Star date: 16th March 2020

'I WILL NOT BE FAZED BY UNCARING GOVERNMENT'

Alice, an elderly Salford resident with asthma and heart problems, is already self-isolating and is not waiting for an 'uncaring' Government announcement for the over 70s.

"Should I be prepared to die?" she asks, as a decade of Government led austerity has deprived hospitals and doctors of funds for such crises.

Full details here...

I'm over seventy, have asthma and heart problems, so should I be prepared to die?

Have you, like me, watched the TV pictures of Italy, Spain and other neighbouring countries closing their borders, their schools and big gatherings, and wondered when we will start to get around to these containing methods; like the elderly will 'soon' be asked to stay at home for an extended period to protect themselves.

Yesterday, two things happened which got me thinking...One was a telephone call from Salford Royal Hospital telling me not to keep my appointment today at the Respiratory Department, but to stay at home and isolate myself as much as possible.

The other was a phone call from my son, who has been living in Greece for two years, informing me that his children's school has been closed and the family can no longer leave their island. A Greek policy to contain the virus...

I decided not to 'carry on as normal' and wait to become infected, with the strongest people likely to get the treatment. I know there will not be enough equipment and beds for all the people who will become sick in the next few months. So those in the crisis group, like myself, will be at the end of the queue for these facilities. This means we will be left to die!

The cynic in me believes that this is the policy and a solution to the problem. Let the aged, the sick and the 'social nuisances' like rough sleepers, die. I can't imagine the latter finding soap and hot water to keep washing their hands.

The austerity policy of the last ten years has deprived our public services, including our GPs and hospitals, of the cash needed to keep them efficient and prepared for such crises. We are now reaping the results. The Government now cannot solve this problem. Well, I don't think the Government cares about these vulnerable groups. After all, we are unprofitable.

I read the Salford Star pieces on coronavirus which mentioned how the Salford City Council pages, and even the Salford Clinical Commissioning Group had little information or reassurance on their sites. Did they want to keep us in ignorance? Strangely, after the Star articles both now have information and brief guidance. Were they shamed into action? Did it take the Star to remind them of their public responsibility? I got my information from the British Heart Foundation pages – excellent. And Channel 4, of course.

So readers, I have my plan. I am now self-isolating. I have my new freezer to fill by ordering online, my books to read and my garden to get ready for its summer blooming. I can talk to friends and family on Messenger and Skype, and will not be 'phased out' by an uncaring Government policy of herd immunity, or whatever or is called today...

Alice, Salford resident.