Jump to content
  • articles
    9,853
  • comments
    83
  • views
    12,497,408

Contributors to this article

About this News

Articles in the news

Coronavirus: 200,000 defective gowns recalled from NHS hospitals

Two hundred thousand defective gowns supplied to NHS hospitals have been recalled by the government because of fears they could leave staff at increased risk of coronavirus infection.

Hospitals have been told to check their stocks of personal protective equipment (PPE) to identify the Flosteril non-sterile gowns and quarantine them immediately.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said tests carried out on the gowns, which were delivered in June, had shown that they did not meet the fluid-resistance standards originally claimed by the manufacturer.

There may also be “inconsistencies” in the material used to make the gowns.

An estimated 200,000 gowns are thought to be in circulation within the NHS after 600,000 were supplied by the company Vannin Healthcare Global, which is registered in the Isle of Man.

Hospitals were told on Tuesday this week not to dispose of the gowns but to keep them for two weeks until they can be collected after 31 August.

It is another embarrassing blow for the government over the supply of PPE to hospitals – an issue that prompted major criticism during the height of the COVID-19 crisis, when many hospitals ran out of equipment.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 15 August 2020

Read more
 

Coronavirus: ‘Stay at home’ message may have led to rise in heart attack deaths during lockdown, study finds

Patients suffering heart attacks during the coronavirus lockdown stayed away from hospitals with some dying as a result, a new study has found.

In an analysis of more than 50,000 patients who suffered heart attacks and were treated in 99 NHS hospitals in England both before and after lockdown, researchers found the proportion of deaths for patients with a milder form of heart attack jumped during the first month of lockdown.

Those suffering more severe heart attacks actually saw a lower death rate with hospitals keeping their emergency heart services running.

Dr Jianhua Wu, associate professor in biostatistics at the University of Leeds and lead author of the study, said: “It has revealed that although patients were able to get access to high levels of care, the study suggests a lot of very ill people were not seeking emergency treatment and that may have been an unintended consequence of the ‘stay at home’ messaging.”

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 5 August 2020

Read more
 

Coronavirus: 'Structural racism' must be taken into account when dealing with BAME deaths

"Structural racism and social inequality" should be taken into account when looking at the impact of COVID-19 on Britain's black, Asian and minority ethnic, according to an expert involved in a recent review.

Professor Kevin Fenton was a major part of a Public Health England (PHE) report ordered by the government into why the BAME community has been disproportionately affected by coronavirus. It found people from BAME groups were up to twice as likely to die with COVID-19 than those from a white British background.

The review was also meant to offer recommendations, but sources have told Sky News that these were "held back" by the government.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said coming from a non-white background was a

Speaking at a public meeting for Hackney Council, Prof Fenton said: "Over the last six weeks I've worked with over 4,000 individuals to understand what are some of the contextual issues that are driving the excess risk amongst, black, Asian and minority ethnic groups."

"Some of the structural issues, like racism, discrimination, stigma, distrust, fair, these are real issues that are challenging for the communities and are seen as underpinning some of the disparities we see for COVID. Any conversation about what we need to do, should take into consideration these things."

Read full story

Source: Sky News, 9 June 2020

Read more
 

Coronavirus: 'Start public inquiry now to prevent more deaths'

Relatives of 450 people who have died in the coronavirus pandemic are demanding an immediate public inquiry. The families want an urgent review of "life and death" steps needed to minimise the continuing effects of the virus and a guarantee that documents relating to the crisis will be kept.

A full inquiry would take place later, says lawyer, Elkan Abrahamson, who is representing the families.

The government has said its current focus is on dealing with the pandemic.

But the COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK group say immediate lessons need to be learned to prevent more deaths, and that waiting for ministers to launch an inquiry will cost lives.

The call for an inquiry comes as a report from the National Audit Office - assessing the readiness of the NHS and social care in England for the pandemic - has shown it is not known how many of the 25,000 people discharged from hospitals into care homes at the peak of the outbreak were infected with coronavirus.

Health and Social Care Select Committee chairman Jeremy Hunt said it seemed "extraordinary that no one appeared to consider" the risk.

