Returning to High Infection Risk Job with Vulnerable Person at Home - any options for staying home?

superbigal

As I read the OPs main worry now is the PPE issue at the start of the Pandemic.
There will be no PPE shortages for any health professional organisations reopening.
I would be very suprised if the optician (Who presumably do some NHS work) has not already had supplies from Local Govt/NHS trust to the appropriate level.  This is based on my knowledge of what has been going on in the Dental sector I hasten to add.

suki1964

Splatfoot said:

suki1964 said:

Splatfoot said:

unforeseen said:

It's not, it can be done. It just takes discipline. It is rare that I get within 2m of my wife. During the day i only leave my room to get meals. The bathroom is mine, she is confined to using the downstairs loo. When she needs to use the bathroom for shower/ hair wash then she cleans it afterward. Similar routine in the kitchen. 

Ah okay. I don't think many realise they should do this though. 

Id have thought after living through lockdown the past 12 weeks and watching the news they may have caught on by now

OP, its scary for a lot of people being told they have to go back to work after being home the past 12/13 weeks being told the most dangerous thing you can do is go outside, totally understand your fears and they are normal

Mum who isn't extremely vulnerable , but can barely breath walking the length of herself has been shielded ( she lives with me and Mr s ). I was working till two weeks ago when I got furloughed. I work in a place where social distancing can not be observed due to the nature of our work. We haven't had one bit of PPE.

Not one of us has taken ill, nor has anyone within our families. As Unforseen says, it does take some discipline with hygiene 

Anyways we in NI are emerging from Lockdown faster then you in England and Mum decided she would pop down the doctors to put her script in and then pop to the shop, Ive been doing everything for her so far. She got to the doctors and came straight back home again and was white and shaken .  Nothing had happened, it was just the nerves of being out that over took her. I think it will be a while longer before she ventures out again, its only been the past few days that she's come as far as the garden

A week back in work for your wife and she will relax. There will be protocols in place that the staff will have to follow. All our opticians are open and from what Ive seen they have the visors and masks, even the staff on the reception, and sanitiser just about everywhere. If she follows the protocols as well as doing the change of clothes, showering, not wearing the shoes she was out in indoors, cleaning all surfaces she may have touched as she came in, you really should be ok

As long as you social distance as well whilst you're indoors.... re, your first sentence Suki, I do agree but lots of people haven't been at work for weeks so haven't really had to do this.. Also, nobody ever mentions this when they give advice to people on this site. They say, take clothes off etc wash, wipe surfaces but they don't then also say, stay two meters away from your wife/husband whatever, use different bathrooms, don't share anything., sleep in separate beds. Not so bad if it's  your mother, but if it's your partner, it could be a little trickier. 

Because there is no need to sleep in separate beds or keep two metres away unless you are front line - ie working on ICU or a Covid ward

My husband has been furloughed all during, Ive still slept in the same bed as him and we share a bathroom. I cook for him and mum. Its only when I come in from being out of the house at work that I kept my distance. Once showered and changed, we carry on as normal

I also have never left post for 72hrs nor washed my groceries, sanitised wheelie bin handles nor any of the other things some people have felt the need to do. Ive now gone back into normal shops, esp my favourite charity shops and Ive had a good old rummage. I just keep on using the hand sanitiser on offer on both entering and leaving a shop and have my own small bottle in my pocket and then when I come in, shoes off at the door, hands washed and that's it

My daughter had Covid , the 2nd week of lockdown, she caught it from an A&E visit. Now she did have to isolate in her bedroom as she certainly was displaying symptoms . Her husband had to bunk in with one of the children, she was passed food and drinks on disposable plates and cups, a rubbish sack in her room, separate bathroom, she put her own laundry on at night when everyone else was in bed, sanitising every surface she may have touched. No one else in the family displayed any symptoms, even though she shared a bed with her husband and was in close contact with her children for the week between visiting A&E and getting symptoms herself. As soon as her temperature went and she felt better she stopped isolating, as the government recommendations

KxMx

The official advice on shielding does recommend seperate beds etc. 


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19#living-with-other-people

At the end of the day it's advice, some choose to follow to the letter, some do a variation which suits them. Neither is right or wrong.

unforeseen

KxMx said:

The official advice on shielding does recommend seperate beds etc. 


https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19/guidance-on-shielding-and-protecting-extremely-vulnerable-persons-from-covid-19#living-with-other-people

At the end of the day it's advice, some choose to follow to the letter, some do a variation which suits them. Neither is right or wrong.

