Popular Post monkie Posted April 4, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted April 4, 2020 For anyone interested I would also like to give an insight it to the "testing fiasco" in the UK hospitals that has been reported in the news this week and give the facts. I am working for a company who directly supplies and supports hospital laboratories for virology testing. I was in an NHS lab in London this week preparing instruments to do the testing. Various ministers and the press have been comparing our testing to other countries as inadequate and why can't we ramp up the testing as others have done. Here are the reasons: The NHS Pathology laboratories have undergone a large consolidation over the past years to a hub and spoke model under NHSi (improvement). This has reduced year on year the number of labs able to do this sort of molecular test using PCR. The labs left who do have molecular facilities and trained staff have been and are working flat out to meet testing demand. The thing is they don't just have tests, spare equipment and spare staff waiting for a pandemic, they of course have to also do routine testing for STI screening, HIV, Hep C and Hep B viral loads etc. It has also been reported some labs have been told by the government they aren't allowed to test. This is because those labs mostly don't have the right equipment and staff for the PCR test. The government are managing the resources we have to make sure the testing is done where it is needed most ie large cities. Companies like the one I work for have been placing extra equipment in labs and getting them up and running with the test. The laboratory staff have to be trained and then validate the tests to ensure they are passing QC and work with absolute reliability. Highly skilled Biomedical Scientist staff have to be retrained on safely processing the infectious patient samples and using the test. All of this can't just happen overnight. Commercial companies have designed, produced, gained FDA approval for the tests in a record time the likes of which have never been seen. Now we have to manage the distribution with assistance from government to get the tests to where they are needed. The materials required for the tests are correctly refered to as reagents. One government minister tried to explain to the press the above but said the "chemicals are in limited supply". Someone then contacted the chemical industry to ask if chemicals are in short supply. Of course bulk and fine chemicals are not. So the answer came back as such causing further confusion as if someone is not telling the truth. In short despite what the press report and some ministers say. Please be assured that diagnostic companies and NHS Molecular laboratories up and down the UK are working flat out to deliver the testing to those who need it. Antibody tests which are less complex than PCR tests to roll out are now being produced and gaining approval. It is these tests which can determine who has had the infection and is immune. Molecular tests directly detect the viral RNA to diagnose a current acute infection. I hope this clarifies atleast some of the murky water we find ourselves in. 3 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve b Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 I've been following this thread and may I just say Thank you Monkie , not only for taking the time to put that clear and factual post together but also for the vital work you and many others on here are doing for all the country , for my part I'm keeping busy for now at home and sticking to the rules . cheers Steve b 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkie Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 13 minutes ago, steve b said: I've been following this thread and may I just say Thank you Monkie , not only for taking the time to put that clear and factual post together but also for the vital work you and many others on here are doing for all the country , for my part I'm keeping busy for now at home and sticking to the rules . cheers Steve b No need to thank me - but I'll take it to the bank! When I'm not in labs I too am staying at home do work remotely where possible. I want to reassure people of the truth as there is a lot of nonsense out there causing confusion. I don't want people to be anxious that we are all going to die and we aren't able to test - this is not true at all. Its like a big game of chinese wispers going up the chain in the government, then to top ministers who appear on TV and the radio who (no fault of their own) can't accurately describe the science and is then misrepresented to the members of the public who (mostly) don't understand the science by the press who don't understand the science. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 2 minutes ago, monkie said: No need to thank me - but I'll take it to the bank! When I'm not in labs I too am staying at home do work remotely where possible. I want to reassure people of the truth as there is a lot of nonsense out there causing confusion. I don't want people to be anxious that we are all going to die and we aren't able to test - this is not true at all. Its like a big game of chinese wispers going up the chain in the government, then to top ministers who appear on TV and the radio who (no fault of their own) can't accurately describe the science and is then misrepresented to the members of the public who (mostly) don't understand the science by the press who don't understand the science. Interesting post on science and chinese whispers. Keep up the good work fella! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daan Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 On 4/3/2020 at 5:22 PM, Anderzander said: Just like there is no sign of Land Rover on here at all ! Madness ! Scary statistics, considering the Grenfell disaster was caused by a hotpoint fridge freezer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy50 Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 (edited) Don’t worry Monkie , I think most people on here are smart enough to ignore the BS printed by the media and that goes for everything the print not just the current pandemic! I wouldn’t trust a tabloid journalist as far as I could kick them Edited April 4, 2020 by Ozzy50 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peaklander Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 @monkie thanks, that was a great post. I hope you don't mind, I've already quoted you when talking to my family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkie Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 1 minute ago, Peaklander said: @monkie thanks, that was a great post. I hope you don't mind, I've already quoted you when talking to my family. Of course not if it helps to spread calm 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
