- Police given powers to detain people suspected of being infected
- No need to have doctors only to issue death certificates
- No Juries required in Coroner’s Courts
- Fewer Doctors in mental health treatment wards or centres
- Fewer staffing levels in Care Homes for the elderly
Anyone believing that this Tory Government cares about health and safety standards at work and in the community, along with public health; is about to get a nasty shock.
New legislation containing package of powers due to be introduced in parliament next week, not only includes the measures highlighted above, but also police are to be given new powers enabling them to detain those suspected of having Coronavirus (covid-19) (Covid-19)
In doing so, Johnson is admitting that he knows full well that the NHS will NOT cope with the virus and nor will the UK's Ambulance Service. Currently the Ambulance Service is NOT classed as an Emergency Service, nor are it's paramedics, despite what is assumed by the public.
The media too, has failed to make any mention of the capacity of the Ambulance Service to cope with the peak of the virus i8n the next few weeks and it is also clear from this new set of laws that the Government is expecting people to self-isolate, self medicate and NOT to call either 111 or 999!
According to The Telegraph, The Guardian newspapers, police and immigration officers will be able to detain people "for a limited period" if they're suspected of being infected. Although just how this will work is beyond any mention in the legislation change seen by the newspaper.
The new proposed laws will also allow the government to force schools and nurseries to stay open if they're closed by teachers or staff during the pandemic.
Additionally, the government can stop "any vehicle, train, vessel or aircraft", and shut down ports if there are "insufficient resources" to ensure border security staff in customs and immigration do not contract corona virus.
The emergency laws will remain in effect for two years, according to the newspaper.
Councils will be permitted to lower standards in care homes to accommodate limited staff numbers and regulations regarding certification of deaths will also be amended to remove the need for a doctor to see the body of the deceased before issuing a death certificate.
Senior health professionals other than doctors will be permitted to sign off death certificates themselves, and the necessity for coroners to hold jury inquests will also be removed.
Regarding cremations and burials, the government said in a draft: "In a reasonable
worst-case scenario the death management industry will be rapidly overwhelmed. There is a significant gap in body storage requirements to ensure we are prepared."
Care for the mentally ill and the aged will be minimised as existing standards and regulations will be removed or amended.
Scientists estimate that one in 12 people over 80 who catch Coronavirus (Covid-19) will die, and local authorities will be able to provide a reduced level of care to the elderly in care homes, providing it does not constitute "serious neglect or harm".
Reduction in support with washing or cooking, could be reduced to once per day, as opposed to twice, a day.
This change in legislation is designed to protect local authorities from being challenged or prosecuted if they do not fulfil statutory duties.
The new laws mean registration requirements for doctors, social workers and pharmacists will be less stringent, to allow those who have retired recently to rejoin the workforce.
Lower standards of training for care workers will be allowed and even those not completing all of their training will be allowed to register.
The terms of the Mental Health Act will be relaxed so fewer doctors are needed in clinics and can instead be sent to assist hospitals.
In effect those who are elderly or suffering from mental health illnesses will be left to fend for themselves by a Government that has degraded the quality and availability of doctors to the tune of over 10,000 unfilled vacancies and that of 40,000 nursing vacancies, whilst increasing the funding to the private sector to take over NHS services across the country.
It MUST be also noted that it is the Brexit project that has caused, almost entirely, the loss of clicnical staff in the NHS and the accompanying persecution by the Home Office of those it sees as 'undesirables' in order to expel them from the UK!
Further draconian measures will no doubt be introduced once the full scale of the deaths and infections from Covid-19 become obvious to the public.
Source: The Independent / The Times
