Fighting “Our War” For Us
Once a chaotic and busy city, Plymouth has become an eery place with very few human activities on the streets to be seen. Dr Amanda Harry is a General Practitioner who works at West Hoe Surgery. Being a doctor for over 30 years she has never had to face an outcry for help quite like this before. She explains the fear, terror and upset she has felt throughout the first few weeks of preparing for the pandemic outbreak, COVID-19 in the ocean city of Plymouth. Whilst the attention from the media is primarily focused on the hospitals and their ITU beds, insufficient ventilators and lack of personal protection equipment, the question why there isn’t the consideration for the people who the patients go to first, the GPs being given?
Following her every footstep, I shadowed Dr Amanda Harry during the first few weeks of preparation of COVID-19 outbreak in an antiseptic and caffeine fuelled GP surgery, a place she now calls the “Ghost Ship”. The usual heaving waiting area is quiet and bare as essential patient visiting rule is applied. Every step echoed through the bare walls and every hand wash could be smelt within seconds on the tap being turned.
Her voice polite yet friendly welcomed me into her room, perched opposite each other. Her eyes appeared tired and stressed but her sunny disposition made me feel comfortable and at ease: a direct comparison to the fear she has felt since the outbreak. As a nation we are heavily dependent on the NHS with many of us abusing the nature of the NHS to cure our woes. Amanda explained, “as doctors we are used to being busy and used to having difficult discussions with patients but COVID-19 is going to stretch our skills to the max”. From the start of the outbreak of COVID-19 in China, nearly every country has been affected with no power to be able to fight the virus and to prevent the number of deaths that increase as the days go on. As the death toll rises in the UK by staggering numbers each day, the pressure is only felt more by the doctors and nurses trying to treat and stay protected themselves. On a daily basis, GPs have to make tough decisions for their patients but COVID-19 has led too many to be fearful of the future. Amanda explains how rather than fearing catching the virus, she fears “the difficult decisions we are yet to face. Asking someone if they want to die in hospital or at home, alone or with their family who could then contract the virus and die. That is what I am scared of and it pains me to think that people understand the emotional distress it has caused on every frontline member of the NHS.”
Starting off at Wuhan in China, the virus has caused global panic and in local areas it has caused local communities to come together and plan a strategy of attack. John F. Kennedy once said “In a crisis, don’t hide behind anything or anybody. They’re going to find you anyway.” Bear Bryant said, “In a time of domestic crisis, men of goodwill and generosity should be able to unite regardless of party or politics.” This could not be truer for some of Plymouth’s head NHS staff who have come together to organise plans of their own, “to get through this as safely as possible”, Amanda said. “There are so many people around and meetings of minds determining best practice for the coming months.” Communication is key in any team, but during a crisis it is found to be crucial in tackling something head on.
Overnight the NHS has seen a drastic change to every sector of the health service. The conventional methods of visiting your GP is out and telephone and video chats used to combat against personal contact. “I have never seen one thing be able to change primary care so quickly and by so much” Amanda said whilst she took a large glug of coffee. “Boxes of surgical masks and aprons and gloves arrived this week yet the use by dates on the surgical masks is 2016 but we have reassurance from NHS England that they have been tested and that they are okay” she said hesitantly as if she doesn’t believe them.
Since the talk of Brexit started in 2016 and the threat of then leaving the European Union, medical supplies have been on a shortage. But although it hasn’t had a direct effect to primary care for GPs it has not made the situation better. Amanda said “We are unable to get hold of important supplies because of lack of stock so have been trying to improvise. Like hand making our own visors from acetate and 3D printing headbands for them; fashioning theatre gowns from surgery curtains, asking hoteliers for plastic shower caps as no surgical hats available. The lack of protection for the NHS staff is astonishing. Would you expect a member of the army to be sent to war without their camouflage uniform, or expect a fireman to not have a water hose to put out a burning building? However, the falsely advertised £350 million on the side of Boris’ infamous Brexit Bus is now desperately needed and being found in other areas of public money to help fund for the essentials for every NHS staff member to protect themselves and prevent spreading the virus even more.
