Charlotte Summers
@charlot_summers
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Director of @hlri_Cambridge & Professor of Intensive Care @Cambridge_Uni ; Fellow @selwyn1882 Tweets represent only my personal views.
Cambridge, UK
Joined December 2013
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Pondering how on earth we have reached the point in the pandemic where I am caring for previously fit & well people younger than me in ICU due to widespread misinformation about vaccines/COVID. The misinformation is not benign, it’s harming people & needs to stop NOW! 1/3
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Thought it was time for some perspectives from the bedside about the state of the COVID pandemic in the UK. The strain on the healthcare system is increasing daily, & what we are facing is in no way the same as that we face every year. These are not usual winter pressures 1/n
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I know that almost no-one in the UK wants to hear this, but the number of people being hospitalised who are +ve for COVID is increasing again (before anyone asks - we are seeing people admitted because of COVID, & not just incidental cases) 1/6
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For 2021, my plea is that people think about the consequences of the things they say and do - that they consider their impact on others. COVID is real, people are dying, the impact of it is huge & will be long-lasting. Pretending it doesn’t exist will not change reality. /end.
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To be clear:
1) COVID is most definitely not “just flu”
2) It is not true that only people with pre-existing health conditions are getting sick - fit & well people in their 30s & 40s are in ICUs right now
3) Vaccines reduce risk of hospital/ICU admission & deaths from COVID 2/3
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NHS capacity is yet again in the news so I thought it was time to remind people that a hospital, ICU, hospice, care home or other type of inpatient bed is much more than just a bed. The availability of a multitude of specialist staff is what really matters
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The narrative that COVID is not a real pandemic & the restrictions are not needed is vile and pernicious. It is often accompanied by comments that “it only affects x” type of people & the rest of us shouldn’t be inconvenienced. Where do we draw the line about who matters? 3/n
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Every time the naysayers write/speak about it being a fake pandemic or unnecessary restrictions, they belittle the sacrifices of every single person who has put others before themselves this year, including my clinical colleagues who have died whilst trying to save lives 5/n
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This divisive narrative is wrong. Every single one of us, across the globe, matter. The sacrifices made by so many people this year matter - everyone who has lost their job, struggled to home-school their kids, been lonely, tried to do the right thing to keep us all safe. 4/n
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This is dangerous nonsense, spreads fear & cannot be allowed to go unchallenged.
People who received ventilation did so because they had severe respiratory failure & were going to die without it. Some survived, many did not. The ventilators did not kill them, COVID did.
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No other winter have I had to comfort exhausted colleagues who have no idea how they can keep going for even another day. No other winter have I needed to tell relatives via telephone that their loved ones are dying & the entire family cannot be there. It is heartbreaking 2/n
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If you live in the UK, you can book a COVID vaccine appointment here - PLEASE considering doing so if you haven’t already:
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This remains the best advice I have heard about how to manage a pandemic, and is as relevant today as it was in March 2020.
"Be fast, have no regrets."
Dr Michael J Ryan says "the greatest error is not to move" and "speed trumps perfection" when it comes to dealing with an outbreak such as
#coronavirus
.
Get the latest on COVID-19 👉
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This is dangerous misinformation.
To be clear - there is currently no evidence to support the use of ivermectin in the treatment (or prevention) of COVID-19. Further, COVID vaccinations are not a form of gene therapy (i.e., they do not alter the recipient’s DNA).
How Ivermectin could have been used to save lives lost to Covid 19. This would have made the experimental emergency approved gene therapies unnecessary
.
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As an uncertain few months stretch out before us, am thinking about my ICU and Respiratory colleagues in the U.K. and beyond this evening.
Please hold on.
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Wasn’t aware I needed a male professor of medieval philosophy to speak on my behalf about how I may feel about being a female academic…
Am happy to be able to reassure Prof Marebon that I have never needed to worry that I was only appointed as Prof of ICM because I am a woman.
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Thinking about my ICU colleagues in the U.K. and beyond this evening - things are getting bad out there. Look after yourselves - breathe and hold on.
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Without enough specialist staff, critical care beds are useless | Charlotte Summers
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I'm delighted to share that I've been appointed as the Interim Director of the Heart and Lung Research Institute. I will be taking over from
@Morphogen_IX
in Oct & doing my best not to ruin his many years of hard work!
#HLRI
@Cambridge_Uni
@RoyalPapworth
@CUHPartners
@CUH_NHS
Woohoo! Congrats
@charlot_summers
!!
