Dr. Leo Varadkar rejoins the health service

DeanAustin

Of course there's an element of PR to this. Fair play to him but I'm sure he's happy with the publicity too.

I find it intriguing how the majority of people talk about how great Leo, FG and Holohan are doing as if they are doing something above and beyond what's expected of them. They're doing well but they're doing their jobs not something superhuman.

Personally, I'd vote Leo for Taoiseach because I think he's the best candidate for it. I thought it before the election. Anyone changing their opinion on his suitability for Taoiseach over this needs a serious look in the mirror. Once this passes, all the reasons you didn't vote for him last time will still be there.

Dav010

Runaways wrote: »

A 2 post wonder.

Tell us again how FG arent employing finnerbots?

Whatever your political viewpoint, a Doctor responding to pleading for all able professionals to return to the health service, should be beyond reproach.

Doctors and nurses coming from Australia are being hailed as answering the call when their country needs them.

KCross

The Bishop Basher wrote: »

It’s contact tracing and I’m guessing the tired and over worked person who would have to train him in for that one shift might not be all that thankful.

I applaud everyone who has genuinely gone back into medical roles to help out those on the front line but that’s not what’s happening here.

It can’t be just contact tracing. If it was he wouldn’t be putting himself back on the medical register.

Contact tracing can be done by anyone.

My understanding is that he will be acting as a GP for screening and referring. That’s not a job that any of us can do from a script.

B.A._Baracus

LiquidZeb wrote: »

A likely story yep. I feel like this is a modern version of 'my uncle works at Nintendo'. Utter nonsense

That's funny. I've said it many times over the years on boards.
But, this is what I hate about people... See I am just saying how I have a family member who helped him out years ago and leo came off as a b*llocks. This is going back to 2009-2010 too.

But people like liquidzeb give themselves much more intelligence that what they have. They say "you're not fooling me" etc etc. Then clap for fish towards Leo like a seal. ... "Oh he's amazing... He's being a doctor again! We love you leo" rabble rabble rather than realising it's just some bs PR thing.

But because Leo is the man on the talking box durrrrr he must be good man :pac:

Runaways

DeanAustin wrote: »

Of course there's an element of PR to this. Fair play to him but I'm sure he's happy with the publicity too.

I find it intriguing how the majority of people talk about how great Leo, FG and Holohan are doing as if they are doing something above and beyond what's expected of them. They're doing well but they're doing their jobs not something superhuman.

Personally, I'd vote Leo for Taoiseach because I think he's the best candidate for it. I thought it before the election. Anyone changing their opinion on his suitability for Taoiseach over this needs a serious look in the mirror. Once this passes, all the reasons you didn't vote for him last time will still be there.

He was against abortion stuck his finger in the air felt the wind blowing the other way then he was for abortion.
He was against marriage equality and gays being able to adopt, stuck his finger in the air felt the wind blowing the other way then he was all for it.

But the most appalling bit of all conveniently comes out as gay live on radio just months before that referendum.

He’s the worst kind of slimy opportunistic charlatan. Anyone falling for it needs to have a word with themselves.

This stunt is right within his wheelhouse.

Dav010

DeanAustin wrote: »

Of course there's an element of PR to this. Fair play to him but I'm sure he's happy with the publicity too.

I find it intriguing how the majority of people talk about how great Leo, FG and Holohan are doing as if they are doing something above and beyond what's expected of them. They're doing well but they're doing their jobs not something superhuman.
.

Not just doing their job, but doing it well. He/they have not had one missed step, compare that to Bojo and Sideshow Don.

Runaways

KCross wrote: »

It can’t be just contact tracing. If it was he wouldn’t be putting himself back on the medical register.

Contact tracing can be done by anyone.

My understanding is that he will be acting as a GP for screening and referring. That’s not a job that any of us can do from a script.

