Roger Mexico Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 1 hour ago, doc.fixit said: Following on...I got my letter today, phoned 111, eventually got through, pressed 2 as requested, after a long while was answered to be told I had used the wrong extension.?? (I'd used 2 as requested).....the girl put me through to 1 !!...The guy on 1 said, 'oh yes I'm doing both'. Dunno what on Earth that meant. It seems to have meant that on a day when you would expect 111 to be deluged with calls worried about having contracted the virus and wanting to book tests they made the decision to combine the service with vaccine booking. It's the sort of everyday incompetence that we seem to have given up even noticing. I'm pleased but amazed you got through (I'm amazed anyone did). And like Rachel I'm just shocked that 111 isn't free on-Island. It's free to both mobiles and landlines in the UK and people may well be confused and assume it is here if nothing else. Many of the poorest people (including the elderly) rely on PAYG mobiles and can't afford to wait for long periods at 50p a minute or whatever. You would imagine that the telecom companies would be eager to help and gain some brownie points, but I suspect no one even thought to ask them. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finlo Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 18 minutes ago, rachomics said: I think we've found a point of agreement. Calls to 111 should be free. Like 999 free. It wouldn't surprise me to find 999 was a premium rate number here! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrighty Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 5 minutes ago, Roger Mexico said: It seems to have meant that on a day when you would expect 111 to be deluged with calls worried about having contracted the virus and wanting to book tests they made the decision to combine the service with vaccine booking. It's the sort of everyday incompetence that we seem to have given up even noticing. I'm pleased but amazed you got through (I'm amazed anyone did). Alternatively, perhaps the 111 staff have been overworked recently, or someone was off sick (been out for coffee perhaps?), or something else happened such they were unexpectedly a bit short today, so they did the best they could and still managed to keep both aspects (testing and vaccination) of the service functioning despite this. Not everything is down to incompetence. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AcousticallyChallenged Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 I would suspect that 111's phone lines were absolutely rammed this morning as a result of yesterday's announcement. That wouldn't be helping. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Mexico Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 1 minute ago, wrighty said: Alternatively, perhaps the 111 staff have been overworked recently, or someone was off sick (been out for coffee perhaps?), or something else happened such they were unexpectedly a bit short today, so they did the best they could and still managed to keep both aspects (testing and vaccination) of the service functioning despite this. Not everything is down to incompetence. Those who are operating the service are clearly doing the best they can under considerable stress. But the way to counter that stress is to provide more and flexible resources. I was thinking more that they might have tried to put extra people on the system on a day when you would expect it to be deluged with calls. After nearly a year you would hope they had some spare government staff who had been trained and could switch to support the regular staff in emergencies. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dilligaf Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 111 is free 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quilp Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 (edited) Am I missing something here regarding the Java staff? They're back to work tomorrow after a negative test result following possible exposure last Tuesday. Is one week enough time to be sure they're negative, considering there have been longer incubation times in some people, who go on to test positive after a week or so following a previous negative result ? Maybe @rachomics has the answer..? Edited February 22, 2021 by quilp 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banker Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 2 minutes ago, quilp said: Am I missing something here regarding the Java staff? They're back to work tomorrow after a negative test result following possible exposure last Tuesday. Is one week enough time to be sure they're negative, considering there have been longer incubation times in some people, and going on to test positive after a week following a previous negative result ? Yes seems odd but say they’ve been advised by 111 they can reopen but some customers who were in for 15 minutes in that 1 hour slot have been told to isolate for 14 days with 3 tests! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrighty Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 2 minutes ago, quilp said: Am I missing something here regarding the Java staff? They're back to work tomorrow after a negative test result following possible exposure last Tuesday. Is one week enough time to be sure they're negative, considering there have been longer incubation times in some people, and going on to test positive after a week following a previous negative result ? Perhaps the staff working last Tuesday are isolating, and it’s opening with others. Or just the actual contracts of the positives are off and kitchen staff can stay on. We don’t know the exact situation, but I’d trust those that do to advise correctly more than the commentators on Gef’s Facebook page. 2 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ham_N_Eggs Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 (edited) 8 minutes ago, quilp said: Am I missing something here regarding the Java staff? They're back to work tomorrow after a negative test result following possible exposure last Tuesday. Is one week enough time to be sure they're negative, considering there have been longer incubation times in some people, and going on to test positive after a week? No. Ewart herself says (at least a hundred times per press conference) that just because someone tests negative today doesn't mean they aren't going to go on to develop symptoms later. I'm guessing they've decided to "surge test" to see if anyone else has it and not enforce a 14 day isolation period. You would hope they would test them again in a week or so but I have my doubts. Edited February 22, 2021 by Ham_N_Eggs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skins Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryFuchwit Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 8 minutes ago, wrighty said: Perhaps the staff working last Tuesday are isolating, and it’s opening with others. Or just the actual contracts of the positives are off and kitchen staff can stay on. We don’t know the exact situation, but I’d trust those that do to advise correctly more than the commentators on Gef’s Facebook page. We don't need to know the exact situation. We can just assume the absolute worst and work down from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowman Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 9 minutes ago, TerryFuchwit said: We don't need to know the exact situation. We can just assume the absolute worst and work down from there. Who knew there were so many epidemiologists on the island. Experts everywhere 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopek Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 (edited) 52 minutes ago, wrighty said: Not everything is down to incompetence. The complaints above are more about phone glitches than staff shortages or new staff. Sounds like technology to me? My experience was three calls, with delays and cut offs to get my two dates! If 111 is doubling up with T n T, then understandable ? Perhaps they're learning how to put a mask on, something 'you' didn't tell them how to do a year ago??? The oddities pre-date the current outbreak! Edited February 22, 2021 by Kopek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banker Posted February 22, 2021 Share Posted February 22, 2021 Whatever is happening with Java or SPC the IOM just need to learn to live with virus as Chris Witty said today , it’s going to be around for years like other respiratory diseases. Guernsey have had another case from unknown source today but they’ve still continuing with phase1 of easing restrictions, it’s just seems to be here that there’s a demand for lockdown at first sign of any new cases. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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