TV crews on Covid wards - is it OK

If using the word lost helps georgia101 then I don't think she should be criticised for it.

It must be so hard for you, georgia.

Well said GabriellaG54 couldn't agree more

I agree with you. I wasn’t allowed in to see my father when dying with Coronorvirus in fact I ssid my goodbyes on Easter Sunday via a laptop. The two nurses with him all dressed in protective clothing both broke down and cried with me. Until this virus hits hour doorstep then you understand how serious this situation is

Yes please, how do I change my user name?

So sorry to hear that Twig14. How awful that must have been for you ?

If it hadn't been for the few reporters who were able to get into Italian hospitals, and let's be clear - they went in at the specific request of doctors to show the world what they were dealing with - we would never have known what fate awaited us. Reporting on Wuhan was severely restricted as was the outcoming news and IF that had not been the case we would all have been able to prepare much better. The general public has a right to know what's going on in the wards, how people are treated etc., and to suggest that reporters make a difference to the availability of PPE is missing the point - if there were no public outcry, journalists putting the case forward for PPE and relentlessly asking the government questions, we'd be a lot further from providing our frontline workers with what they need than we are now.

No they should not be allowed in, we have all seen this now and its awful to see, but there is a limit, I too would have refused to let them in if I was a ward Sister there.They are in the way disturbing staff and patients alike.What about personal integrety, have they thought about that.

I LOST my daughter 2+ years ago too, Georgia.
I'm sorry for your LOSS.

Someone I know was filmed in the ICU. Told about it in advance and face blurred out. I was reassured seeing how well the patients were being treated and the dedication of the staff. Not expected to live, but thankfully on a ward now.

Privacy and dignity was always at the forefront of my nurse training which is why we disliked relatives using mobile phones on the ward.
We don’t need journalists to show us the pain and suffering of patients or how hard the hospital staff are working, we know!
The hospital trust may have invited them in, but I wonder if consent was given by the most important people, the patients.

My Brother was admitted to hospital Friday 3rd April, he went off in an ambulance on his own and we have not seen him since. We have accepted this, to allow the ICU to care for him and others, we have daily updates , full of hope some times and despair others. His Daughter received a call to say 'his time had come' but was unable to speak to him, Then received a call he was to go on a ventilator .... she was allowed to speak to him for 5 minutes .........
We need to see what happens in icu to understand the reality People NEED TO STAY HOME AND STAY SAFE THIS IS REAL..

The big picture is the news has reported from alot of frontlines arround the world and have taken the viewer to lots of makeshift hospitals. This is an invisible war and will remain that way until a vaccine is sorted. So how can it view us in a different light when some countries have been at/ are at war and we have seen their maimed or injured or worse. NHS may be struggling but we are lucky to have them and maybe the news company have to contribute before being allowed in!

seekerfor life
We need information but is filming a persons grief at the loss of a loved one necessary.Figures are enough for me as to how deadly this virus is. I do not need pictures to show me. I needed pictures as a child but soon learned to read. We are given enough information as to what we should /should not do Our NHS is the best, we know they are laying down their lives for others that surely says it all. without the drama of tv.

I tend to agree with those who say the public needs to see the reality of this virus.

I have not yet seen a face of an unconscious ITU patient. I have only seen faces blurred out. The patients they interview will have given their permission.

I have mixed feelings about the interviews with distressed, grieving relatives. If it does help to bring home the seriousness of the emergency then that’s fine., although I do wonder if there are too many of these interviews. They might help to reduce the ‘it won’t happen to me’ attitude though.

They should NOT be allowed in as they are getting in the way of healthcare professionals, and all they want is a good story. Journalists like to exploit people and see people in tears as it makes good viewing. Journalists make a fortune out of people's misfortunes!

I haven’t read all the posts but I must point out that distressing as the scenes were from Kettering Hospital’s ICU last evening on ITV, the newscaster beforehand was at great pains to say that the hospital itself had invited the cameras in. If the hospital wants this sort of publicity, then it wouldn’t be done lightly - there must be a reason, and I suspect it’s to ram the message hard and brutally to those who still believe it won’t happen to them, and also for the public at large to see what conditions the medical staff war toiling under. Those PPI suits must be so hot and uncomfortable, people really do need to see the grim reality of it all. I was horrified.

“are toiling under.”

Callistemon
It was not directed at any one poster.

Message deleted by Gransnet. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

I think anyone with a modicum of intelligence knows what the situation is in the critical care wards. I think its unnecessarily intrusive and must be so hard for relatives to see when they are not allowed in to comfort their loved ones.

For all posters who are voicing their disgust that the media is being allowed to film in hospitals and care homes, I say this.
Are you prepared to take the word of doctors as to how patients are treated, how bad it good conditions are, how many are on makeshift wards or trolleys, how many dead are swaddled and left in corridors because mortuaries are full...or would you rather see the reality for yourself because then and only then, will you know the incontrovertible truth?

It is hospitals or their trusts who have the final say re media filming. Most cameramen have sound equipment on their cameras so there would be only 1 of them, not a posse.

No you don't know the situation.!!...only by seeing these media films can I understand what my Brother is going through..the patients are not shown or identified,

I wouldn't say that each time they show people in ICU or the hospital may be brand new every time.
There is still a core of people that think it will never happen to them - they are the ones breaking all advice given, carrying on visiting friends and family for little reason, going miles by car to take their dogs or themselves for a walk, cycling way away from their own area, refusing to queue at supermarkets, and being rude to retail staff, I could go on and on !
Seeing people seriously ill in hospital really has the idea that it will hopefully give them a shock if it was to happen to them - but I very much doubt that it will make a difference.
The rest of us, to some extent also need to see just what is happening still, rather being lulled into a false sense of security when the numbers start to fall.

They have made a point of saying that they bring their own PPE in. Also it makes people aware of just how awful this disease is- especially to all those flouting the lockdown thinking they are invincible. It also shows us exactly how hard the NHS staff work and how tough it is for them, and how sensitively they all deal with the dying.