It actually is something anyone can do.
The people manning the hotline you call aren’t doctors. They ask you a list of predetermined questions about your symptoms and contact and it’s out into an algorithm.
Depending on the answers a doctor then calls you back.

So yes. Anyone can do it.

Field east

no.8 wrote: »

So in other words B.A, you know sweet f**k all about him first hand. Zero evidence.

I'm not happy about the Irish political system or our overall party options, however, however, during this emergency i believe that leaders in power have stood up and dealt with this emergency as best we could have hoped for (following the initial missed opportunity to lock the virus out via a shutdown).

Fair play to Leo, he is demonstrating leadership and boosting morale, which is badly needed for the most part.
What are most of us doing? Probably nothing

Some people are of the opinion that we should have locked down earlier. What seems to be an issue re lockdown is the duration of it . As human beings we could all act differently if the lockdown is for a long period as a long lockdown could defeat the purpose of it. If we locked down , say, a month before we did we could be now be getting very itchy feet and at a time when the virus is reaching its most virulent/zenith. They say in America that some states would physically revolt against a lockdown - loss of freedom and all that. Whereas the Danes and the Swedes are very compliant and would be more acceptable of a long lockdown
IMO I think that we got our lockdown timing substantially right.

is_that_so

Runaways wrote: »

It actually is something anyone can do.
The people manning the hotline you call aren’t doctors. They ask you a list of predetermined questions about your symptoms and contact and it’s out into an algorithm.
Depending on the answers a doctor then calls you back.

So yes. Anyone can do it.

You might actually want to read the algorithm before you claim to know anything about it.

https://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/algorithms/

Runaways

is_that_so wrote: »

You might actually want to read the algorithm before you claim to know anything about it.

https://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/algorithms/

I dunno that’s just how the lady I spoke to explained it when I had to call them. She went to lengths to assure me she wasn’t a doctor too.

is_that_so

Field east wrote: »

Some people are of the opinion that we should have locked down earlier. What seems to be an issue re lockdown is the duration of it . As human beings we could all act differently if the lockdown is for a long period as a long lockdown could defeat the purpose of it. If we locked down , say, a month before we did we could be now be getting very itchy feet and at a time when the virus is reaching its most virulent/zenith. They say in America that some states would physically revolt against a lockdown - loss of freedom and all that. Whereas the Danes and the Swedes are very compliant and would be more acceptable of a long lockdown
IMO I think that we got our lockdown timing substantially right.

All along the CMO talked about proportional responses at the right time. The challenge of a lockdown were highlighted from the very outset.

Runaways

is_that_so wrote: »

All along the CMO talked about proportional responses at the right time. The challenge of a lockdown were highlighted from the very outset.

Well there is that nursing home that had 200 staff and 70 tested positive and 4 residents died so fast. And the staff saying they still don’t have PPE and others saying they’re not allowed use the PPE.
think that might land back in Tony’s lap but god knows we should get through this first before going after him.

ThunbergsAreGo

DeanAustin wrote: »

Of course there's an element of PR to this. Fair play to him but I'm sure he's happy with the publicity too.

I find it intriguing how the majority of people talk about how great Leo, FG and Holohan are doing as if they are doing something above and beyond what's expected of them. They're doing well but they're doing their jobs not something superhuman.

Personally, I'd vote Leo for Taoiseach because I think he's the best candidate for it. I thought it before the election. Anyone changing their opinion on his suitability for Taoiseach over this needs a serious look in the mirror. Once this passes, all the reasons you didn't vote for him last time will still be there.

Yeah, I wasn't a fan pre election at all. But seeing him in the debates vs the other candidates and thought he was by far the most suitable (again an opinion).

Think they have handled this well, but most parties that listened to advice would have.

is_that_so

Runaways wrote: »

Well there is that nursing home that had 200 staff and 70 tested positive and 4 residents died so fast. And the staff saying they still don’t have PPE and others saying they’re not allowed use the PPE.
think that might land back in Tony’s lap but god knows we should get through this first before going after him.

