indeed any sense of what the Minister had actually) whether this order had ever been placed. Turns out it hadn’t. Time for us to get real, I think.
John Pollock heads a short essay on the human challenge of dealing with an emergency few of us have adequately prepared with an appropriate quote from William Hazlett, ‘long-winded disputes fill up the place of common sense and candid inquiry’.
More prosaically you might search Slugger’s archives for numerous (serious) entries lodged down the years on the matter of bullshitting (political and otherwise).
What if we’ve been entertained by a long-winded circus aimed at pushing damage onto a colleague with the gravest burden to carry of all members of the Executive? However, the press has not abandoned its solemn duty to common sense and honest enquiry.
What’s coming is scary. We’ve seen that from Italy. But Italy was mugged in the dark by this disease in a way the rest of us weren’t. It was growing and spreading before they had the chance to the preparations in place we already have. We’ve a far better chance.
Government comms people are probably not set up to deal with a surprise public attack from their minister’s own boss (which is effectively what Mrs O’Neill is to Mr Swann), but it underlines the need for a more proactive approach to comms.
If, as Kirsty McNeill argues, an ‘Appeal to the Larger Us’ needs to come first, the dFM needs to figure out just what kind of story she wants to tell: one that allows us all to contribute to a ‘good campaign together or suffer a bad one separately.
Whether any of us like it or not, on this one we are all in the same boat.
“Ebola test laboratory in Sinje, Grand Cape Mount, Liberia” by UNMEER is licensed under CC BY-ND


sluggerotoole--2020-04-03--By all means,  hold the UK government’s feet to the fire. But collaboration with the Republic is no

By all means,  hold the UK government’s feet to the fire. But collaboration with the Republic is no magic bullet.

We can hardly be surprised when the fault lines opened during this emergency .
As a society still in recovery from a different sort of crisis , let ’ s admit we all – all – need help to avoid reverting to the old sectarian ding dong .
Social media is a virus in itself and social distancing is its incubator .
The first thing to hold onto is that we really are all in this together .
The second is that things can only get worse in the immediate future , so we all need to keep our heads @ @ @ @ @ @ @ during the Troubles when so many of us were each other ’ s enemies .
On the current spats , I ’ d only comment that Michelle seems to be isolated on breaking ranks , while on the issue of keeping open an EU office in Belfast , it seems that the two unionist parties are on their own .
Small earthquakes in Chile .
On the big UK picture , what a relief to hear Matt Hancock admit in terms that Covid 19 caught us unprepared .
As far back as 2016 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ concentrated on the possibility of a new flu which didn ’ t require Covid type measures .
The Daily Telegraph has a plausible account .
Germany following a tradition that goes back 150 years and was industrially better structured to cope .
The health experts I ’ ve heard – not just the guilty ones in Public Health England – keep saying that the four “ nations “ of the UK are in lockstep over what to do .
This is because the analysis , the resources in terms of massive funding and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I ’ m not sure they ’ ve noticed the politicians very much .
The niceties of discretion for devolved government are small change .
But as Michelle O ’ Neill so rightly says , “ we are where we are ” .
Fingers crossed but there are no big obstacles in thinking left to impede progress .
Now Hancock has set a tall order of 100,000 tests a day “ by the end of the month.
” But this may too late to affect the peak in deaths over the next @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t able to set a deadline for covering all medical workers .
But Northern Ireland has a comparator across the border .
The Republic has set up a network of community testing facilities , with a target of 100,000 per week by the end of April .
The situation in the south stands in sharp contrast to Northern Ireland where there was a goal of just 8,000 tests up to yesterday .
Even though the Republic has resumed community testing – long abandoned by the UK , – no western country is approaching @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out our various versions of lockdown .
At the very least , that awaits a reliable antibodies test which still needs further research .
So we ’ re all in for the long haul and our death tallies are likely to converge .
With our geography history and politics it ’ s little wonder that an all Ireland approach seems attractive , particularly as political tensions over coronavirus in the Republic are so much less than in England – and this despite the fact that the lead party of government won the fewest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contention .
Andy Pollak , the former head of the centre for cross border studies in Armagh ( and an old colleague ) has made the case for following the advice of public health expert Gabriel Scally who has close knowledge of the health systems in these islands .
Scally made a big impact with his descriptions of the errors in British approach to Covid .
His views rapidly became orthodox and are widely shared in GB .
Pollak says the handling of the foot and mouth crisis nineteen years ago is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this was small scale by comparison with Covid .
There is quite a difference between north-south “ collaboration ” and “ harmonisation ” .
Uniform regulations for movement for vital cross border agricultural and other trade would be an obvious benefit .
There may be others .
Measures like joint procurement of personal protection equipment for medical and care workers seems sensible and comparatively straightforward but has so far been a disappointment.. We await the details of the promised Memorandum of Understanding from the two leading public health officials which was the modest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But it must be said that so far , the south are not falling over themselves to share scarce resources funded by their taxpayers with the north .
Why would they ?
Scally was writing before Hancock announced his big push .
And there are bigger questions that need answering for moving to an all-Ireland system .
If we were to shift to harmonised procurement for testing and ventilators and embrace full community testing , how much would it cost and who would fund it ?
Full community testing means 1.8 million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ margin for repeats .
Call it 2 million ?
And the ratio between antigen and still to be validated antibodies tests is undisclosed .
Even if all the necessary chemicals were available and production was at full belt , full testing is months away- in other words , unrealistic .
At some point over the next three months , we ’ ll have to take the risk of easing restrictions on movement .
That will surely be taken on an all- British Isles basis , given the open border and the common travel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ most if it how would NI ’ s entitlement be assessed ?
Would it involve a subsidy from Dublin ?
In the meantime would Dublin share scarce facilities with the North on an equal basis ?
Are not the problems innate to the scale of the emergency and less as a result of a failure to integrate ?
At this stage would not the delays in working it out would impose an extra burden all round ?
It ’ s true that there have fierce criticisms of Public Health England for over centralising @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some decentralisation been embraced even by the New Year it might have made a difference .
Northern Ireland after all had its own measure of discretion already .
But on the essentials , not .
It all comes back to the UK assessment as long as four years ago , that eastern plagues were not a society changing threat and funding for them was not available .
It has been catchup ever since .
Robin Swann ’ s problems are but an echo of Matt Hancock ’ s .
He needs new facts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of an upscaling of testing and better procurement .
Independent labs for testing and manufacturing for incubators are now being harnessed in a massive effort by the UK government .
We now need to know need to know quickly what is Northern Ireland share of 100.000 tests a day for the whole UK and how quickly they ’ ll come on stream .
If assessed very roughly as a proportion of the UK population , this would mean about 17,500 tests a week of both kinds compared to the Republic ’ s target @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is still a wide gap and we can ’ t know if the targets can be reached .
Let ’ s move on such opportunities as there are with collaboration with the south .
But it ’ s surely far too late to start all over again .
In analogy with other familiar arguments , Northern Ireland benefits from UK subvention and it ’ s far from clear if the Republic should be expected to shoulder any extra burden to accommodate the North .
No doubt this argument will be disputed .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ basis of facts not politics .
Photo by padrinan is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