Disclaimer: This congratulations is conferred in a completely random fashion unless otherwise specified, for example as events may become known more widely at a time in the not-too-distant future.
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Am delighted to share that I have been appointed as the substantive Director of
@HLRI_Cambridge
.
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There is a crisis in clinical academia in the UK. We talk of the need to expand medical schools, embed research into the NHS to improve care, & the importance of a vibrant life sciences sector for the economy of the UK, & yet we seem unable to tackle the underlying issues 1/9
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If it was this simple, I’d want EVERYONE to know.
I am an ICU physician who is on duty over Christmas, and would be delighted not to be seeing increasing numbers of admissions due to COVID.
What possible motive would “they” have to not want people to know?
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Shield some and let others carry on? This Covid theory is dangerous, and foolish | Charlotte Summers
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The UK entered the pandemic with ~3750 adult ICU beds. >750 of them have been occupied by patients with COVID since late July 2021: equivalent of ~46 ICUs just for COVID. These beds were all needed before the pandemic & this is not sustainable.
#GetVaccinated
#VaccinesWork
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This is the most personal thing I have ever been brave enough to write for public consumption - please be kind!
The June WICM blog is by the fantastic
@charlot_summers
.
Overcoming obstacles such as being told that medicine was “no career for a girl” to becoming the respected academic, teacher and doctor she is today.
Read more about Charlotte's journey here
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On a lighter note, my husband has just sent me this:
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I am sure that tonight some people are feeling disillusioned. Please don’t.
To all those who followed the rules to try & keep everyone safe, & those continuing to try - thank you.
To all those who have accepted COVID (& flu) vaccines to help keep everyone safe - thank you.
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There are 120 more people with confirmed COVID in UK ICUs tonight than there were 7 days ago.
An average ICU has ~16 beds.
The past week has seen the equivalent of ~7.5 extra ICUs needed for patients with COVID, at a time when the system is already under significant pressure
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Today is a good day!
My husband received the AZ/Oxford COVID vaccination this morning. In a couple of weeks or so, when his immunity has had chance to develop, I will breathe a little more easily.
#VaccinesWork
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The news this evening has a story about COVID-19 in Mozambique. During the story, a public health worker said they estimate it is going to take 3-5 YEARS to vaccinate the population (~30 million). We cannot stand by and watch - none of us are safe until all of us are safe.
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Trying to explain how a ventilator works whilst trying v hard not to wave my hands about too much
#awkward
An intensive care doctor explains how a mechanical ventilator works
More here:
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Seemed appropriate as I sat thinking about my ICU colleagues who are under extreme pressure tonight. Keep going all, this storm will pass.
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The greatest tragedy of England's second wave is that it wasn't inevitable | Charlotte Summers
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I work with extraordinary colleagues, many of whom have volunteered to come & help in ICU during the pandemic - I’m proud to be part of such an amazing team. Things are REALLY rough right now, but we just need to find a way to all keep going a while longer.
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Today is not a day where we are suddenly free from the pandemic - people are still getting sick and dying here in the UK and across the globe. Today is a day where national mandates end & the responsibilities are being passed to us as individuals 1/n
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@wesstreeting
Hi Wes, just to clarify, are Labour committing to proving the funding for the postgraduate training places needed to produce 7500 more GPS/Consultants per year, or just that needed for 7500 more medical students? Have only seen announcement about medical student places so far.
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So, if I am understanding this correctly the people protesting in Oxford today want to be able to sit in traffic queues, breathe polluted air & not have amenities within 15 mins walk of their homes, because those things represent enslavement by some kind of global conspiracy? 🤯
I'm live at the pro-traffic rally in Oxford city centre. Ostensibly a protest against LTNs, or low-traffic neighborhoods, it's an intoxicating mix of far-right conspiracy slogans, antisemitism and really terrible hip-hop.
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@alanmcn1
@carlheneghan
Do you think people realise the impact on ICU staff when they come home from work and see headlines like this? Is it really acceptable to tell them this is business as usual?
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RECOVERY was one of the most impactful things the UK did to alter the trajectory of the pandemic.
There are lots of important clinical questions the platform could answer between outbreaks, so I’m at a loss to understand why defunding it makes any sense.
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That this letter comes from an intensivist reinforces my comments yesterday that the cultural issues in medicine are not exclusively surgical.