He's not in charge of nursing homes and some of them were not doing things properly in the first place.

s7ryf3925pivug

Great stuff. Leading from the front. The effect on morale will be much greater than the physical contribution. Like Churchill watching the bombers from his roof or George V staying in Buckingham Palace while the bombs were being dropped.

His speeches have been excellent too. One of them was also reminiscent of Churchill.

It's hard to judge the policies that have been put in place to deal with this in the immediate term. I think it would have been better to have acted sooner, but this is not a dictatorship so that might not have worked. They have done a good job of getting people in general to support restrictions that might have been met with hostility if imposed sooner or approached differently.

All that said, the HSE was not in good shape coming into this, and that makes things much more precarious than they needed to be. I think we have about half of the number of intensive care beds per capital as Italy, so it will be much easier for us to fall into that state where the health service is overwhelmed and not everyone can be treated. Incidentally, there are hospitals in the UK already getting to that point.

Danzy

He is leading from the front and people get reassurance from that.

That's more important than micro managing everything.

The plan is in place, a team is running it. A few hours of his time isnt going to affect it but the public will take great reassurance from it.

Runaways

is_that_so wrote: »

He's not in charge of nursing homes and some of them were not doing things properly in the first place.

They’re mostly private enterprises aren’t they? You’d hope the owners aren’t skimping and giving the staff the correct means to be safe

Mr E

Mod: Guys, stop the sniping and "yore ma" crap. Stay on topic or cards will be handed out.

Salary Negotiator

Runaways wrote: »

I dunno that’s just how the lady I spoke to explained it when I had to call them. She went to lengths to assure me she wasn’t a doctor too.

I bet you have an anecdote to support for every claim you make.

The Bishop Basher

Danzy wrote: »

The plan is in place, a team is running it. A few hours of his time isnt going to affect it but the public will take great reassurance from it.

Speak for yourself.

Not all of us are gullible enough to take reassurance from blatant government spin.

Good to know that we don’t actually need a full time Taoiseach though. There’ll be some savings there when this is all over.

Jinglejangle69

DeanAustin wrote: »

Of course there's an element of PR to this. Fair play to him but I'm sure he's happy with the publicity too.

I find it intriguing how the majority of people talk about how great Leo, FG and Holohan are doing as if they are doing something above and beyond what's expected of them. They're doing well but they're doing their jobs not something superhuman.

Personally, I'd vote Leo for Taoiseach because I think he's the best candidate for it. I thought it before the election. Anyone changing their opinion on his suitability for Taoiseach over this needs a serious look in the mirror. Once this passes, all the reasons you didn't vote for him last time will still be there.

The nurses are just doing their job too.

They don't deserve any extra praise.

DeanAustin

Dav010 wrote: »

Not just doing their job, but doing it well. He/they have not had one missed step, compare that to Bojo and Sideshow Don.

Yeah I'd agree with that. They are. But they aren't doing anything I wouldn't expect. Yet a lot of people seem to be falling over themselves to say how wonderful they are. They are very competent people doing their jobs well. No more, no less.

It's a strange phenomenon that people seem to be queuing up to go over the top in their praise for politicians in this sort of situation but will lambast them for the rest of their term. Leo is nowhere near as bad as a lot of people painted him before this started and he's not as good as some people are painting him right now.

He's still the best man for Taoiseach though in my opinion.

DeanAustin

Jinglejangle69 wrote: »

The nurses are just doing their job too.

They don't deserve any extra praise.

Nurses rightly get praised in normal times and they are now out there actually risking their health and lives. They deserve praise.

With politicians it seems to be a complete change in opinion of them from a lot of people.

CIARAN_BOYLE

This is a PR exercise.

It's true. Plenty of people on this thread are bashing leo for it.

The fail to realise that it's not a PR exercise for political points or for Fine Gael of Leo Veradker.

It's a PR exercise for retired or otherwise non working medical professionals to come back to the health service.

