?:reviewBody
|
-
‘Hospitals Are Cancelling Appointments for Cancer Patients on the Day of the Queen’s Funeral’ Claim BREAKING: You will be pleased to know hospitals are cancelling appointments for cancer patients on the day of the Queen's funeral as a 'mark of respect' and no, this one is not satire either. This island is getting a little too sinister for my liking. Rating True Like this fact check? Reporting On September 13 2022, a screenshot of a tweet claiming that hospitals across the UK canceled treatments for cancer patients on the day of Queen Elizabeth’s memorial servces as a ‘mark of respect' was highly popular across platforms: BREAKING: You will be pleased to know hospitals are cancelling appointments for cancer patients on the day of the Queen's funeral as a mark of respect and no, this one is not satire either. This island is getting a little too sinister for my liking. — Laura Kuenssberg Translator (@BBCLauraKT) September 12, 2022 In the tweet, @BBCLauraKT added this one is not satire either, presumably a reference to the account’s usual Twitter activity and bio. The latter indicated that the account was primarily a parody; the bio also made a humorous reference to state-sponsored media flags: 🏴 United Kingdom state-affiliated media. Chief BBC propagandist. Owns Carrie-shaped pin-doll. Parody. Don’t forget to follow me, I’m hilarious x Florida is where wokes go to die... Please enable JavaScript Florida is where wokes go to die Several threaded tweets followed from people reporting that their healthcare services had been postponed: Consultant Cardiology appointment cancelled. 12 months wait four emergency admissions. Madness — mysticsid (@mysticsid1) September 12, 2022 Yes I've had a heart investigation delayed by a week. I've already been waiting 4 weeks. — ceecee130847 (@ceecee130847) September 12, 2022 Yes my GP just sent a text, all appointments cancelled. — Rainbow 🐈⬛🌍🪴🪶🐾🦜 (@Rainbow74813793) September 12, 2022 I’m a chemotherapy patient and had a Covid booster booked for 19th carefully timed round my treatment. Now cancelled and can’t rebook for weeks. Just hope I stay safe! — Kate Brodie (@TopshamHat) September 12, 2022 I also received a text message informing me that my GP surgery will not be open on this day, I imagine this will be the same for many / if not all; pretty fucking scary and sad. https://t.co/otNrLKNsj8 — Gayla (@JustGayla_xo) September 12, 2022 The date of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, September 19 2022, was declared a bank holiday, a national public holiday in the United Kingdom. On September 13 2022, the day after the tweet, the UK’s Independent published an article about healthcare disruptions related to the memorial service, reporting that cancer treatments were among non-urgent appointments that had been canceled, rescheduled, or postponed: Several NHS trusts have urged all non-urgent procedures and appointments to be postponed, including replacement surgeries, eye surgery, maternity checks and cancer treatments, according to the independent global media platform openDemocracy. Several patients waiting months for their surgery had their appointment cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. Doctors at one of the London hospitals were told the day of the state funeral [September 19 2022] would be treated as a bank holiday so please go ahead and start rescheduling patients. However, Covid-19 vaccination services and emergency appointments would reportedly continue. Yahoo News UK published statements from the National Health Service and Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust about anticipated postponements, with at least one exception for emergency services: A letter to all NHS organisations, sent from NHS England on Saturday [September 10 2022], states: For patients with planned appointments that may be affected by the day of the funeral, please ensure they are informed in advance of any changes by utilising direct patient communications. Where planned appointments are going ahead it will also be important to confirm this is the case. Some hospitals have urged patients to wait to be contacted with news about their appointment. Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: Following the announcement of the plans for the late Her Majesty The Queen’s state funeral on Monday September 19 2022, some non-urgent planned care appointments/procedures across Bedfordshire Hospitals will be postponed. We will contact all relevant patients if their appointment or procedure is to be re-scheduled. However we must clarify that both hospitals (Bedford and the Luton and Dunstable) will remain open with urgent planned and unplanned/emergency care continuing as normal. A September 13 2022 ITV.com article reported that existing backlogs were already causing major concerns for affected patients: ... the announcement has provoked concern among some patients and health professionals, who cite the ongoing NHS backlog and nationwide GP shortage. NHS England hospitals have been urged to contact all patients who have appointments booked on [September 19 2022], irrespective of whether or not their appointment has been postponed. It comes at time when there is a record high of 6.8 million people in England on waiting lists, as stretched teams work to clear the mammoth Covid backlog. The announcement has worried some patients, who voice their concerns on social media. One person wrote: Life-threatening illnesses and cancer don’t take bank holidays. Another story quoted a man whose wife’s breast cancer appointment was further delayed by a full month, reporting : Many patients have expressed serious concern. One man said he was livid after his wife’s breast cancer appointment for Monday [September 19 2022], which she had been waiting six months for, had been postponed. She has a new one in a month. I’m sure she’ll be fine, but that’s a wait that will almost certainly cost lives. This is an obscenity, in the name of the monarchy, he said. Not all cancer-related treatments were postponed, however. A September 13 2022 tweet from the verified account of the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre indicated the bank holiday would not interfere with any clinical services: Our clinical services will be open as usual on Monday 19th September 2022. This includes outpatient clinics, tests & treatment. If you would prefer to cancel/postpone your appointment, please let us know ASAP by contacting us via the details in your appointment text or letter. pic.twitter.com/PLxM4bEYq3 — ClatterbridgeCC NHS (@CCCNHS) September 13, 2022 A September 13 2022 Guardian article said decisions about closures and postponements were devolved to regional NHS trusts; some elected not to postpone cancer treatments: Several NHS trusts, including Bedfordshire hospitals and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals, and the Aneurin Bevan health board in Gwent were among the first to confirm the cancellation of planned appointments on Monday [September 19 2022]. Emergency, urgent and cancer services will still go ahead in these areas and others but only a reduced routine service will run. Operations cancelled include hip and knee replacements, cataract surgery, maternity checks and some cancer treatments. The cancellations will add to mounting hospital waiting lists that hit a a record high of 6.8 million people in July, according to the latest figures. [...] Government guidance says: Some businesses may wish to consider closing or postponing events, especially on the day of the state funeral, however, this is at the discretion of individual businesses. A popular tweet shared to Imgur on September 13 2022 claimed that hospitals throughout the UK were cancelling appointments for cancer patients on the day of the Queen’s funeral; the tweet originated from a parody account, which added this [tweet] is not satire either. Several British news sources confirmed that several NHS trusts began canceling or postponing scheduled services when the date of the Queen’s funeral (September 19 2022) was declared a bank holiday by King Charles III. The Guardian reported that decisions to cancel or postpone appointments differed from region to region, with some (but not all) cancer treatments unaffected by the bank holiday declaration. Article Sources + BREAKING: You will be pleased to know hospitals are cancelling appointments for cancer patients on the day of the Queen's funeral as a mark of respect and no, this one is not satire either. This island is getting a little too sinister for my liking. | Imgur BREAKING: You will be pleased to know hospitals are cancelling appointments for cancer patients on the day of the Queen's funeral as a mark of respect and no, this one is not satire either. This island is getting a little too sinister for my liking. | Twitter @BBCLauraKT | Twitter ‘Thousands of hospital appointments cancelled’ because of Queen’s funeral King Charles approves bank holiday for day of Queen’s funeral Hospital appointments postponed on bank holiday to mark the Queen’s funeral Bank holiday: Hospital and GP appointments in England to be postponed for day of Queen's funeral The Queen’s funeral: NHS patients facing ‘significant angst’ as medics forced to postpone appointments Our clinical services will be open as usual on Monday 19th September 2022. This includes outpatient clinics, tests & treatment. | @CCCNHS/Twitter Hospital appointments and funerals cancelled for Queen’s funeral Posted in Fact Checks , Viral Content Tagged bank holiday , cancer , imgur , nhs , nhs queen funeral , queen elizabeth ii , queen elizabeth ii death , queen's funeral bank holiday , viral tweets , what is a bank holiday
(en)
|