We can hardly be surprised when the fault lines opened during this emergency. As a society still in recovery from a different sort of crisis, let’s admit we all – all – need help to avoid reverting to the old sectarian ding dong. Social media is a virus in itself and social distancing is its incubator. The first thing to hold onto is that we really are all in this together. The second is that things can only get worse in the immediate future, so we all need to keep our heads. It should be easier now than during the Troubles when so many of us were each other’s enemies. On the current spats, I’d only comment that Michelle seems to be isolated on breaking ranks, while on the issue of keeping open an EU office in Belfast, it seems that the two unionist parties are on their own. Small earthquakes in Chile.
On the big UK picture, what a relief to hear Matt Hancock admit in terms that Covid 19 caught us unprepared. As far back as 2016, the public health authorities in England concentrated on the possibility of a new flu which didn’t require Covid type measures. The Daily Telegraph has a plausible account. Germany following a tradition that goes back 150 years and was industrially better structured to cope.
The health experts I’ve heard – not just the guilty ones in Public Health England – keep saying that the four “nations “ of the UK are in lockstep over what to do. This is because the analysis, the resources in terms of massive funding and procurement are concentrated on the UK centre. I’m not sure they’ve noticed the politicians very much. The niceties of discretion for devolved government are small change.
But as Michelle O’Neill so rightly says, “we are where we are”. Fingers crossed but there are no big obstacles in thinking left to impede progress. Now Hancock has set a tall order of 100,000 tests a day “by the end of the month.” But this may too late to affect the peak in deaths over the next couple of weeks. He wasn’t able to set a deadline for covering all medical workers.
But Northern Ireland has a comparator across the border. The Republic has set up a network of community testing facilities, with a target of 100,000 per week by the end of April. The situation in the south stands in sharp contrast to Northern Ireland where there was a goal of just 8,000 tests up to yesterday.
Even though the Republic has resumed community testing – long abandoned by the UK, – no western country is approaching anything like an exit strategy for phasing out our various versions of lockdown. At the very least, that awaits a reliable antibodies test which still needs further research. So we’re all in for the long haul and our death tallies are likely to converge.
With our geography history and politics it’s little wonder that an all Ireland approach seems attractive, particularly as political tensions over coronavirus in the Republic are so much less than in England – and this despite the fact that the lead party of government won the fewest seats of the three parties now in contention.
Andy Pollak, the former head of the centre for cross border studies in Armagh (and an old colleague) has made the case for following the advice of public health expert Gabriel Scally who has close knowledge of the health systems in these islands. Scally made a big impact with his descriptions of the errors in British approach to Covid. His views rapidly became orthodox and are widely shared in GB.
Pollak says the handling of the foot and mouth crisis nineteen years ago is a model that should be followed. But this was small scale by comparison with Covid.
There is quite a difference between north-south “collaboration” and “harmonisation”. Uniform regulations for movement for vital cross border agricultural and other trade would be an obvious benefit. There may be others. Measures like joint procurement of personal protection equipment for medical and care workers seems sensible and comparatively straightforward but has so far been a disappointment.. We await the details of the promised Memorandum of Understanding from the two leading public health officials which was the modest outcome of the last north-south tele conference.
But it must be said that so far, the south are not falling over themselves to share scarce resources funded by their taxpayers with the north. Why would they?
Scally was writing before Hancock announced his big push. And there are bigger questions that need answering for moving to an all-Ireland system.
If we were to shift to harmonised procurement for testing and ventilators and embrace full community testing, how much would it cost and who would fund it? Full community testing means 1.8 million tests at least, plus a considerable margin for repeats. Call it 2 million? And the ratio between antigen and still to be validated antibodies tests is undisclosed. Even if all the necessary chemicals were available and production was at full belt, full testing is months away- in other words, unrealistic. At some point over the next three months,we’ll have to take the risk of easing restrictions on movement. That will surely be taken on an all- British Isles basis, given the open border and the common travel area.
As Whitehall would pay for most if it how would NI’s entitlement be assessed? Would it involve a subsidy from Dublin?
In the meantime would Dublin share scarce facilities with the North on an equal basis?
Are not the problems innate to the scale of the emergency and less as a result of a failure to integrate?
At this stage would not the delays in working it out would impose an extra burden all round? It’s true that there have fierce criticisms of Public Health England for over centralising everything from analysis to procurement. Had some decentralisation been embraced even by the New Year it might have made a difference. Northern Ireland after all had its own measure of discretion already. But on the essentials, not. It all comes back to the UK assessment as long as four years ago, that eastern plagues were not a society changing threat and funding for them was not available. It has been catchup ever since .
Robin Swann’s problems are but an echo of Matt Hancock’s. He needs new facts urgently, on NI’s share of an upscaling of testing and better procurement. Independent labs for testing and manufacturing for incubators are now being harnessed in a massive effort by the UK government.
We now need to know need to know quickly what is Northern Ireland share of 100.000 tests a day for the whole UK and how quickly they’ll come on stream. If assessed very roughly as a proportion of the UK population, this would mean about 17,500 tests a week of both kinds compared to the Republic’s target of 100,000 tests a week. This is still a wide gap and we can’t know if the targets can be reached.
Let’s move on such opportunities as there are with collaboration with the south. But it’s surely far too late to start all over again. In analogy with other familiar arguments, Northern Ireland benefits from UK subvention and it’s far from clear if the Republic should be expected to shoulder any extra burden to accommodate the North.
No doubt this argument will be disputed. But let’s do it on the basis of facts not politics.
Photo by padrinan is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA


sluggerotoole--2020-04-04--Keir Starmer elected as new leader of the Labour Party…

At last Labour Party members have seen sense and decided to choose an electable leader .
Keir won on the @ @ @ @ @ with more than 50 % of the vote .
Keir is a poster child for @ @ @ @ @ working-class background he passed the 11plus and worked his way up to the dizzy heights @ @ @ @ @ QC .
As you can see from The Socialist Party reply above hard work and @ @ @ @ @ down well with some of the left who it seems would prefer to stay in @ @ @ @ @ As a Barrister , he is the perfect person to eviscerate the vacuous pronouncements of @ @ @ @ @ he is someone who will appeal to middle England .
Some may criticise him as @ @ @ @ @ remember Tony Blair for all his faults did win three elections .
“ Keir Starmer @ @ @ @ @ Prosecutions , Crown Prosecution Service , UK ” by Chatham House , London is licensed @ @ @

At last Labour Party members have seen sense and decided to choose an electable leader. Keir won on the first round of voting, with more than 50% of the vote.
For the few, not the many. pic.twitter.com/OxJzbsGs1F — The Socialist Party (@OfficialSPGB) April 4, 2020
Keir is a poster child for social mobility. From a working-class background he passed the 11plus and worked his way up to the dizzy heights of Sir Keir Starmer KCB QC. As you can see from The Socialist Party reply above hard work and personal success do not go down well with some of the left who it seems would prefer to stay in self-righteous perpetual political irrelevance.
As a Barrister, he is the perfect person to eviscerate the vacuous pronouncements of Boris Johnson. Most importantly he is someone who will appeal to middle England. Some may criticise him as a Tony Blair figure but remember Tony Blair for all his faults did win three elections.
“Keir Starmer QC, Director of Public Prosecutions, Crown Prosecution Service, UK” by Chatham House, London is licensed under CC BY


sluggerotoole--2020-04-04--A personal brush with CoVid-19….

