Spoke to a friend who is working at a coronavirus assessment centre. She wasn’t supposed to qualify as a nurse until June, but her whole course is getting qualified early, because the NHS is so desperate for help.

She says they’re currently sending those who are positive either straight to ICU, or home to recover. Soon they will run out of space at ICU, and they’ll be introducing a new third option: straight to palliative care if they think you don’t have much of a chance.

She says most people heading into ICU are so panicked they’re making their coughing worse with panic attacks. She is most upset that her patients are dying alone (very literally). She says there aren’t even enough nurses to guarantee someone will stand by your bed as you die.

Her partner is a therapist, and both are completely run down and barely sleeping. My own partner’s mother is an NHS nurse and is sleeping in the garage to keep from exposing the rest of her at-risk family. I don’t know how any of our front line workers are functioning.

I don’t know how to end this thread, because I’m so completely filled with rage.

Just please please please as soon as we can let’s gets these tories the fuck OUT.