The preparation for something so severe yet with having “no experience of” is daunting and Amanda describes it almost as “enlisting into the army, not believing there will be a war yet then all of a sudden you have been drafted and sent to fight. We are doing what we have trained for, to treat the sick and try to prevent others. This is our war we are fighting”. With government guidelines being to self-isolate if symptoms have become apparent which has left many practices to be understaffed. In Plymouth where recruitment and staffing levels have already been causing issues in the last few years, this has put an increasing strain on the already depleted work force.
Amanda pauses to think, she rubs her temples and describes her constant headache. Unable to sleep during all of this change, Amanda blames it on “COVID-insomnia”, a new term coined by the healthcare staff who are “going to bed exhausted but waking with their brains buzzing of ideas and worries then unable to get back to sleep”.
In order to combat against the spread of COVID-19, the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) have asked GPs to set up multiple “hot hubs around Devon and within 48 hours they had set up a surgery in Plymouth fit for this” The surgery would have 3 clinical rooms with vinyl flooring, a disrobing room and shower room for clinicians. An outdoor tented area where cars could drive up and basic assessment could be made in cars. However, “within 24 hours the CCG back tracked and now need a Devon wide solution, one massive hot hub in the city. 2 days later and they’re still looking for a suitable site as the local hospital has bagged everywhere. The chaotic manners from the top only resonate to stress and anxiety for the staff on the frontline, who need the support and structure from the top.
In the midst of a national crisis the preparation that Plymouth is doing for COVID-19 has unified the workforce in the area. Being able to multitask has always been a key skill for GPs to have, but now it is ever more so in need. I can’t start to imagine the stress and anxiety that NHS staff like Dr Amanda Harry are under and will continue to be face until there is a plan for the unknown.
Is arranged marriage a feminists friend or foe?
In this age of modern equality and movements like #metoo is it right to be assigned to one person before you even reach the age of consent? Or should we all be arranging marriages for our families. Does it save time and heartache to have one pre-matched partner or does it reward the historical terms of inequality?
Parents start to look for a companion for their children when they are around 10 years old. In countries like India, arranged marriage is something only a few do not do. Advertisements in local newspapers ‘promoting’ their children to find a dashing and hopeful young boy or girl that will bring wealth into the family.
Divided by factors like caste, profession and religion the newspaper spread is titled Soulmate, love fins its match. With this ever so cheesy tagline, the appearance of the spread takes the aesthetics of housing listings. Which makes you question the thought, are people still just property to others.
Gender inequality is still just as prevalent as it was in 1910s as it is now. As the term feminism is thrown about more and more with more virility it is hard not to judge anything with a hint of right or wrong for both sexes.
From the times of being seen but not heard, a women’s place in society has grown dramatically yet there are still criticisms against women that stem from when our only role was to marry and have children, to serve and obey our husbands.
It is hard to not see the pages of advertisements as a fall back in times to the 1900s. But, in India it is not always seen as a derogatory sale but a tradition, just like mistletoe at Christmas time.
90% of marriages in India are still arranged and throughout the world 55% are arranged marriages, but do they last? “In an arranged marriage, the man is usually 4.5 years older than the woman in the formed relationship. 48% of the girls who are involved in an arranged marriage in South Asia are under the age of 18. The divorce rate in India is just 1.1%. In some countries, the man or woman can refuse a selected spouse”.
Marriage percentages from Medium
Marriage is considered a sacred bond between two souls but is the idea of arranged marriage taking the romance out of finding a partner and turning it into a convenient transaction of people. However, both types of marriages, arranged and non are neither subject to guaranteed to last.
Discarding arranged marriage, is it marriage that is the trap for both men and women? Both agree to a commitment, but does this promise impose the pre destined ideals for men and women?