The Department of Health says it took the "right decisions at the right time".

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 12 June 2020

Read more
 

Coronavirus: 'More than two million' waiting for cancer care in UK

About 2.4 million people in the UK are waiting for cancer screening, treatment or tests, as a result of disruption to the NHS during the past 10 weeks, according to Cancer Research UK.

It estimates 2.1 million have missed out on screening, while 290,000 people with suspected symptoms have not been referred for hospital tests. More than 23,000 cancers could have gone undiagnosed during lockdown.

Chief executive Michelle Mitchell said COVID-19 has placed an "enormous strain on cancer services". "The NHS has had to make very hard decisions to balance risk," she said.

"...there have been some difficult discussions with patients about their safety and ability to continue treatment during this time. Prompt diagnosis and treatment remain crucial to give people with cancer the greatest chances of survival and prevent the pandemic taking even more lives."

To ensure no-one is put at risk from the virus now that cancer care is returning, Cancer Research UK said "frequent testing of NHS staff and patients, including those without symptoms" was vital.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 1 June 2020

 

 

Read more
 

Coronavirus: 'Mix-up' over EU ventilator scheme

The government says a communications mix-up meant it missed the deadline to join an EU scheme to get extra ventilators for the coronavirus crisis.

Ministers were earlier accused of putting Brexit before public health when Downing Street said the UK had decided to pursue its own scheme.

But No 10 now says officials did not get emails inviting the UK to join and it could join future schemes.

The party's shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: "Given the huge need for PPE, testing capacity and crucial medical equipment including ventilators, people will want to know why on Monday ministers were saying they had 'chosen other routes' over the joint EU procurement initiatives but now they are claiming that they missed the relevant emails.

"We need an urgent explanation from ministers about how they will get crucial supplies to the frontline as a matter of urgency."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 27 March 2020

Read more
 

Coronavirus: 'Many said goodbye to loved ones in an ambulance'

As a medical examiner at St George's Hospital, in south London, Dr Nigel Kennea's job is to advise clinical teams on completing death certificates, then support relatives through their grief. But like so much during this pandemic, none of that is straightforward.

"The most harrowing thing is knowing that many said goodbye to their loved ones in an ambulance," he says.

Despite staff "going above and beyond" to support patients in desperate times, using mobile phones and iPads to connect seriously ill patients and their families, contact is just not always possible. Even after a patient's death, social distancing has meant grieving relatives are left in limbo.

"Normally, registering a death is done face-to-face with relatives," Dr Kennea says. "They come in, talk through the admin and how to plan for after death. Now, it's all done on the phone."

Dr Kennea's job is to take an overview of all deaths at the hospital. It's a relatively new role in the UK, introduced last year, which is independent of trusts. Dr Kennea discusses each death at the hospital with the doctors and nurses involved in that patient's care, making sure death certificates are completed correctly and consistently. But with COVID-19 deaths so closely scrutinised, there is added pressure and "some are complicated", he says.

There are also challenges with communicating with patients. When Dr Kennea goes into COVID-19 areas, he has to wear full PPE which has its limits when communicating with patients.

"It's hard to share a smile behind a mask and goggles," he says.

Read full story

Source: 1 May 2020

Read more

Coronavirus: 'Long Covid' patients need treatment programme, doctors say

Greater NHS support is needed for people chronically ill for months with COVID-19 symptoms, experts have told BBC Radio 4's File on 4.

The Royal College of GPs is calling for a national network of "post-Covid" clinics to help such people. But less than 12% of 86 NHS care commissioning groups asked by the BBC said they were running such services.

NHS England said it was "rapidly expanding new and strengthened rehab centres".

Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College London and leader of the Covid Symptom Study app, said around 300,000 people in the UK have reported symptoms lasting for more than a month - so called "long Covid".

He added that data from the app showed around 60,000 people have been ill for more than three months. However, many of these people may not have been tested for Covid.

The government moved away from community testing on 12 March, instead only testing those admitted to hospital. That meant people who recovered from suspected coronavirus at home were unable to access tests.