A personal brush with CoVid-19….

Attributed to Joseph Stalin at the Tehran Conference by the author Anton Antonov-Ovseyenko .
When one is writing non-fiction , the books one inevitably buys pile up .
Last week an order of new shelves arrived and by Sunday I was ready to put up a few banks of them in the least cluttered part of my library and decant the tall forty inch piles collecting on my stairs and around my work desk into something I could access titles from .
I ’ d been having a sense of tightness across my chest and occasionally sharp pains for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ asthmatic chest pain is not an unfamiliar experience .
Just as I finished the work and before I started moving books I had a prolonged episode of intense pain and rested up to let it pass .
By the following day and after some episodes of further intense chest pain , accompanied by jaw and neck pain and fainting , I called my GP and was given an interview at the surgery a lot of sensible distancing .
After an treatment room electrocardiograph reading suggested the possibility of seriously unstable angina I was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for emergency tests and after an x-ray and blood tests pretty much confirmed the diagnosis I was admitted to Cardiology .
However , the heart attack was , darkly speaking , pretty much the very best bit !
I ’ ll quote what I emailed to a friend on the second day in the ward when I was devastatingly suspected of having contracted CoViD 19 : “ Drama !
My ultrascan testing was stopped in its tracks and I was recalled to the ward because scaring to my lungs was noticed as present @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ ve just had the CoVid 19 swab test and everything is now on hold until the results come in ( one day wait I ’ m told ) .
I ’ ve been listening to the doctors talking about this and immediately cancelling my trip to the Royal this afternoon .
It ’ s 23 days since I conducted the last history tour , 21 days since I saw my co-author as he ’ s travelling , and seventeen days since my visit to Ikea for a few new shelves for art @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outside of the home close up since .
The medical professionals think it unlikely I ’ ve actually had an exchange with anyone infectious but have to check , and hold off on testing my angina until they know for sure .
But if by some freak I ’ ve caught it , the ventilators here are currently still all free… .
So probably as good timing as can really be expected …… “ I was in isolation in a private room for about day , while the test went through , knowing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contracted the virus , with the heart attack , and my generally weakened state , and numerous vulnerabilities on the public tick list , it was effectively a death sentence .
The test eventually came back negative and I was rushed instantly from the private room in the isolation unit back to a normal ward which I shared with two witty and interesting Antrim born octogenarians , and the battery of tests and blood samples for unstable angina continued where they had left off just a day earlier .
Finally I was taken @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I was born – it ’ s always a delight to be in a position to claim publicly in my Anglo-Irish accent that I was born on the Falls Road !
!
! )
for an Angiography to see if I potentially had partly blocked valves and if stents were to be needed….. During the procedure at the Royal I got talking to a nurse about Slugger “ everyone here reads it !
It ’ s the best.
” … .
A detail of the Angiography procedure I went through is that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
I casually mentioned my rather serious sea food allergy , ( this last tested at the New York premiere of a film I ’ d been a rather unimportant producer on , with a subsequent fortnight with a greatly debilitating allergic reaction ) , just as I was being wheeled to the operating theatre , and was told , “ yes , I could have had a serious allergic reaction to the dye too ” ( “ anaphylaxis ” ) , causing dizziness , serious breathing difficulties or even a complete loss @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used the alternative dye of course on finding out… The care on all levels was excellent and I ’ d almost forgotten just how really fine a teamwork the NHS can deploy .
I ’ m told I just have to keep my blood pressure down in my Slugger comments , but considering my usual only just controlled “ sæva Indignatio ” and with numerous supporters of Westminster on Slugger casually recommending the polite , politically acceptable English version of genocide for the likes of me , in the form of the “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ just be rather harder than usual…… On a more serious note , I ’ ve always recognised the great value of every individual life and believe that the “ save as many as possible no matter what the cost ” is the only acceptable strategy .
I have been very lucky ( so far ! )
but others will not be , and had I the authority I would move heaven and earth to save as many as can be saved , rather than endorsing a terrifying policy of attrition intended to build @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The debate publicly is being conducted with what are usually arguments over meta-narratives which abstract the real concrete experience of death and dismiss casually the tragedy of loss .
As Stalin cynically pointed out in my lead quote regarding potential losses to the western allies , the shocking reality for each and every individual can casually be reduced to statistics , an asset of the state simply liquidated out of an ill-perceived necessity .
Personally I feel I have a lot more research and a lot more analytic historical work to carry out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not to fully complete , but the other people in the wards and the people serving the hospitals at every level each has a unique experience of the world which we collectively as a community are going to be all poorer for loosing .
Every consideration must inevitably come second to the necessary saving of human lives , for as I ’ ve said elsewhere in Slugger in recent days , any economy can be revitalised as the recovery from many financial crashes and from almost unimaginable post-war chaos has oft-times shown us @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be brought back to us as easily .
Photo by Alexas_Fotos is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

