As memories of the UK’s national lockdown start to fade, not only are there many lingering impacts on people, businesses and the economy, but government guidance is becoming increasingly difficult to follow.
There are local lockdowns springing up across the UK, and new rules seemingly coming out of the government every week for the general public to contend with.
But if the laws around what we can and can’t do post-Covid-19 are confusing for the general population – Glenys Marriott, chair of Headway South Cumbria, is asking us to imagine how confusing they can be for people with a brain injury.
Marriott is posting weekly graphics on a Facebook group for Headway service users, breaking down the latest government advice regarding the virus.
“It’s been really complicated for people to understand,” she says.
“We’re in a challenging position now, compared to lockdown, because the initial rules have changed, and people aren’t following them as easily. I’m trying to make them as simple as possible, always veering towards helping to protect them.”
Marriott has been using emojis and using double, red exclamation marks to emphasise the most important points.
“The latest advice is quite complex – our members aren’t used to being threatened with fines. But it’s serious, so we’ve got to get the message over to them.”
But the government advice, she says, has been ‘hopeless’.
“If I can’t get my head around it, how are people with brain injuries supposed to take it in? Much of the advice doesn’t make sense and it changes by the week.”
Marriott has noticed anxiety among members during their regualr Zoom meetings, particularly because they’re seeing other people who aren’t complying to government rules – which is exacerbated when you live in a tourist hotspot.
“Because we live in the Lake District, some market towns have been inundated with visitors. They have old, cobbled streets that have been full of people during the week and at weekends.
“Since lockdown has eased, it’s been difficult for members to feel safe. They’re fed up with people not wearing masks, or not wearing them properly.”
Also, she’s found that some members struggle with the isolation of social distancing.
“Some brain-injured people are disinhibited; they love a cuddle. They meet people and want a hug – they’re very affectionate. But they can’t do that anymore, we’re having to retrain them all the time to say they’ve got to wear mask if they go out, and they can’t shake hands; it’s so different for them.”
This confusion is on top of an already strained situation, says Marriott, who is also chair of the Cumbrian Neurological Alliance, with the loss of the support and professionals that members relied on.
“Some members have had a really difficult time because anyone who had a care package that included social care were likely to have that care package suspended.
“People were furloughed by care agencies, one was pregnant had a spouse with asthma, all those people with professional approaches to neurological conditions, who would have given good advice on what to do and what we’re missing, had dropped away, and many were moved to Covid teams.”
Marriott noticed a deterioration in some members who lost face-to-face services and had their care suspended.
Headway South Cumbria has 86 members, and it doesn’t own any staff or buildings. They used to have meetings once a month, but don’t have the resources to meet when it would mean having to constantly sanitise chairs, tables, dishes and toilets.
But across the Cumbrian Neurological Alliance, the biggest challenge charities are facing is the loss of income since the start of the pandemic, Marriott says.
Charities in the alliance expected sizeable charitable donations from sponsored walks, in the Lake District and across the country. For the past eight years, charities’ regional offices have travelled around 100 miles to stay updated with what’s going on in their areas.
“But now, they’ve all been subject to furlough, redundancies and restructuring, the whole community has changed and is at great risk of not being able to continue,” Marriott says.