Elly MacDonald, 37, from Surbiton, was training for the London Marathon when she first developed what she believes were Covid symptoms on 21 March. More than five months on, she still suffers from breathlessness and extreme fatigue, but has not received a positive test result - because community testing was re-introduced too late for it to detect her illness.

She changed her GP practice after initially feeling she was not being helped. Elly said: "Just knowing that I actually have people who are taking me seriously - that's been very important for my recovery. I just want my life back."

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 8 September 2020

Read more
 

Coronavirus: 'Long Covid could be four different syndromes'

"Long Covid" – the long-lasting impact of coronavirus infection – may be affecting people in four different ways, according to a review, and this could explain why some of those with continuing symptoms are not being believed or treated.

There could be a huge psychological impact on people living with long-term COVID-19, the National Institute for Health Research report says.

They need more support – and healthcare staff require better information.

Most people are told they will recover from mild coronavirus infections within two weeks and from more serious disease within three. But the report says thousands could be living with "ongoing Covid".

Based on interviews with 14 members of a long-Covid support group on Facebook and the most recent published research, the review found recurring symptoms affecting everything from breathing, the brain, the heart and cardiovascular system to the kidneys, the gut, the liver and the skin.

These symptoms may be due to four different syndromes:

  • permanent organ damage to the lungs and heart
  • post-intensive-care syndrome
  • post-viral fatigue syndrome
  • continuing COVID-19 symptoms

Some of those affected have had a long stay in hospital with severe Covid-19 - but others, who have had a mild infection, have never even been tested or diagnosed.

The review says coming up with a "working diagnosis for ongoing COVID-19" would help people access support.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 15 October 2020

Read more
 

Coronavirus: 'I'm the nurse who switches off the ventilator'

Having access to a ventilator can mean the difference between life and death for patients who are seriously ill with COVID-19, but sometimes even these breathing machines cannot save someone's life.

Juanita Nittla is a chief nurse in the intensive care unit (ICU) at London's Royal Free Hospital, and has been working for the NHS as an intensive care specialist nurse for the past 16 years. Switching off ventilators is part of Juanita's job.

The work is traumatic and painful, the 42-year-old says. "Sometimes I feel like I am somewhat responsible for someone's death."

Medical teams face tough decisions about when to stop treatment for patients who aren't getting better. The decision is made after careful consideration, analysing factors such as the age of the patient, underlying health conditions, their response to the virus and likelihood of recovery.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 20 April 2020

Read more
 

Coronavirus: 'Frailty score' plan angers special needs parents

New guidelines for assessing people with coronavirus who go to hospital were amended after an outcry from parents of children with special needs.

The emergency guidelines published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) are designed to help determine how much treatment a patient will receive.

Those deemed "completely dependent for personal care for whatever reason" will be offered end-of-life care rather than restorative treatment.

This now excludes people with learning difficulties or cerebral palsy.

In a statement NICE said the system was "not perfect" but was designed to support hospital medics "during this very difficult period of intense pressure". "We welcome the recent clarification that the Clinical Frailty Score should not be used in certain groups," it said.

The updated guidelines now state that it "may not perform as well in people with stable long-term disability" and suggests that it is not used in those cases.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 26 March 2020

Read more
 

Coronavirus: 'Difficult' cancer care decisions taken

Cancer doctors say difficult decisions are having to be made to postpone some patients' care during the coronavirus crisis.

Some treatments such as chemotherapy can weaken the immune system, and potentially put patients at greater risk from COVID-19. Some of those affected have been expressing concern.

Roisin Pelan is 38 and lives in Lancashire. She has incurable breast cancer and had been taking chemotherapy tablets every day. Every three months she also visits the hospital to receive the drug intravenously. Last month she was told her chemotherapy treatment would be stopped for 12 weeks.

"It's terrifying they've stopped treatment that I know is keeping me alive," she says.

"To have that taken away is just unbearable. How do we know it's only going to be 12 weeks? This pandemic could go on a lot longer."