The views expressed are an embarrassment to both our speciality & the wider medical profession.
🦖 died out for a reason….
Yesterday we learned of the disgusting sexual abuse female surgeons experience in the NHS.
Today, writing in the Times, recently retired anaesthetist Peter Hilton unintentionally shows exactly why disgusting sexual abuse in the NHS still thrives & prospers. Un - be - lievable.
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COVID has had many casualties & my fabulous friend
@FionaDenison
is one. Fiona strived & mostly succeeded to make the world a better place, & she’d be unimpressed if we failed to learn from her story. Whilst it is 💔 to hear the toll COVID took on her life, it needs to be heard.
Professor Fiona Denison's devastated husband shared her story in the hope it could help others who are struggling
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Two years on we all want the pandemic to be over (I know I do), but no amount of wishing will make it so. We live in an interconnected world - whilst things are better in the UK than they have been, the same is not true everywhere & the pandemic is not over. 3/6
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Premature declarations of victory in the “fight against COVID” may be something we live to regret if we are not careful. The history of infectious diseases is littered with people declaring them defeated who have subsequently been shown to be wrong. 5/6
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3098 people with a single disease in our ICUs is a MASSIVE deal. If you want to ensure there is an ICU bed available when you or your loved ones need it, as a result of COVID or anything else, stay home, think
#HandsFaceSpace
& say yes to the vaccine when your turn comes. End
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In response to non-ICU colleagues wanting some clinical guidance relating to COVID, I have made this little video:
@fayjojo
@CamCritCareEdu
@NCCUCambridge
@CamAnaesthesia
@CamICU_Research
@LisaEnoch1
@CUH_PeriOps
@RCEMPolicyVP
@RodMack2
@CUH_NHS
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We’ve been informed by our 10yo that said child feels they have now “experienced England”, & have therefore drawn up a shortlist of places to relocate to: Currently tied in 1st place are Oslo, San Francisco (place 10yo considers home), & South Island of New Zealand.
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In summary, if we REALLY want more research in the NHS, we need to stop making clinical academic careers near-impossible & start making them fun, accessible to all those with the talent/wish to follow that path, valued, supportive of the training needed. 9/9.
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Living with COVID is going to need global cooperation & the proper funding of initiatives such as
@ACTAccelerator
. Let’s get this done ASAP so we can all start to move on from the pandemic. 6/6
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Viruses don’t pay attention to things like national borders. Unless & until tests, vaccines, treatments, oxygen, PPE..etc are available to all who need them wherever they live, the work of bringing COVID under control will not be complete. 4/6
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I am very proud to be one of the
@Cambridge_Uni
Pilkington Prize 2020 winners
@Selwyn1882
@CATO_Cambridge
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My family know me so well…this year’s birthday card!
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Delighted (and relieved) that as of today, both my parents have received a COVID vaccination. That this is possible a year after
@WHO
announced SARS-CoV-2 to be a public health emergency of international concern amazes me. Thank you science.
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🚨Calling all medically-qualified people with (current or former) experience of clinical academia. 🚨
@The_MRC
are seeking to understand the decline in the UK clinical academic workforce & are seeking input. Please take the time to fill out their survey:
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Whilst the number of COVID +ve people in hospital has risen substantially in recently, there has as yet not been a similar increase in the number of people requiring invasive ventilation, suggesting that vaccines are still reducing severity & the therapies we use are helping 2/6
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Getting excited about the upcoming move of my research team to the new Cambridge Heart & Lung Research Institute: A fab collaboration between
@Cambridge_Uni
&
@RoyalPapworth
, with support from
@TheBHF
@wolfsonfdn
& others, that aims to find new therapies for ❤️ & 🫁 disease.
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Delighted to have written this OpEd for The Guardian about the search for therapies for COVID-19.
@Cambridge_Uni
@Selwyn1882
@CUH_NHS
@NIHRresearch
@NIHRCRNEastern
@ICS_updates
@AMS_Careers
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This stone plaque is mounted on the wall just inside the entrance to
@CUH_NHS
and has provided me with inspiration/motivation on many days. Whomever decided where to place it was VERY thoughtful and I am grateful. Thought I would share it more widely in case it helps others.
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Vaccination against COVID is safe, effective, & saves lives.
When this email arrived, I was delighted: it brought hope in the midst of a very dark Jan 2021 COVID surge. Now, I am 3x💉& strongly encourage everyone who is eligible to consider getting vaccinated too.
