Introduction
The three witnesses are;
Tina Makedenge. NHS Staff Nurse, East Lothian. During the pandemic she worked in Ferryfield House Hospital, NHS Lothian, in Edinburgh, from 2005 to 2021.
Julie Ferguson (testifying remotely). Voluntary member of the Scottish Trade Union Congress (STUC) Disabled Workers Committee and served as the Chair of the Committee from Jan 2020 to Nov 2022 and has a background in human biology and immunology.
Linda Somerville. Deputy General Secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC.
Disturbingly revealled in this session is NHS workers were pressured to undertake experimental injections, disabled people were pressured to wear masks even when exempt and PCR testing was stated to have cause sinus infections. The adverse impacts of lockdown restrictions upon those with disabilities was said to be profound.
‘‘It also led to sinus infections in some people.’’
-Julie Ferguson. Paragraph 133 of statement
‘‘Social distancing and mask wearing impacted deaf people's ability to communicate, this made people feel very isolated. The impact on the mental health of deaf people was profound.’’
-Julie Ferguson. Paragraph 75
‘‘Disabled workers were concerned by the reported increased use of Do Not Resuscitate orders within the health service.’’
-Linda Somerville. Paragraph 53 of statement
Testimony highlights
‘COVID vaccination’ issues
‘‘The COVID vaccines didn’t completely protect you from infection..herd immunity was not something that was achievable with this type of vaccine.’’
-Julie Ferguson
‘‘100% they felt (pressured) they had to take the vaccine even if they didn’t want it, they had to get vaccinated because they needed to travel to see their families.’’
-Tina Makedenge. Staff nurse. NHS Lothian.
‘‘Oil rig workers were told unless they had been vaccinated and they had evidence of that they would have to quarantine for upto 5 days in hotels.’’
-Linda Somerville
Mask exemptions not respected
Disabled people were pressured to wear a face mask.
‘‘Some people who were mask exempt were actually pressured, TOLD to put their face mask on during their vaccination.’’
‘‘People shouldn’t be pressured to put on a face mask if they are exempt.’’
-Julie Ferguson
Mental health deterioration
The effects of the lockdown and associated media fear messaging not ‘COVID.’
‘‘Access to mental health support was very difficult for people...the pandemic itself gave rise to new mental health conditions in many people.’’
‘‘There was not enough mental health support in ANY part of the country.’’
-Julie Ferguson
Faster lockdown in future?
Lessons are being learned. Also stated at UK COVID-19 inquiry by Matt Hancock.
‘‘The absolute number one thing that we can do to avoid this sort of trauma for NHS staff is to bring in lockdown measures early in response to a pandemic-level pathogen.’’
‘‘Another thing the Scottish Government need to do in future..when there is a pandemic is to act fast.’’
-Tina Makedenge. NHS Staff Nurse
Statement highlights
Julie Ferguson statement
‘‘At the COVID Group meeting with the Scottish Government on 11 December 2020, I raised questions about vaccinations. My main concern was immunocompromised workers, who may have chosen not to receive the vaccination. I asked whether there would be support for immunocompromised workers if they chose not to receive the vaccination.’’
-Paragraph 27
‘‘I also asked what advice was going to be given to employers about immunocompromised workers. I raised this because an attenuated vaccine could have been harmful to immunocompromised individuals. I also asked what was being done for individuals who may have allergies to ingredients in the vaccination.’’
-Paragrapgh 28
‘‘Supermarkets were banning shoppers without facemasks and I was concerned for people who were exempt from masking.’’
-Paragraph 37
‘‘The COVID pandemic was a mass-disabling event and there are still people being disabled by COVID today. We are probably looking at decades of consequences.’’
-Paragraph 50
‘‘Children not being able to socialise during the pandemic has had a significant impact on a whole generation and we are seeing the impacts of this in school pupils now.’’
-Paragraph 56
‘‘Every deaf person I know had a problem with other people wearing masks, because it made lip reading impossible.’’
-Paragraph 68
‘‘People with sensory issues would have found it extremely uncomfortable and distressing to have a cotton swab pushed up their nose, or into the back of their mouth. For people with heightened sensory issues this would have been extremely uncomfortable. It also led to sinus infections in some people.’’
-Paragraph 133
Tina Makedenge statement
‘‘I cannot advise how many Black people were affected by the pandemic.’’
-Paragraph 27
‘‘The information we obtained about Black workers dying in the care sector in Scotland came from watching the television.’’
-Paragraph 28
‘‘Black trade union members and workers' rights were impacted because people could not do as they wished. For instance, their right to an education was impacted due to the fact many of the education establishments were closed and were transferred online, perhaps more importantly, their right to access health care was also limited because of the shutdown of various departments in the NHS.’’
-Paragraph 38
Linda Somerville statement
‘‘Disabled workers faced a number of severe impacts due to the pandemic including restrictions required for shielding, lack of reasonable adjustments when working from home, isolation and increased mental ill-health.’’
-Paragraph 53
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End
ANOTHER sickening catalogue of crimes and tortures enacted upon the innocent by "healthcare professionals" who DO know better.
And the madness, the insanity, continues with the words "next time".
No.
Stop.
There should NEVER be a next time.
This was a fraud, and a CRIME.
Honestly, what's in these people's heads? They literally have shit for brains.
Please excuse my 'French' and thanks once again for your unflagging effort to expose this nonsense to an increasingly wider audience BP!!!!
What a contradiction! Lockdowns were harmful, but we must lockdown faster next time.