NHS England has told trusts that all essential and urgent cancer treatments must continue but specialists should discuss with patients whether it is riskier for them to undergo it or delay.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 13 April 2020

Read more
 

Coronavirus: 'Deep concerns' over brain injury rehabilitation

There are "deep concerns" for brain injury survivors after many reported losing rehabilitation services during the COVID-19 lockdown.

A survey by the charity Headway found 57% of people, injured since 2018, had seen face-to-face services stopped. The first two years of recovery are crucial in regaining skills, such as talking, with fears this could affect future independence.

The government acknowledged it had been "a challenging time".

Headway conducted its survey across all brain injury rehab services, with 1,140 respondents. It found about 60% of those were frustrated by the situation, their anxiety and depression had increased and they felt more socially isolated.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 17 July 2020

Read more
 

Coronavirus vaccine: Oxford trial is ‘safe’ and produces immune reaction, first study results show

The coronavirus vaccine candidate being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University induces a strong immune response and appears to be safe, according to preliminary trial results.

The early stage trial, which involved 1,077 people, has found that the vaccine trains the immune system to produce antibodies and white blood cells capable of fighting the virus. It also causes few side effects.

Professor Sarah Gilbert, co-author of the Oxford University study, described the findings as promising but said there “is still much work to be done before we can confirm if our vaccine will help manage the Covid-19 pandemic”.

The results came as the UK secured 90 million doses of other promising Covid-19 vaccines, while clinical trials of a new inhaled coronavirus treatment showed it significantly reduced the number of hospitalised patients needing intensive care.

Read full story

Source: The Independent, 21 July 2020

Read more
 

Coronavirus UK death toll: why what we think we know is wrong

New figures reveal that what we think we know about the Covid-19 death toll in the UK is wrong. Here’s why.

Every day we get one big figure for deaths occurring in the UK. Everyone jumps on this number, taking it to be the latest toll. However NHS England figures – which currently make up the bulk of UK deaths – in fact reflect the day on which the death was reported, not the actual date of death, which is usually days, sometimes weeks, before it appears in the figures.

The truth is we don’t know how many deaths have taken place the previous day. In fact the headline figure is likely to under-report the number of deaths that actually happened the previous day.

The number we hear about usually counts deaths which took place at an earlier date. The difference matters because by undercounting the number of deaths we are skewing the curve.

Read full story

Source: Guardian, 4 April 2020

Read more
 

Coronavirus testing: What is the UK government's plan?

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced plans to test more people for coronavirus.

At the moment only people in hospital are being routinely tested, so if you have symptoms and you are not sure if you have the virus, you may well never know.

As of 18 March, 56,221 people in the UK had been tested for coronavirus. The number of tests has been rising from just over 1,000 a day at the end of February, when testing began, to more than 6,000 per day by mid-March.

The government plans to increase this to 10,000 a day initially, with a goal of reaching 25,000 tests a day. But it has been criticised by some experts for not testing widely enough, and people have been complaining online about not having access to tests despite having symptoms.

Public Health England says it will do some surveillance testing on a local level if clusters of cases are identified, using a network of 100 designated GP surgeries. This is to try to get a sense of how many milder cases there are in the community that do not result in hospitalisation.

But the UK is not currently doing any mass surveillance testing or actively tracing people who have come into contact with known cases

The Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said he had a "simple message" for all countries: "Test, test, test."

He added: "We cannot stop this pandemic if we do not know who is infected."

The UK's chief scientific officer Sir Patrick Vallance told a group of MPs that "we simply don't have mass testing available for the population now", and that "when you only have capacity to do a certain number of tests" you have to prioritise the most vulnerable groups.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 19 March 2020

Read more
 

Coronavirus testing system 'falling over'

People across England have told BBC News they are struggling to access coronavirus tests.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said last week that no-one should have to travel more than 75 miles for a test, after the BBC revealed some were being sent hundreds of miles away.

But dozens have now reported being unable to book a swab at all.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said testing capacity was targeted at the hardest-hit areas.

A significant rise in demand for testing led the government to reduce the number of appointments available in areas of lower prevalence, to prioritise areas with outbreaks. This in turn led to people applying for tests being directed to centres sometimes hundreds of miles away.