A Single Death is a Tragedy; a Million Deaths is a Statistic.
Attributed to Joseph Stalin at the Tehran Conference by the author Anton Antonov-Ovseyenko.
When one is writing non-fiction, the books one inevitably buys pile up. Last week an order of new shelves arrived and by Sunday I was ready to put up a few banks of them in the least cluttered part of my library and decant the tall forty inch piles collecting on my stairs and around my work desk into something I could access titles from. I’d been having a sense of tightness across my chest and occasionally sharp pains for a few weeks but as a long-term chronic asthmatic chest pain is not an unfamiliar experience. Just as I finished the work and before I started moving books I had a prolonged episode of intense pain and rested up to let it pass. By the following day and after some episodes of further intense chest pain, accompanied by jaw and neck pain and fainting, I called my GP and was given an interview at the surgery a lot of sensible distancing. After an treatment room electrocardiograph reading suggested the possibility of seriously unstable angina I was referred to my local A & E for emergency tests and after an x-ray and blood tests pretty much confirmed the diagnosis I was admitted to Cardiology.
However, the heart attack was, darkly speaking, pretty much the very best bit! I’ll quote what I emailed to a friend on the second day in the ward when I was devastatingly suspected of having contracted CoViD 19:
“Drama! My ultrascan testing was stopped in its tracks and I was recalled to the ward because scaring to my lungs was noticed as present on the X-rays from yesterday. I’ve just had the CoVid 19 swab test and everything is now on hold until the results come in (one day wait I’m told). I’ve been listening to the doctors talking about this and immediately cancelling my trip to the Royal this afternoon. It’s 23 days since I conducted the last history tour, 21 days since I saw my co-author as he’s travelling, and seventeen days since my visit to Ikea for a few new shelves for art materials. I’ve seen no-one outside of the home close up since. The medical professionals think it unlikely I’ve actually had an exchange with anyone infectious but have to check, and hold off on testing my angina until they know for sure.
But if by some freak I’ve caught it, the ventilators here are currently still all free….
So probably as good timing as can really be expected …… “
I was in isolation in a private room for about day, while the test went through, knowing full well that if I’d contracted the virus, with the heart attack, and my generally weakened state, and numerous vulnerabilities on the public tick list, it was effectively a death sentence. The test eventually came back negative and I was rushed instantly from the private room in the isolation unit back to a normal ward which I shared with two witty and interesting Antrim born octogenarians, and the battery of tests and blood samples for unstable angina continued where they had left off just a day earlier.
Finally I was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital (where I was born – it’s always a delight to be in a position to claim publicly in my Anglo-Irish accent that I was born on the Falls Road!!!) for an Angiography to see if I potentially had partly blocked valves and if stents were to be needed…..
During the procedure at the Royal I got talking to a nurse about Slugger “everyone here reads it! It’s the best.”….
A detail of the Angiography procedure I went through is that the dye used is “fish based”. I casually mentioned my rather serious sea food allergy, (this last tested at the New York premiere of a film I’d been a rather unimportant producer on, with a subsequent fortnight with a greatly debilitating allergic reaction), just as I was being wheeled to the operating theatre, and was told, “yes, I could have had a serious allergic reaction to the dye too” (“anaphylaxis”), causing dizziness, serious breathing difficulties or even a complete loss of consciousness!!! They luckily used the alternative dye of course on finding out…
The care on all levels was excellent and I’d almost forgotten just how really fine a teamwork the NHS can deploy. I’m told I just have to keep my blood pressure down in my Slugger comments, but considering my usual only just controlled “sæva Indignatio” and with numerous supporters of Westminster on Slugger casually recommending the polite, politically acceptable English version of genocide for the likes of me, in the form of the “Herd Immunity” policy, that might just be rather harder than usual……
On a more serious note, I’ve always recognised the great value of every individual life and believe that the “save as many as possible no matter what the cost” is the only acceptable strategy. I have been very lucky (so far!) but others will not be, and had I the authority I would move heaven and earth to save as many as can be saved, rather than endorsing a terrifying policy of attrition intended to build up a still questionable general immunity.
The debate publicly is being conducted with what are usually arguments over meta-narratives which abstract the real concrete experience of death and dismiss casually the tragedy of loss. As Stalin cynically pointed out in my lead quote regarding potential losses to the western allies, the shocking reality for each and every individual can casually be reduced to statistics, an asset of the state simply liquidated out of an ill-perceived necessity. Personally I feel I have a lot more research and a lot more analytic historical work to carry out, which I’d be sad not to fully complete, but the other people in the wards and the people serving the hospitals at every level each has a unique experience of the world which we collectively as a community are going to be all poorer for loosing. Every consideration must inevitably come second to the necessary saving of human lives, for as I’ve said elsewhere in Slugger in recent days, any economy can be revitalised as the recovery from many financial crashes and from almost unimaginable post-war chaos has oft-times shown us, but the dead simply cannot be brought back to us as easily.
Photo by Alexas_Fotos is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA


