From Reuters:
“As Britain shuts down for
Queen's funeral, thousands face disruption”
While Queen Elizabeth's funeral
on Monday will be observed across Britain, thousands of people face cancelled
doctor appointments, closed food banks and shut supermarkets because of a
surprise national holiday. Many patients have been left frustrated after being
told that National Health Service (NHS) appointments they had waited months to
secure were suddenly cancelled. "For patients who may have been waiting up
to two years for elective surgery or appointments — if they are then cancelled
on the 19th, this will be incredibly distressing," Ellen Welch, co-chair
of doctors' lobby DAUK, told Reuters. "As frontline NHS staff, DAUK are
left wondering if the decisionmakers in government really understand how their
decisions play out on the ground," Welch said.
Britain's state-run NHS is already facing its
worst ever staffing crisis and has more than 6 million people on waiting lists
for hospital treatment. It handles an average 888,000 general practice
appointments each day, according to Reuters calculations from data from the
last six months. There are also concerns about the NHS resources needed to
rebook appointments and doctors having to make childcare arrangements at short
notice. "The issue is the short notice, really. We can always organise
around planned holidays," said Helen Salisbury, a doctor and Oxford
University professor. "If you think about people who are waiting for
cancer diagnostics, or chemotherapy, it's really difficult to know how they're
going to proceed." As with any national holiday, NHS staff will ensure
urgent and emergency services are available, a spokesperson said. The NHS will
"continue to operate and operate at scale on that day," a spokesman
for Prime Minister Liz Truss said. "Obviously individual trusts are
monitoring for any possible impacts due to postponements."
'THIS COUNTRY'S GONE MAD' Other
organisations have faced criticism for their decisions to suspend services as a
mark of respect. British Cycling was forced to withdraw guidance asking
people to limit bike rides on Monday after facing ridicule. "The
country's gone mad...British Cycling strongly recommends that nobody rides a
bike while the Queen's funeral is taking place," musician John Spiers
wrote on Twitter. Center Parcs, which operates holiday villages,
abruptly advised guests in the middle of their vacations to leave on Monday and
come back the next day as its staff watches the funeral. It later
backtracked and allowed guests to stay in its villages after facing an outcry,
media reports said. The government has said there is no obligation to
cancel or postpone events or close venues and left such decisions to individual
organisations. A range of other economic activity is also likely to
grind to a halt on the day of the Queen's funeral.
Many supermarkets, which usually
operate for limited hours during other national holidays, have declared they
will be closed on Monday. They include Britain's biggest retailer Tesco
(TSCO.L), as well as Asda, Iceland, Aldi and Poundland. Other retailers
including Primark, Ikea, Harrods and WH Smith, besides cinema operator
Cineworld (CINE.L) have also said they will be shut. Even people hankering for
a cheeseburger will have to wait. McDonald's (MCD.N) said all of its
restaurants in Britain would be shut until 5 p.m. on Monday.
Some food banks - a lifeline for
poorer housholds - have also announced closures, while several striking
workers' unions have also suspended planned industrial action as a mark of
respect. Other events that were cancelled during the mourning period include
London Fashion Week shows, English Premier League soccer matches and a range of
other sporting fixtures. London's Heathrow, Britain's busiest airport, said it
expects changes to its operations on Monday, while warning of disruption to
flights for nearly two hours on Wednesday as the Queen's coffin is carried in a
procession in central London.
^ After years of Medical
Appointment delays due to Covid this latest Mourning Holiday adds to everything
that has already happened. I can understand wanting to show respect for the
late Queen, but with Covid delays it seems just too much too soon. ^
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.