But last Thursday Mr Hancock pledged to put in "immediate" solutions to make sure people did not have to travel more than 75 miles, effective from last Friday. Since then, postcodes entered into the government's booking system return a message suggesting there are no testing centres or home kits available - even if you are an essential worker with symptoms.

Frances, in Suffolk, tried to apply for a test when her daughter developed a high temperature. She didn't think it was coronavirus but "the rules are the rules". She had understood that anyone with a temperature should apply for a test, and was not able to send either of her children to school until she did.

"Their teachers need to be kept safe, their classmates need to be kept safe, we need to do the right thing," she said.

But Frances was also not able to get a home kit, and when she tried to get an appointment at a drive-through centre was told no test sites were found.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 12 September 2020

Read more
 

Coronavirus testing plans in chaos

Boris Johnson has been forced to shift strategy on the government’s testing regime for coronavirus after criticism of the slow pace of checks being carried out on frontline NHS staff.

Private laboratories are now being drafted in to do the tests where before these were being performed through a centralised process.

The prime minister accepted last night that mass testing was the way out of the crisis and said in a tweet that it would “eventually unlock the puzzle of coronavirus”.

Read full story (paywalled)

Source: The Times, 2 April 2020

Read more
 

Coronavirus test results waits 'undermining confidence'

The government needs to make sure its coronavirus testing strategy is fit for purpose instead of focusing on hitting targets, says the Royal College of GPs (RCGP).

In a letter to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, chairman Prof Martin Marshall said long wait times were "undermining confidence" in the results. Health professionals were also concerned about the accuracy of some test results, he said.

The government said "95% of tests" were processed "in less than 48 hours". 

Ensuring there are enough tests to meet demand is part of the government's five tests it says must be met before easing lockdown restrictions. However, the absence of a clear strategy had left patients vulnerable, according to Prof Marshall.

He said the RCGP did not currently believe the testing strategy was capable of working to prevent a second wave of infections and "secure the overall health of the population".

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 16 May 2020

Read more

Coronavirus sufferers still have weird symptoms 100 days after surviving bug

Coronavirus patients have continued to suffer from fatigue, breathlessness and forgetfulness more than 100 days after contracting the bug. Many COVID-19 survivors have found that they are not back to normal months after they tested positive.

Louise Nicholls, from Litherland in Liverpool, is one of those people who found themselves suffering from curious symptoms long after she should have been back to normal.

She was told she had coronavirus by her doctor on 1 April having gone in search of medical help after suffering from a number of respiratory symptoms. "I was trying to do my workouts and I was getting really short of breath," Louise said.

"I couldn't put my finger on what was going on but it got worse every day. My chest started getting tighter and my lungs were burning. I didn't have a cough or a fever but I had shortness of breath and I was waking up with night sweats."

Louise said her symptoms were dismissed as anxiety by those around her at first, but when her symptoms got worse she phoned the doctor who said it sounded like coronavirus.

Louise said: "My doctor said it sounds like covid. She said 'you're young and fit, you'll be over it in a few weeks' and sent me on my way."

Louise's breathing continued to get worse and she was given a steroid inhaler, which she is still taking today. Although Louise feels much better than she did at one time, she is still struggling with her breathing today and is continuing to use her inhaler.

She said: "I feel much better than I was but I can't push myself too much... My chest feels tight if I don't take my inhaler every day."

Read full story

Source: Mirror, 12 July 2020

Read more
 

Coronavirus spread has ‘kicked NHS forward in adopting digital solutions’

The rapid spread of coronavirus has given the NHS a “kick forward” in the need to accelerate technology and ensure staff are digitally prepared, a GP has said.

Neil Paul, a Digital Health columnist and GP in Ashfields, said the need to reduce face-to-face appointments to prevent the potential transmission of Covid-19 has forced the NHS, particularly in primary care, to adopt already available technologies.

He said practices “still in the stone ages” and “technophobes” were less prepared for the current situation, but that it would force them to move into the digital age.

“It’s absolutely made my surgery go ‘right, how do we do online consults’. I think it actually has given people a real kick forward,” he told Digital Health News.