#VaccinesWork
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Using my statistics coursework to demonstrate that there was no correlation been predicted & actual A Level grades for many subjects at my school (based on 10 years of data), & then publishing said analysis in an Alternative Prospectus to our 6th form.
Decidedly unpopular.
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Baroness Hale is a cross-bench peer, and as such is entitled to vote whichever way she feels is most appropriate on this and any other matter.
Baroness Hale, the former President of the Supreme Court, showed her political colours yesterday by voting against the Government’s Rwanda bill three times.
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Critical Care teams from
@CUH_NHS
@PapCriticalCare
working collaboratively today to support the EoE Critical Care Network by transferring patients to our campus
#teamwork
@stephen_t_webb
@simonlambden
@stephenposeynhs
@CUH_Roland
@RoyalPapworth
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Congratulations
@rupert_pearse
- richly deserved recognition for all you have done! 👏👏👏
Queen Mary staff recognised in the King’s New Year Honours list - Queen Mary University of London via
@QMUL
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Today I reached pinnacle (so far) of my career - I featured in a programme my parents regularly listen to! Doesn’t get better than that - thank you
@BBCMoreOrLess
!
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Important data: 29.4% hospitalised COVID patients readmitted to hospital within a few months & 12.3% die over same period. 29.6% develop resp disease after hospital admission, with >12% being an entirely new diagnosis. Also, 2.8X increased rate of new major adverse CV events 1/2
Our study of 47,780 people hospitalised post
#COVID19
led by
@DanAyoubkhani
@ONS
At follow-up of only 140 days:
29.4% re-admitted
12.3% died
#longCOVID
Thanks to
@amibanerjee1
@Vnafilyan
@trishgreenhalgh
@martinmckee
@Azeem_Majeed
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What mystifies me is: Who are the “they” that “simply don’t want you to know”?
I’ve spent the 12 months doing everything I can to help find interventions that work to get us out of this mess, if someone has found the answer & is keeping quiet I want to know who they are ASAP....
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The scars created by wars are carried down generations 😢
A 6-year-old boy stands near the grave of his mother, who was buried in their yard in Kyiv oblast. (Ph: Rodrigo Abd/AP)
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Still hoping
@RishiSunak
and colleagues see sense and decide to make the junior doctors (or “doctors” as most of us call them) a sensible offer ASAP. Surely they realise that not doing so means I will be working as the night shift ICU Reg on Fri?
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Listening to Sir Patrick Vallance giving evidence to
@covidinquiryuk
.
Am struck by how much his evidence highlights the need for us to improve scientific literacy across society, and the importance of ensuring accessible communication of science to non-specialist audiences.
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It is Christmas Eve, & the news is full of COVID gloom. So, I wanted to highlight that if you need
@CUH_NHS
adult critical care (& I hope you don’t, coz no-one should have to ensure ICU at Xmas) we are here for you 24/7/365, so pls don’t hesitate to seek our help
@NHSEastEngland
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@AbdnAlan
@FionaDenison
I am devastated to hear this news. Fiona was a wonderful friend and
#FLIER
buddy. The picture she painted for me of my childhood home means the world. RIP 😢
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Feels like increasing levels of anger building about COVID, so thought a reminder from Yoda might be in order. SARS-CoV-2 is a deadly & highly contagious virus, but in 2020 we’ve found it, developed vaccinations & treatments, & learned loads. We can see this through - together.
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Am giving evidence to
@UKHouseofLords
Science & Technology Committee regarding role of clinical academics in NHS on Tues, so would love to hear what
#MedTwitter
thinks they need to hear.
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Have been sensing COVID-related despondency today - cases rising, SOLIDARITY showing therapies didn’t work, people being tired & facing prospect of a challenging winter with more restrictions. However, despite all of this, I remain hopeful 1/n
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One Easter Day a few years ago, the staff
@CUH_NHS
left their families at home to come to work to care for people like me, who needed their help for the safe delivery of this (then) little one. We remain forever grateful.
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Fabulous evening on Thurs when many of the women Profs of
@Cambridge_Uni
Clinical School came together to celebrate Prof Sharon Peacock being awarded the
@The_MRC
Millennium Medal.
#WomenInSTEM
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@JeremyFarrar
I don’t have the words for how these images make me feel. I know people are tired of living with restrictions - Me too. But please can we hold on for a few more months? We have come this far, let’s not blow it now.