It has its advantages. I now have the whole bed and no more fights over the covers 😂

GDB2222

To put this in perspective, my wife and I are late sixties but not classed as extremely vulnerable. We go out for exercise, but not to the shops. Nor to socialise. We do wash our groceries. 

The above seem like sensible precautions, and not particularly onerous in our circumstances. A near neighbour died of Covid. We know three others who were in hospital and survived.

Dr_Crypto

I don’t have much to add to the OP and I think others have dealt with how to maintain hygiene. It’s a pain but it can be done. 

I think it’s normal to be scared. We’ve had months of being told that to step outside results in instant death not only for you but for your grandma and the sweet old lady down the road. We had random NHS employees almost (and sometimes actually) in tears saying that anyone who crossed their front gate would be on a ventilator tomorrow. Of course people are terrified. 

Dr_Crypto

I don’t have much to add to the OP and I think others have dealt with how to maintain hygiene. It’s a pain but it can be done. 

I think it’s normal to be scared. We’ve had months of being told that to step outside results in instant death not only for you but for your grandma and the sweet old lady down the road. We had random NHS employees almost (and sometimes actually) in tears saying that anyone who crossed their front gate would be on a ventilator tomorrow. Of course people are terrified. 

GDB2222

Dr_Crypto said:

I don’t have much to add to the OP and I think others have dealt with how to maintain hygiene. It’s a pain but it can be done. 

I think it’s normal to be scared. We’ve had months of being told that to step outside results in instant death not only for you but for your grandma and the sweet old lady down the road. We had random NHS employees almost (and sometimes actually) in tears saying that anyone who crossed their front gate would be on a ventilator tomorrow. Of course people are terrified. 

The terror campaign was justified. The lockdown resulted in an immediate reduction in new infections, and it was only just in time to stop the NHS being totally overwhelmed. Terrifying people into complying with lockdown worked. 

However, it was a bit overdone. If everyone who can get Covid does get it, there’d be roughly an extra half million deaths. That’s a lot, and it’s sad, but for comparison it’s the same number of deaths as we get every year in this country. It represents the sort of extra risk that comes from smoking, and we don’t have nightly broadcasts about smoking.

suki1964

GDB2222 said:

Dr_Crypto said:

I don’t have much to add to the OP and I think others have dealt with how to maintain hygiene. It’s a pain but it can be done. 

I think it’s normal to be scared. We’ve had months of being told that to step outside results in instant death not only for you but for your grandma and the sweet old lady down the road. We had random NHS employees almost (and sometimes actually) in tears saying that anyone who crossed their front gate would be on a ventilator tomorrow. Of course people are terrified. 

The terror campaign was justified. The lockdown resulted in an immediate reduction in new infections, and it was only just in time to stop the NHS being totally overwhelmed. Terrifying people into complying with lockdown worked. 

However, it was a bit overdone. If everyone who can get Covid does get it, there’d be roughly an extra half million deaths. That’s a lot, and it’s sad, but for comparison it’s the same number of deaths as we get every year in this country. It represents the sort of extra risk that comes from smoking, and we don’t have nightly broadcasts about smoking.

Was it really justified? Seriously, that amount of fear put into people

So scared they aren't seeking medical help when it's needed?

One of the leading Oncologists in this country is saying the amount of people who are now going to die needlessly from cancer , it would have been treatable if they were diagnosed earlier, will over take the Covid deaths

Hes also stating that the overall death rate is falling already, because it was artificially inflated by people dieing of diseases that would have killed them sooner or later, but it was hastened by the lack of treatment

Our own health minister here in NI has been caught out for publishing worse case figures as best case to keep us scared and home

8 new cases here in NI these past 7 days, 6 of those in one nursing home. Haven't had a single case in lord knows how long in my reporting area yet still we are being told to stay home unless we really need to be out and when you do go out theres still no public loos, no where to get a coffee etc etc

GDB2222

Before the lockdown, the number of cases was doubling every 3-4 days. Making the lockdown work was essential, or there would have been hundreds of thousands of deaths. Northern Ireland was thankfully on the edge of the infected area. The experience elsewhere was a lot worse.

It would be lovely if we are over this virus, but history suggests that there will be a second wave, and a third one. 

Can we beat history? Yes, if there’s a vaccine or a really good contact tracing system that is rigorously enforced. 

The South Koreans succeeded with contact tracing. They insisted that everyone carried a phone with the tracing application. It wasn’t voluntary. If someone was supposed to quarantine they tracked the phone to make sure the person was at home and they called it at least twice a day to make sure the person was with the phone. It worked. But they had the willingness to do that because they had the prior experience of SARS.