“I think in six months’ time my surgery might be very different in that actually we will be doing a lot of online and telephone consults where previously we may have been a bit reluctant."

GP practices across the country have been advised to assess patients online or via telephone and video appointments to mitigate the potential spread of coronavirus.

In a letter to GPs last week, NHS England urged Britain’s 7,000 GP surgeries to reduce face-to-face appoints for patients displaying symptoms of Covid-19. The preemptive move means millions of patients will now be triaged online, via telephone or video and contacted via text messaging services.

Read full story

Source: Digital Health News, 13 March 2020

Read more
 

Coronavirus shielding advice to end on 1 April

More than 3.7 million vulnerable people in England will no longer have to shield from the coronavirus from 1 April.

It comes as the numbers of COVID-19 cases and hospital admissions have declined for the past couple of weeks.

Letters will be sent out to this group in the next two weeks. In them, people will still be advised to keep social contacts at low levels, work from home where possible and stay at a distance from other people.

Since 5 January, they have been asked to stay at home as much as possible to reduce their risk of being exposed to the virus. But at a Downing Street press conference, Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed shielding guidance, which had been extended to 31 March for all those who are clinically extremely vulnerable, would end on 1 April.

England's deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries recommended the change based on the latest scientific evidence and advice.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 17 March 2021

Read more
 

Coronavirus reveals limits of AI health tools

Technology and healthcare companies are racing to roll out new tools to test for and eventually treat the coronavirus epidemic spreading around the world. But one sector that is holding back are the makers of artificial-intelligence-enabled diagnostic tools, increasingly championed by companies, healthcare systems and governments as a substitute for routine doctor-office visits.

In theory, such tools, sometimes called “symptom checkers” or healthcare bots,sound like an obvious short-term fix: they could be used to help assess whether someone has Covid-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, while keeping infected people away from crowded doctor’s offices or emergency rooms where they might spread it.

These tools vary in sophistication. Some use a relatively simple process, like a decision tree, to provide online advice for basic health issues. Other services say they use more advanced technology, like algorithms based on machine learning, that can diagnose problems more precisely.

But some digital-health companies that make such tools say they are wary of updating their algorithms to incorporate questions about the new coronavirus strain. Their hesitancy highlights both how little is known about the spread of Covid-19 and the broader limitations of healthcare technologies marketed as AI in the face of novel, fast-spreading illnesses.

Some companies say they don’t have enough data about the new coronavirus to plug into their existing products. London-based symptom-checking app Your.MD Ltd. recently added a “coronavirus checker” button that leads to a series of questions about symptoms. But it is based on a simple decision tree. The company said it won’t update the more sophisticated technology underpinning its main system, which is based on machine learning.

“We made a decision not to do it through the AI because we haven’t got the underlying science,” said Maureen Baker, Chief Medical Officer for Your.MD. She said it could take 6 to 12 months before sufficient peer-reviewed scientific literature becomes available to help inform the redesign of algorithms used in today’s more advanced symptom checkers.

Read full story

Source: The Wall Street Journal, 29 February 2020

Read more
 

Coronavirus pressures 'put organ transplants at risk'

The UK's organ transplant network could be forced to shut down as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, the body that runs the scheme is warning.

One factor is the pressure on intensive care beds, according to NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). But there is also the risk to transplant patients, who have their immune systems suppressed so their bodies don't reject new organs.

This is a dilemma for those like Ana-Rose Thorpe, from Manchester, who is waiting for a liver transplant.

Now aged 29, Ana-Rose has lived with hepatitis almost her entire life after contracting it as a baby. The disease has taken its toll and now her liver is failing and she is in desperate need of a transplant.

"Having to go into hospital while there are coronavirus patients there is very worrying," she says.

"Whilst my body could withstand the transplant, the longer I'm not being monitored, not being seen as often as I was, the longer I leave it, I could just get sicker and sicker.

"I feel like it's patients that are already on the transplant list, patients waiting for other operations, we have just been swept aside."

"It's my life - it is a matter of life and death," Ana-Rose says.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 9 April 2020

Read more
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.