If people want to say I'm 65 and retired. I don't want to deal with patients and be exposed to the virus they can see that there's non front line roles. If people want to say I'm old and can't do 40 hour weeks any more then they can see positions available for them now one shift a week.

It's about inspiring these people to offer their services. If Leo Veradker can do it as Taoiseach can they not do it as well.

Jinglejangle69

DeanAustin wrote: »

Nurses rightly get praised in normal times and they are now out there actually risking their health and lives. They deserve praise.

With politicians it seems to be a complete change in opinion of them from a lot of people.

Well according to you their just doing their job so why do they deserve extra praise?

storker

chicken foot wrote: »

I did not vote FG

I am not a FG BOT/Shill/Blueshirt or any other variation.

I quite enjoyed the Black & Tans getting to No 1 on the back of Leo's ridiculous commemoration plans back, what seems like, another era.

I thought it was great that he was reduced to a count five before he got re-elected in Feb as I truly believed that he had lost touch with the heartbeat of this country.

These past few weeks I will defy anyone to say a bad word about him and the work that he and his team have done during this pandemic. I will not hear it because it is not true.

He is not without fault but this is his forte. his partner, sisters and brother in laws are all front line members in the Health Services, he is seeing this first hand and understands it better than most of us. His immediate family are putting their lives on the line and now he is too in whatever capacity he can. This is not a PR stunt, this isnt Trump flying into an Army Base to cheer on his cannon fodder before flying off again before any sign of danger. This is a man who is walking into ground zero whilst the place is still burning. I see Pearse Dohertys wife also returned to the front line. A woman with a family of four put herself in front also to fight this virus. Another example of extreme bravery from those who are trained to help others. If you can cheer on Mrs Doherty (which you should) you should bloody cheer on Leo too.

This is not a political issue, anyone that makes it so goes against everything this country stands for and you should be ashamed of yourselves. Credit where its due folks.

I was in two minds about this business until I read the above. Well argued sir. Plaudits to Leo, and Mrs Doherty and anyone else who jumps into the trenches (including Mme Storkeuse ), whatever their political flavour.

blanch152

Junkyard Tom wrote: »

Let the FG circle-jerk commence.

The single thanks your post received says it all.

KCross

Runaways wrote: »

It actually is something anyone can do.
The people manning the hotline you call aren’t doctors. They ask you a list of predetermined questions about your symptoms and contact and it’s out into an algorithm.
Depending on the answers a doctor then calls you back.

So yes. Anyone can do it.

So, presumably he's doing the doctor bit not the bit that anyone can do... thats my point.

If all he was doing was reading off a script he wouldnt need the bother of rejoining the medical register. He presumably is using his qualification and needs to be on the register to make the referral.

If he is just contact tracing its a waste of a valuable Taoiseach's time. I dont think its contact tracing. We have thousands willing to do that job.

Phoebas

The Bishop Basher wrote: »

Good to know that we don’t actually need a full time Taoiseach though. There’ll be some savings there when this is all over.

I think you can rest assured that Leo, and indeed every Taoiseach, puts in a lot more hours that a standard 40 hour week.

ThunbergsAreGo

DeanAustin wrote: »

Yeah I'd agree with that. They are. But they aren't doing anything I wouldn't expect. Yet a lot of people seem to be falling over themselves to say how wonderful they are. They are very competent people doing their jobs well. No more, no less.

It's a strange phenomenon that people seem to be queuing up to go over the top in their praise for politicians in this sort of situation but will lambast them for the rest of their term. Leo is nowhere near as bad as a lot of people painted him before this started and he's not as good as some people are painting him right now.

He's still the best man for Taoiseach though in my opinion.

I think its reminded people that politicians are human, Harris being a case in point. His human side has come out during this.

The abuse politicians get is way over the top. To use Harris as an example, he did not single handily cause the budget overruns on the Childrens Hospital, or lead to a trolley shortage etc.