The last 16 months or so have been a difficult time for many
people. Since Covid came into our lives, what we think of as our “normal” has
shifted and many of us no longer know what normal feels like.
So much has changed; so many things we used to take for
granted have been lost, destroyed or otherwise altered.
Talk of so called “Freedom Day” on 19th July
rings hollow for many people like those who have lost loved ones, either due to
covid itself or as a result of other issues that have taken a back seat during
the pandemic.
No matter how many times we hear that it is business as
usual during the pandemic either from the NHS or from GP’s & Doctors there
are many, many people who have stories of cancelled appointments – for screenings,
treatments, surgery etc.
From the work I do running Womb Cancer Support UK, I hear
constantly from people who have struggled to get a face to face appointment
with a GP to discuss heavy bleeding or pain; those who have been diagnosed who
have had their hysterectomy surgery cancelled at the last minute; had their
chemo treatment delayed, etc.
It seems like cancer has been forgotten about and the only
thing that matters is covid. This isn’t a dig at the NHS but it is to the
people who run it, especially to government who seem determined to run it into
the ground and sell it off.
Now I’m not going to turn this into a political post because
anyone with eyes & ears should be able to see what is happening & why
but there are many ill, disabled & vulnerable people who have been
forgotten about or ignored (depending on your viewpoint) during the pandemic,
and all this talk of “Freedom Day” means nothing to them other than dread.
Because they know that once again their lives mean little to those who run this
country.
Many have had their support cut during the pandemic and
unpaid carers have been hung out to dry by having to take up the slack and look
after family & relatives.
I know from my own experience just how little support there
is for those of us that fall through the cracks of an already fractured care support
system. Both myself & my husband have complex health issues but we have been
left to just get on with it during the pandemic (not to mention the last 12
years since I was diagnosed with cancer, but that’s a whole other story!!)
The point is, that many vulnerable people are still scared
to go out; to go shopping; to go to work. Going to the pub or a football match
is not a priority for them – staying alive is. To see 60,000+ people in Wembley
this week makes many of us feel that all those months of isolation &
struggle have been a total waste of time. All that for nothing. The coronavirus
is still here, it is mutating and despite the vaccine rollout out the numbers
of people being infected is going up and the number of deaths as a result will
climb again.
More familes loosing loved ones – and it could all have been
prevented or at least not been as drastic if this whole thing had been handled
properly, if the scientists had been listened to and common sense had been used
rather than the irresponsible contempt that has been shown to the citizens of
the UK.