sluggerotoole--2020-04-04--Safety nets have holes – the need for a Universal Basic Income…

The time has come in the UK for a Universal Basic Income ( UBI ) .
Recently open democracy published a letter signed by senior members of the NHS , MPs , academics and members of the charity sectors calling for a UBI .
As the letter states traditional social security policies always leave gaps .
The benefits system is supposed to act as a safety net , but all nets have holes .
Some people who are in insecure work , self-employed or who ’ ve been ill often fall through the holes in the welfare system leaving them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ waiting months for benefits to be paid .
The UK welfare system is complex , labyrinthine mix of services .
Sometimes deliberately so .
The administration costs are huge .
A UBI would reduce administration costs significantly .
The introduction of a UBI would mean that people who suddenly lose their jobs won ’ t have to go through the complex , lengthy and sometimes demeaning process of applying for benefits .
There are also multiple benefits of a UBI to individuals , business and the economy as a whole .
These include @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the potential to stimulate entrepreneurship and the willingness of people to take career risks such as starting a new business .
• Student support – addresses the need for student finance and to support students during their studies • Social Care – we have a social care crisis in the UK .
A UBI supports people who choose to stay at home to care for loved ones .
• Maternity – a UBI could support new mothers and helps address the financial hardship often associated with maternity leave • Homelessness – a guaranteed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ basic needs and may provide them with the ability to rebuild their lives .
• Employment rights and empowerment – a safety net of a UBI protects employees from unscrupulous employers and being forced to remain in jobs or roles they hate Some criticisms levelled at the idea of a UBI include that it disincentives work and would be too expensive .
Setting a UBI at or around the minimum wage should provide incentives for most people to work yet keep people above the poverty line .
It will force employers exploiting zero-hour @ @ @ @ @ @ @ terms and conditions .
Using changes to taxation and for example changes to tax free income levels could address the issue of affordability .
The NHS was born out of a great crisis in the UK .
Maybe this current crisis could see the birth of a UBI .
“ Weltrekord fürs Grundeinkommen – Initianten schaffen Eintrag ins Guinness-Buch ” by Kopf oder Zahl is licensed under CC BY

The time has come in the UK for a Universal Basic Income (UBI). Recently open democracy published a letter signed by senior members of the NHS, MPs, academics and members of the charity sectors calling for a UBI.
As the letter states traditional social security policies always leave gaps. The benefits system is supposed to act as a safety net, but all nets have holes. Some people who are in insecure work, self-employed or who’ve been ill often fall through the holes in the welfare system leaving them at risk of receiving no benefits or waiting months for benefits to be paid.
The UK welfare system is complex, labyrinthine mix of services. Sometimes deliberately so. The administration costs are huge. A UBI would reduce administration costs significantly. The introduction of a UBI would mean that people who suddenly lose their jobs won’t have to go through the complex, lengthy and sometimes demeaning process of applying for benefits.
There are also multiple benefits of a UBI to individuals, business and the economy as a whole. These include;
Entrepreneurship – a UBI has the potential to stimulate entrepreneurship and the willingness of people to take career risks such as starting a new business.
Student support – addresses the need for student finance and to support students during their studies
Social Care – we have a social care crisis in the UK. A UBI supports people who choose to stay at home to care for loved ones.
Maternity – a UBI could support new mothers and helps address the financial hardship often associated with maternity leave
Homelessness – a guaranteed regular income for the homeless could provide basic needs and may provide them with the ability to rebuild their lives.
Employment rights and empowerment – a safety net of a UBI protects employees from unscrupulous employers and being forced to remain in jobs or roles they hate
Some criticisms levelled at the idea of a UBI include that it disincentives work and would be too expensive. Setting a UBI at or around the minimum wage should provide incentives for most people to work yet keep people above the poverty line. It will force employers exploiting zero-hour contracts and the minimum wage to improve terms and conditions. Using changes to taxation and for example changes to tax free income levels could address the issue of affordability.
The NHS was born out of a great crisis in the UK. Maybe this current crisis could see the birth of a UBI.
“Weltrekord fürs Grundeinkommen – Initianten schaffen Eintrag ins Guinness-Buch” by Kopf oder Zahl is licensed under CC BY


