NHS England wrote to doctors on April 10th asking them to review the accuracy of their list of shielded people. On Friday May 22nd, the most vulnerable people in the country, including transplant patients, those with cancer and other immune compromised patients, were notified by text message that they no longer qualified for the National Shielding Service. For many of the recipients, this was the first they had heard about their removal and needless to say it has induced fear, anxiety and confusion.
The text also reads, “If you are receiving food deliveries via the National Shielding Service these will be stopped. This will not affect your eligibility for a supermarket priority delivery slot or any slots you already have in place.”
After inducing fear and panic in the country, and promising to protect the vulnerable, with the country as a whole still in lockdown, there is a sudden need – started SIX weeks ago – to reduce the number of people in the National Shielding Service? How is this congruent with the message that all measures put in place, and endured by the population for the last three months, have been to protect the vulnerable?