Has the UK government acted too slowly?

Is it patriotic to highlight these shortcomings, or should we stand by and simply clap?

Hello and welcome to my latest Podcast.

Last Sunday morning’s newspapers screamed “Queen invokes Blitz Spirit in Message of Hope to the Nation”, “Queen urges Britons to make descendants proud and prove that we are a Generation that’s as ‘strong as any’”, “Queens rousing message” and her message is widely quoted as her stating: “I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded..And those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation were are strong as any. That the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet good-humoured resolve and of fellow feeling still characterise this country”.

This in the weeks before, when the Nation demonstrated its ‘fellow-feeling’ by panic-buying and spending time at the beach in their droves!

Less evident in the news this week, was the story of Tracey Brennan, a Health-Care worker, who resigned, because her employers prevented her from wearing a home-made mask to protect herself and her patients. 

Just the week before, Boris Johnson’s spokesperson assured the Nation that PPE was being widely distributed and that NHS staff would have what they needed. 

In this week, the Royal College of Nursing has highlighted supply chain issues with PPE with staff having to re-use what they have got.

In this same week, one Doctor I’ve spoken to, was still waiting to be fitted for their mask, was posted to a COVID ward, where there was no PPE. 

Others I have received information from raise other stories that have included allegations that some Consultants were choosing full rotas over staff concerns, contact-tracing apparently not being applied even in hospitals and I’m told that policies were changing unexpectedly, again, over the concerns of NHS staff.

There are many more stories out there to be discovered, but instead, a PR machine is in full operation, aided by some compliance within the mainstream media, treating us to smiling faces behind their PPE or commentaries from some that border on absurdity.

So when the Queen spoke about ‘self-discipline’ and ‘fellow-feeling’, what does that actually mean?

Could it mean that it’s alright to expect staff to place themselves in danger without adequate protection? Could it mean that we should all adopt a language that invokes ‘war memories’ and symbolism or gestures to make us feel good about ourselves? Does it mean that any voice of dissension is thwarted and frowned upon in the National interest? Is this the object of taking it on the chin?

Oh sure, there are plenty of good gestures out there that reflect the Queen’s sentiments, evidenced by the sterling work of food-banks, the sense of neighbourliness, following the rules; but isn’t that what most of us do most of the time as part of our duty in a Civil Society?

I saw one that prominent journalist suggest that to call into question the handling of COVID19, after the crisis has ended, is not the direction we should be heading; he was met with a certain amount of robust responses on social networks! That journalist is I think, about to be disappointed because for example, I think the post-mortem has already begun. In a Reuters news article, there is a very lengthy commentary about the failures in the UK, producing a timeline, with an emphasis on the scientists and in my opinion, a failure to examine more fully the political failures.

But what of the failures. Reuters suggests that there was a failure to learn quickly enough from other countries and to include a much wider scientific cohort; the UK government it suggests didn’t question more deeply the information they were being given. 

In an earlier report, it appears that in October 2016, the UK government carried out a ‘pandemic response exercise’. It discovered that problems would exist in a flu pandemic scenario, with the lack of agility and equipment, but as is evident now, it appears that they chose not to act upon their findings and refuse even now to publish the report’s findings.

You can begin to see a trend here; can’t you?

This led me to ask an important question; ‘where have I heard something like this before?’

The answer comes in the form of our military preparedness. 

We can all recall the 1st Gulf War where soldiers were subjected to the ‘Gulf War Syndrome’. Many causes have been highlighted, but one area has centred upon pyridostigmine bromide, a treatment designed to protect soldiers from the effects of nerve agents. Some in the UK have subscribed their illnesses to a cocktail of vaccinations they received. It raises the question as to what research governments had been carried out on the range of chemicals, before use, that soldiers had been exposed to? To date, neither in the US or in the UK, has the answer apparently been found, leading to a not unreasonable conclusion that it could happen again?

The war in Iraq revealed shortages from communications and intelligence specialists, a lack of vital equipment such as helicopters and apparently Ministers refused to order basic items such a body armour and plating to protect tanks from the desert sand. We all know of the problems that British troops faced in Iraq, much of it down to shortages and political failures as revealed in the Chilcot Report where senior military personnel apparently advised that such shortages were a risk that was ‘considered acceptable’.

Others have revealed the deficit of equipment and training in Afghanistan, which included lack of radios and other equipment, all leading one grieving Mother to state that in her opinion, the equipment was not fit for purpose. One soldier spent time working at the Ministry of Defence (MOD) after Afghanistan and learnt how cuts to the defence budget created the deficits he had experienced.

On equipment, the infamous SA80 gun is an example of vital equipment not fit for purpose. Soldiers complained that it didn’t perform in hot, sandy areas and that sometimes the gun jammed after loading; this was the weapon provided to soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. Despite what must have been initial huge development costs, the government had to spend a further £100m to rectify the issues.

Can you see the issue?

It’s a political issue.

It matters not what the situation, there is an enduring pattern of failure at the heart of government when it comes to planning for any major event. A lack of foresight and pressures on the public purse are the leading dictates on how resources are created or managed, leading to the eventual shuffle of soundbites to divert attention away from the issues at hand.

All of these examples relate to the very people that we expect, in times of crisis, will keep us safe; Public Servants. Theirs is a vocation, an ambition and yet, they are being failed by the very system of government that we choose to elect as our representatives. It starts at the top and trickles down through the system. People are expected to make-do-and-mend without any thought to their safety and are ‘obliged’ shall I say, to create conditions on the ground that gets them by, whilst they are washed by a manufactured public sentiment.

It is a systemic failure fuelled by dogma and/or incompetence; is this what the Queen meant by ‘self-discipline’ and ‘fellow-feeling’; I think not? It is not the people that need to practice these traits, but the very people who sit in government.

So in the post-mortem to come, we will be able to see the parallels created in other areas, where public protection or a major policy is dictated; but how many years will it take to get to the truth, if ever?

As I was finishing the draft to this Podcast, I learned that a close relative, a Junior Doctor, has been rendered unfit to work, because of unconfirmed, but suspected COVID19. We discussed the conflict between what Number 10 is saying and the reality on the ground. Despite all these public assurances, he did not have PPE, nor did his colleagues.

It’s all led me to conclude; when are the people going to be told the truth; when are we going to finally have competent and agile governments; when are the people going to stop clapping and use their ‘self-discipline’ and ‘fellow-feeling’ to hold their politicians to account?

Sometime soon I hope!

Until the next time.

Take care.

 (This is the text of the script for Frank's CreatingRipples Podcast™ - CoronaTourism: What comes next? You can listen to this Podcast here)

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