sluggerotoole--2020-04-04--Medical myths in a time of Covid-19…

Medical myths in a time of Covid-19…

One aspect of the Covid19 pandemic is the steep rise in associated myths .
This is not unusual .
In time of crisis we all cling to what we believe and we believe new things more easily ; these certainties give us security and hope .
Indeed , government in its covid19 messaging is itself controlling our behaviour in what I believe to be a more or less responsible manner .
Scaring us into staying home and normalising this behaviour is key to their public health strategy that will assure that the virus finds it very difficult to spread within @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when all the data are known .
In this fast-moving pandemic , it is not possible to know all the data so estimates are made for the models used to extrapolate and from these extrapolations we get best-case and worst-case scenarios which can seem very scary indeed .
Minister Swann announced last week the likelihood of 14,000 deaths in NI while at more or less the same time in ROI Leo Varadkar was quoting 1,000 deaths for his population .
Minister Swann this week revised his mythical figure down to a maximum of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Controlling the message in a period of social crisis is clearly very important as the myths created , and the behaviours they stimulate , can be more dangerous than the infection itself .
What is less acceptable are the myths emerging mainly from social media , but also from mainstream media , based on flimsy data and poor science and which cause people to behave in potentially dangerous ways .
These myths have their origins in pseudoscience and stem from abuse of existing scientific data or speculation on half-baked ideas .
Iran has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is also now dealing with a nationwide ethanol poisoning epidemic .
High strength alcohol ( ethanol ) is widely reported in Iran to be a cure for covid19 .
Ironically in a Muslim country where alcohol is off course banned , they had more alcohol deaths than covid19 deaths last week .
Donal Trump in one of his extraordinary – they are never ordinary – press conferences extolled the potential efficacy of the antimalarial drug chloroquine in treating covid19 .
Based on this a couple in Arizona overdosed attempting to use the drug @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them dying .
Less worrying perhaps are the myths that drinking ; cow urine , lemon juice and hot water frequently are sure-fire ways of avoiding this viral infection .
It should be noted that these are three separate myths and not the recipe for a pandemic smoothie .
And the myths can get very complex and appear to be plausible science .
If we get further data they might be shown to be correct but in the absence of data these are potentially the most pernicious myths .
A few weeks ago @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who is also a GP , claimed that ibuprofen which pharmacists and GPs were promoting to alleviate symptoms of covid19 may aggravate the infection .
The origin of this was a report from a French doctor who found 4 covid19 deaths where there was no apparent underlying medical cause and the patients were not elderly – one was 20 years of age .
The only common association for these atypical patients was an unspecified use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines of which ibuprofen is one .
With a health minister making this claim it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have commented that anti-inflammatory drugs may dampen the body ’ s response to infection , slowing recovery .
This is purely speculative and is not supported by evidence .
There was further speculation that ibuprofen causes a process in the body that leads to pneumonia , a severe result of COVID-19 which can lead to death .
Public Health England admitted there is ‘ not currently enough information on ibuprofen use and COVID-19 ’ , but that patients should not be put off using it .
The real worry was that this warning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ used to manage asthma .
There was a need to tell patients not to stop using their preventor “ steroid ” inhalers .
Sir Patrick Vallance , the UK chief scientific advisor , when asked about the risk of ibuprofen use in cases of covid19 was blunt saying that there was no evidence ibuprofen aggravated covid19 but then went on to invoke the precautionary principle saying that since paracetamol is available then why risk-taking ibuprofen .
Ibuprofen , which was going to be a major symptom treatment for uncomplicated coivd19 , was dead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more worrying still .
For years there had been speculation that certain drugs used to manage chronic diseases stimulate the production of ACE2 receptors on cells particularly cells lining the nose and throat .
SARS-CoV-2 , the virus that causes Covid19 , appears to enter cells using this receptor .
Myriad drugs increase ACE2 receptors ; lisinopril a commonly used antihypertensive drug , some anti-diabetic medicines and anti-inflammatories such as cortisone and ibuprofen .
Looking at excess deaths from China and the association between co-morbidities and death rates it is clear that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ real .
Some are already speculating that this may not be a problem of advanced age and disease in patients succumbing to covid19 but rather a problem of the drugs patients have been taking for years to manage their chronic conditions .
Have people taking these drugs got cells with more ACE2 receptors which are now allowing this , on average not a very dangerous virus , to behave very dangerously indeed ?
This is an important question but in the current crisis it risks becoming a myth that may stop people using @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Ironically that would potentially kill many more than this tetchy virus will do over the next few weeks .
“ Energizing ?
” by @ lattefarsan is licensed under CC BY-SA

