Modest and quiet, Nicola Rand is a Welsh woman who has made the leap to change careers from school teacher to writer-activist. She's not afraid to stand up and speak out. Why? Because she saw changes in education she didn't like, saw things she didn't like during lockdown and wanted to make a change. The title of her article tells a big part of her story: No to spanking: Why governments shouldn't undermine parents, The cruelty of “not resuscitating” and 20mph is just the beginning of Wales' squeeze To One of the casualties of the war on small retailersPerhaps I should also mention “The New Land of the Welsh” and “Wales, Land of Fantasy.”
In this interview, Nicola talks about her traumatic childhood, what inspired her to become a teacher, and the changes lockdown has brought about. Unpleasant and oppressive restrictionsShe was also deeply distressed to discover that her 88-year-old aunt had been admitted to the COVID-19 ward with a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) notice issued without her consent. She was also given morphine, to which she is allergic. Luckily, she was spared midazolam. A nurse later told Nicola, “In the midst of the suspected COVID-19 pandemic,Recommendations were made It will probably be a shock to the public.”
Nicola complained to the Ombudsman, challenging the NHS's handling of her aunt and the DNR. Although it was difficult to resolve this complaint on her own, Nicola continued to press for answers and learned a lot about how the NHS system works, including that once a DNR notice is recorded in a person's medical record it is nearly impossible to remove.
Nicola's experience living through the health challenges of COVID-19 has led her to question Welsh Government policy-making and to challenge it – read the interview to find out more.
You can find more of Nicola's work here: Substack and T.C.W..
Great job challenging Congress. Council Watch.