A Multi-Sensory Feast at the Theatre
A cinematic experience was elevated with a live orchestral performance to accompany it at Festival Hall tonight.
The harmonious pairing of William Walton’s original scores performed live with the masterful and technicolour rendition of Shakespeare’s Henry V, created an overwhelming night for the senses.
The live music was executed by the Philhamonia Orchestra and the Crouch End Festival Chorus and effectively were able to bring the out of date 1940s film up to the 21st century.
The introduction of turbulent percussion and forceful wind instruments drew the tiring audience’s attention to the ever-threatening scene of the Battle of Agincourt.
Whilst at some points the orchestra disrupted the speech, it could be forgiven for the feeling of balance you got from listening.
The film was released in 1944 around the same time as allied countries like France were being invaded into during World War Two.
Laurence Olivier who played Henry V in this cinematic adaptation was able to draw parallels and dedicated the film to the soldiers fighting in the war.
The fusion of orchestral live scores and the 1940s propaganda film bought an audience of all ages to a hair raising and emotional finale.
Bin bags abandoned for weeks at a family park
Around four bags of leaf litter were left in a hedge outside Rush Common for more than 9 weeks this Autumn.
The bins have been left there since mid-August and with a local resident, Andy Ion reporting the problem to the council on several occasions. Each report ended up with similar response from the council and no action had been taken.
Litter in London seems to be of little concern to local councils, Mr Ion said: “It seems to go hand in hand with how people little in London: no one really cares.”
He later said: “there’s a lot of bureaucracy and it is a bigger problem that would involve systemic disconnects between social media people and the people who do the work.”
On the 4th September, Mr Ion started sending emails and tweets directed at Lambeth Council, after the exact location given, the council replied: “We will raise this with our parks team now”.
Over 9 weeks later, the bags were still littering a hedge by the park.
A regular gardener of Rush Common said: ‘there is nothing I can do; the bins have to be disposed of by the right people’
‘I can report the bins, but I get the same response as if a local reported the problem’ he said.
Fly tipping is a growing concern in London for councils and the government with it increasing by 58% since 2013 according to London Government statistics.
Unable to get a response from Lambeth Council about this situation this can only prove how serious they take littering and fly tipping in the local community.
Extinction Rebellion protests bring London to a standstill
Could We Become The Next Dinosaur Generation?
With the lack of attention and demand for a global climate emergency, could we be facing the second worldwide extinction of species.
This September the Extinction Rebellion (XR) Protests caused havoc on the streets of London, causing the half the city to nearly shut down.
Extinction Rebellion is a non violent environmental action movement.
The socio-political group has taken points from past protests, both successful and unsuccessful so that they can form effective and impactful protests.
Many of the protesters wished to stay anonymous as they feel that their name would be tarnished in work and socially if their participation became known to the media.
One woman said: “I’ve been involved in environmental issues for 30 years and all of our behind the scenes work has has no difference.”
“We are now 3o years on, we have no choice now but to act.”
Two young young women part of XR who were using their voice to protest against carbon emission.
One of the women said: “We are hoping the action of us protesting will act as a catalyst to make a change”
“Environmentalism has a history of being labelled as a hippy, tree hugging movement and is still labelled with the same tagline”
The second young woman argued that the majority of the public doesn’t believe in direct action which hinders society and then government to make changes.
She said:”Having people in power who disparage against climate change, carbon emissions and spread their own thoughts in the papers and on the television, people who look at the news are going to listen.”
The inspirational commitment of the people involved with the movement was noticeable from anywhere.
But, the businesses surrounding the protests suffered hugely during the week long protest.
Lambert Souvenirs, a small gift shop discussed how their store suffered at least a 50% loss in customers and in earning just in one day of the protest starting.
The manager at Lambert Souvenirs, Ricky said: “I can stand up and agree with the cause but it is just inconvenient for me and the business.”