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I have a strange sense of deja vu:
What are we watching/waiting for? At what point will things be bad enough we need a plan B?
Can’t help thinking that early adoption of SOME mitigations to prevent a later drastic course correction being needed might be more sensible…
No10 warns of 'challenging' months ahead in battle against Covid
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This anonymous
@guardianopinion
written by a Respiratory physician highlights how hard things are for teams outside ICU. My Respiratory Medicine colleagues have carried a very heavy burden this year & are often not recognised for their amazing contribution
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Britain's coronavirus death rate is down, but the unanswered question is why | Charlotte Summers
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On the plus side, this article by John Edmunds tells me I’m not alone in receiving crazy letters/emails, but how on earth does anyone think this behaviour is acceptable?
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Socially distancing in our soon to be open
@CUH_NHS
critical care area. So proud of this team that have worked so hard setting up this area with help from
@DigestiveGill
and colleagues.
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Thinking about how ICU and other clinical colleagues in Ukraine must be feeling today - two years of pandemic and now facing a war.
Hoping v much you stay safe and find the strength to endure whatever you may face in the coming days.
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Congrats to
@EdinburghUni
on their new Prof of Experimental Medicine:
@kennethbaillie
. Kenny's contribution to ICM and the worldwide pandemic response cannot be overestimated -
@GenomiccStudy
,
@remap_cap
, RECOVERY,
@HEAL_COVID
& much much more. Prof is the v least he deserves.
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The lucky ones were the people who didn’t get sick enough to need a ventilator.
Ventilators don’t kill people, the diseases that cause acute respiratory failure do - polio, pneumococcal pneumonia, Influenza, COVID, and a multitude of others.
#MisinformationCausesHarm
Remember when we were constantly told that a shortage of ventilators in the NHS for covid patients meant doctors being forced to choose who lives and dies? We now know who were the lucky ones…..
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Twitter can be an echo chamber of negativity, so thought I’d share that today I met an amazing FY1 dr who did an intercalated PhD (London) & now wants to develop a clinical academic career. She was looking for support & to base herself in our team.
Easiest “yes” in the world!
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Delighted to have been by nominated by
@JeremyFarrar
as a Wired UK 2021 , & humbled to feature alongside these extraordinary people
@wellcometrust
Change everything: 32 innovators who are building a better future | WIRED UK
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Pls read this article by
@mancunianmedic
.
As ever, he says exactly what needs to be said.
So many of us will never be the same again, & it needs to be spoken out loud, not left unspoken or forgotten.
My personal pandemic experience is just one of many
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Appears to know cost of everything, but the value of nothing.
Studying art, music, drama, dance, fashion, philosophy, ancient languages, & a host of other subjects are important for a civilised society. Education is not solely about financial gain.
Sunak vows to crack down on university degrees that do not improve 'earning potential'
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This cannot be repeated enough - research is a critical component of delivering high-quality healthcare and not an optional extra 👇
“There is increasing evidence that shows that patients treated in research active hospitals get better quality of care, even if they are not taking part in a research project." Catch up with why and how we should boost research in the NHS
#NHSacademia
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For all those who felt able to watch “Breathtaking” this evening and the many of us who have not.
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I have no words for this.
Thinking of my colleagues across the U.K. and beyond today as we start a new year.
Worked the late A&E SHO shift on NYE and came out to this. Hundreds of maskless, drunk people in huge groups shouting "Covid is a hoax", literally outside the building where hundreds are sick and dying. Why do people still not realise the seriousness of this pandemic?
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Clinical trial supporting ivermectin as Covid treatment withdrawn over ethical concerns
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My amazing colleagues (espec Jonny Martin) have started a YouTube channel where they have added a series of COVID-related videos to help with training/cross-skilling. Do have a look at
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COVID: how ICUs in England were stretched to cope with the pandemic - an article by
@doctimcook
@Kevin_Fong
and me about what it took to provide ICU care during 2020-22, the toll on staff, & the downstream consequences.
via
@ConversationUK
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Lots of discussion about clinical research training on my feed today. Thought I'd map out my route as just one example of a journey:
Grew up in South West, went to state (comprehensive) school. Neither of my parents went to university.
Told by school medicine not for girls
1/n
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Thinking about the ICU team at Salisbury Hospital who are at the centre of a novichok-related news story for the 2nd time in 2018. Doubt any of them started the year thinking they’d become experts in caring for nerve-agent exposed patients, but they just got on with it
#nhs70
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