EP.WE.551Killings Fields of the 21st Century- a price of social messaging gone wrong. (28th October 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gambhir, Raghvinder; Bodapati, Shruti
• Is Part Of: British journal of surgery. Volume 108:Supplement 7(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-10-28
• Subjects: Surgery -- Periodicals; 617.005
• DOI: 10.1093/bjs/znab308.064
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0007-1323

Abstract

Abstract: Aim: To assess the impact of public health messaging on the COVID-19 deaths Methods: Review of all government, Public Health England, NHS England messages during the pandemic to see how they influenced public activity and thereby influenced hospital admissions and death. Results: The one thing that has been consistent in the government messages has been to follow the rules "To save the NHS'. This came in from seeing the Italian health system in Lombardy being overwhelmed in the beginning of the year. Repeatedly public asked on the role of the masks and every time they were told that science did not support its use. It took 6 months for science to catch up with common sense but the message remained "To save the NHS" and not "To save your life". 76% of the 100, 000 deaths occurred in the hospitals making them the killing fields of the 21 st Century as primary care shut its door to primary treatment of these patients. The patients got advice form online call centres and waited to get seriously ill before reporting to emergency departments. In the hospitals more deaths occurred on the wards then on ITU as patients were triaged or care rationed. Conclusion: The government and Public Health England failed to act on the lessons from previous respiratory viruses world over and waited for exact science to be available before changing their social messaging. This in part contributed to lack of public compliance and over 100000 deaths in the UK.