De Ranged Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 3 hours ago, monkie said: Its like a big game of chinese wispers going up the chain in the government, then to top ministers who appear on TV and the radio who (no fault of their own) can't accurately describe the science and is then misrepresented to the members of the public who (mostly) don't understand the science by the press who don't understand the science. Then that lack of understanding gets noticed and a percentage of the public take if for conspiracy and start joining dots that don't exist lol..... Stuck at home with bugger all to do I've been surfing FB its amazing how inventivily stupid people can be..... joining dots that don't exist and how strongly they believe the world is out to get them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted April 4, 2020 Share Posted April 4, 2020 36 minutes ago, De Ranged said: Stuck at home with bugger all to do I've been surfing FB its amazing how inventivily stupid people can be..... joining dots that don't exist and how strongly they believe the world is out to get them FB is like visiting a lunatic asylum - even people you thought were rational and sensible human beings post utter cack on FB. I have to dip in once a month to update club stuff and that's once too often, if it wasn't for that I'd have deleted my account years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy50 Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 8 hours ago, FridgeFreezer said: FB is like visiting a lunatic asylum - even people you thought were rational and sensible human beings post utter cack on FB. I have to dip in once a month to update club stuff and that's once too often, if it wasn't for that I'd have deleted my account years ago. If u want to find lunatics and conspiracy theorists Instagram is the place to be ! I haven’t used my account in over a year but can only imagine the utter drivel being peddled on there atm 🤪 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad_pete Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 What 5G masts don’t cause the virus ?!?!? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 15 hours ago, monkie said: the press who don't understand the science. Not just that but in order to get their sales / ratings / whatever up they tend to sensationalise whatever they print. I honestly can't remember what the article was about but there was one that popped up in my news feed a few days ago which the headline was something along the lines of "caused by the coronavirus". I thought yeah right so went to read the article and the virus was not mentioned apart from in the headline. What they had written was technically not incorrect but due to the subtle use of some punctuation they'd probably got everyone's attention and probably a vast majority of people wouldn't bother reading the article to realise it was utter rubbish. 14 hours ago, Ozzy50 said: I think most people on here are smart enough to ignore the BS printed by the media I don't think we (as in the forum members) are the issue here 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 1 hour ago, mad_pete said: What 5G masts don’t cause the virus ?!?!? They've started disguising them as trees man!! (Just south of Dunblane on the A9 as you approach the next roundabout) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 Burn it to the ground! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Poore Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 7 minutes ago, Bowie69 said: Burn it to the ground! I think that would have the reverse effect - the actual trees next door would burn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 5 minutes ago, Ed Poore said: I think that would have the reverse effect - the actual trees next door would burn I might stop the covidiots from attempting to visit the wood for 'exercise' though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 This is a very measured interview from an ICU consultant handling COVID-19 patients: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkie Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 Very powerful stuff. Every idiot who refuses to play by the rules for their own and others safety should be made to listen to that. I hope the new found thanks for medical professionals sticks after we out the other side of this. I have nothing but the utmost respect for that Dr and his colleagues. Can you imagine having to work day after day in the conditions he describes? 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 No, would take years of me being conditioned into a place that would mean I could deal with that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eightpot Posted April 5, 2020 Share Posted April 5, 2020 Unfortunately the new found gratitude will probably stick till the crisis is over then we'll all go back to criticising the poor ambulance response, overpaid middle management, foreign doctors and slow GP appointments. Remember the recent terrorist attacks and the praise in the press for the Police? Well now on top of terrorism,the daily drudgery of dealing with unwashed petty burglars/car thieves, death in all its forms, drug addled domestic abuse, being spat at/stabbed/punched, sorting out car crashes and picking up parts after suicidal train spotters, they have to deal with the fallout and protestations of the worst kind of customer of all - white middle class ramblers in uproar after being spoken to in the wrong tone of voice. 🙄 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallfry Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 13 hours ago, Eightpot said: Unfortunately the new found gratitude will probably stick till the crisis is over then we'll all go back to criticising the poor ambulance response, overpaid middle management, foreign doctors and slow GP appointments. Remember the recent terrorist attacks and the praise in the press for the Police? Well now on top of terrorism,the daily drudgery of dealing with unwashed petty burglars/car thieves, death in all its forms, drug addled domestic abuse, being spat at/stabbed/punched, sorting out car crashes and picking up parts after suicidal train spotters, they have to deal with the fallout and protestations of the worst kind of customer of all - white middle class ramblers in uproar after being spoken to in the wrong tone of voice. 🙄 I think you have got that absolutely right Eightpot. We went to supermarket this morning for another pallet of toilet rolls, had to queue for about an hour, but overheard a woman moaning on the phone about how it wasn't fair, and that she didn't have time for this ! Was white middle class as you have said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mad_pete Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 Just seen that the reported death number is about 2 weeks behind and includes only hospital deaths. This combined with low levels of testing means we have a pretty unclear picture of the current state of the outbreak. Still I think on the most part people did stay in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreePointFive Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 14 hours ago, Eightpot said: Unfortunately the new found gratitude will probably stick till the crisis is over then we'll all go back to criticising the poor ambulance response, overpaid middle management, foreign doctors and slow GP appointments. Remember the recent terrorist attacks and the praise in the press for the Police? Well now on top of terrorism,the daily drudgery of dealing with unwashed petty burglars/car thieves, death in all its forms, drug addled domestic abuse, being spat at/stabbed/punched, sorting out car crashes and picking up parts after suicidal train spotters, they have to deal with the fallout and protestations of the worst kind of customer of all - white middle class ramblers in uproar after being spoken to in the wrong tone of voice. 🙄 100% accurate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy50 Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 https://www.theverge.com/2020/4/4/21207927/5g-towers-burning-uk-coronavirus-conspiracy-theory-link I thought you lot were joking 🙄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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