One aspect of the Covid19 pandemic is the steep rise in associated myths. This is not unusual. In time of crisis we all cling to what we believe and we believe new things more easily; these certainties give us security and hope. Indeed, government in its covid19 messaging is itself controlling our behaviour in what I believe to be a more or less responsible manner. Scaring us into staying home and normalising this behaviour is key to their public health strategy that will assure that the virus finds it very difficult to spread within the population.
Science is most reliable when all the data are known. In this fast-moving pandemic, it is not possible to know all the data so estimates are made for the models used to extrapolate and from these extrapolations we get best-case and worst-case scenarios which can seem very scary indeed. Minister Swann announced last week the likelihood of 14,000 deaths in NI while at more or less the same time in ROI Leo Varadkar was quoting 1,000 deaths for his population. Minister Swann this week revised his mythical figure down to a maximum of 3,000 still high by most models. Controlling the message in a period of social crisis is clearly very important as the myths created, and the behaviours they stimulate, can be more dangerous than the infection itself.
What is less acceptable are the myths emerging mainly from social media, but also from mainstream media, based on flimsy data and poor science and which cause people to behave in potentially dangerous ways. These myths have their origins in pseudoscience and stem from abuse of existing scientific data or speculation on half-baked ideas.
Iran has suffered particularly severely from Covid19. It is also now dealing with a nationwide ethanol poisoning epidemic. High strength alcohol (ethanol) is widely reported in Iran to be a cure for covid19. Ironically in a Muslim country where alcohol is off course banned, they had more alcohol deaths than covid19 deaths last week.
Donal Trump in one of his extraordinary – they are never ordinary – press conferences extolled the potential efficacy of the antimalarial drug chloroquine in treating covid19. Based on this a couple in Arizona overdosed attempting to use the drug prophylactically against the disease with one of them dying.
Less worrying perhaps are the myths that drinking; cow urine, lemon juice and hot water frequently are sure-fire ways of avoiding this viral infection. It should be noted that these are three separate myths and not the recipe for a pandemic smoothie.
And the myths can get very complex and appear to be plausible science. If we get further data they might be shown to be correct but in the absence of data these are potentially the most pernicious myths.
A few weeks ago Olivier Véran the French Health Minister, who is also a GP, claimed that ibuprofen which pharmacists and GPs were promoting to alleviate symptoms of covid19 may aggravate the infection.
The origin of this was a report from a French doctor who found 4 covid19 deaths where there was no apparent underlying medical cause and the patients were not elderly – one was 20 years of age. The only common association for these atypical patients was an unspecified use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines of which ibuprofen is one. With a health minister making this claim it has been taken seriously. Other doctors have commented that anti-inflammatory drugs may dampen the body’s response to infection, slowing recovery. This is purely speculative and is not supported by evidence. There was further speculation that ibuprofen causes a process in the body that leads to pneumonia, a severe result of COVID-19 which can lead to death. Public Health England admitted there is ‘not currently enough information on ibuprofen use and COVID-19’, but that patients should not be put off using it. The real worry was that this warning extended to cortisone which of course we used to manage asthma. There was a need to tell patients not to stop using their preventor “steroid” inhalers.
Sir Patrick Vallance, the UK chief scientific advisor, when asked about the risk of ibuprofen use in cases of covid19 was blunt saying that there was no evidence ibuprofen aggravated covid19 but then went on to invoke the precautionary principle saying that since paracetamol is available then why risk-taking ibuprofen. Ibuprofen, which was going to be a major symptom treatment for uncomplicated coivd19, was dead.
Another part of this story was more worrying still. For years there had been speculation that certain drugs used to manage chronic diseases stimulate the production of ACE2 receptors on cells particularly cells lining the nose and throat. SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid19, appears to enter cells using this receptor. Myriad drugs increase ACE2 receptors; lisinopril a commonly used antihypertensive drug, some anti-diabetic medicines and anti-inflammatories such as cortisone and ibuprofen.
Looking at excess deaths from China and the association between co-morbidities and death rates it is clear that the “underlying health condition” association is real. Some are already speculating that this may not be a problem of advanced age and disease in patients succumbing to covid19 but rather a problem of the drugs patients have been taking for years to manage their chronic conditions. Have people taking these drugs got cells with more ACE2 receptors which are now allowing this, on average not a very dangerous virus, to behave very dangerously indeed? This is an important question but in the current crisis it risks becoming a myth that may stop people using the medicines essential to their long-term health. Ironically that would potentially kill many more than this tetchy virus will do over the next few weeks.
“Energizing?” by @lattefarsan is licensed under CC BY-SA