A doctor's defiant message to Hartlepool's Covid-19 deniers - 'Covid is a massive problem and it’s very, very real'

North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust respiratory consultant Dr Cath Monaghan has hit back at the misconceptions surrounding the virus – saying: “In the NHS we have not got time to make things up. We have got enough to do with managing the day-to-day work.”

And she questioned why anyone would take the time, energy or motivation to ‘make something up that is not true.”

She outlined the serious impact of COVID-19 on the human body during a filmed interviewed with the trust’s head of communications and marketing Ruth Dalton about the misconceptions surrounding the virus.

Responding to claims that the threat of COVID-19 is somehow exaggerated, Cath, who has also experienced contracting the virus personally, said: “If you think that you as an individual are going to get it and be fine, you are playing Russian Roulette.

“If you are young and otherwise fit, you will probably be alright. But is ‘probably’ good enough? No. As a consultant, if I said ‘That spot on your x-ray is probably not cancer and you’re probably alright’, would you be happy when you left the room? The answer is ‘no’ so don’t take risks you don’t need to take.

“If you’re not concerned about your individual risk of getting COVID, consider where you might in three weeks’ time if you have a nasty accident in your car and the ambulance is taking hours to come because there’s no capacity in the system, or you come to A&E and have to wait hours and hours and hours.

“We’ve got ensure we’ve got enough capacity to keep critically ill and unwell patients safe and be in a position where we can get you into a bed if that’s where you need to be.

“You have got take this seriously.”

During the interview, Doctor Monaghan, who has been practising respiratory medicine since 2004, said: “I can not imagine why anybody would have the time, the energy or the motivation to make something up that is not true. It is very, very real. It is a very real threat and it is very, very dangerous.

“I cannot emphasis that enough.

“In the NHS we have not got time to make things up. We have got enough to do with managing the day-to-day work.

“COVID is a massive problem and it is very, very real.”

The video, which is available here, also outlines the current treatment for those with a serious case of COVID-19.

It outlines how the virus differs from seasonal flu and also talks of the importance of protecting NHS workers.

It stresses the effectiveness of the ‘Hands-Face-Space’ regime and offers advice to people who are self-isolating at home with mild symptoms.

The Trust filmed and issued the video in response to an increasing number of baseless claims on social media about COVID-19.

It was also a reply to misinformation about treatment and misconceptions about recovery rates.

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