Covid has hit England's older people hardest. This time, we need better care Dorothy Byrne
almost 5 years in The guardian
Older patients too often receive a raw deal from the health service. The second wave is a chance to put that right
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At the height of the first wave of the pandemic, I devised what I regarded as a cunning plan. Should I develop severe Covid-19 symptoms requiring hospitalisation, I would not reveal my true age, 68, to the NHS helpline or to paramedics, nor the fact I had an auto-immune condition and a low white blood cell count. Instead, I would pretend to be 55, with no other illnesses.
All my friends thought this was a ridiculous and immoral idea. Of course, I would never have gone through with this plan. But I suspect that I’m not the only older person who has feared being denied life-saving treatment for coronavirus. One friend, a woman of my exact age who developed several severe Covid symptoms, was denied admission to our local hospital by paramedics, despite passing out twice at home. Only when her daughter found her unconscious on the floor was she finally admitted. Continue reading...
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