What did the Salisbury physician mean by “no patients have experienced symptoms of nerve agent poisoning”?

On March 14 Steven Davies, “Consultant in Emergency Medicine” at Salisbury hospital, wrote the following letter to the Times in response to this article (it’s behind a pay wall unfortunately):

“Sir, Further to your report (“Poison Exposure Leaves Almost 40 Needing Treatment”, Mar 14), may I clarify that no patients have experienced symptoms of nerve-agent poisoning in Salisbury and there have only ever been three patients with significant poisoning. Several people have attended the emergency department concerned that they may have been exposed. None had symptoms of poisoning and none has needed treatment. Any blood tests performed have shown no abnormality. No member of the public has been contaminated by the agent involved.

STEPHEN DAVIES, Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust”

The article he is trying to correct alleges “nearly 40 people have experienced symptoms related to the Salisbury nerve agent.” This is the section not hidden by the pay wall:

Nearly 40 people have experienced symptoms related to the Salisbury nerve agent poisoning, it was revealed yesterday, as locals expressed anger about a lack of information from the authorities.

Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent who sought refuge in Britain after a spy swap in 2010, and his daughter Yulia are among 38 people who required hospital treatment for poisoning symptoms, Neil Basu, the national head of counterterrorism, revealed. Only the Skripals, who are in a very serious condition, and Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, who is making good progress, are still in hospital. One person who is not showing symptoms is being seen as an outpatient.

Officials confirmed yesterday that Theresa May said that without a credible response from Russia she would conclude that…”

Davies’s letter completely contradicts the claims attributed in the article to the “national head of counterterrorism” about “38 people who required hospital treatment,” and is clearly intended to do so. This is significant enough.

But the phrase that puzzled us, and which has apparently been puzzling many others, is “no patients have experienced symptoms of nerve-agent poisoning.”

As a consultant in emergency medicine, Mr Davies would certainly have been involved in assessing and treating the Skripals and any other casualties when they were admitted to Salisbury hospital. He would seem to be in a position to know better than most how many were treated and what they were treated for. In the current situation where there is virtually no solid information available about what happened that day in Salisbury, this brief letter, coming from someone who was apparently an eye witness, has assumed huge proportions, which of course may be unwarranted.

This could easily be a detour into nothing very much. But given the hysterical politicisation of this case, and the lies already being told by senior member of the UK government, we can’t afford to simply assume that to be the case.

Taken literally, as we said on Twitter on March 17, Mr Davies’s words “no patients have experienced symptoms of nerve-agent” are a statement that no one has been poisoned with a nerve agent in Salisbury. And the second part of the sentence “and there have only ever been three patients with significant poisoning” therefore, in standard English grammar, conveys the meaning that the three people poisoned were poisoned by something that wasn’t a nerve agent.





https://off-guardian.org/2018/03/21/what-did-the-salisbury-physician-mean-by-no-patients-have-experienced-symptoms-of-nerve-agent-poisoning/




I think that a reputable news channel, eg Channel 4, should interview STEPHEN DAVIES, Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust” pretty damn quick and clear it up.

In November 2016, the site was listed by PropOrNot as one of its list of 200 "Fake News" websites.

https://wikispooks.com/wiki/OffGuardian

Yet again sassy posts fake news and Ben does nothing

NOTE:   ACTUAL COPY OF THE LETTER IN THE TIMES NEWSPAPER ATTACHED, VERIFIED BY THE TIMES


https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-salisbury-poison-fears-allayed-by-doctor-vf9v0zg0m

I see also Sassy missed a glaring aspect in the news article

Namely the 3 seriously injured with significant poisoning, which Stephen Davies states

Clearly Sassy needs to go to specsavers

All the main news medias have stated nobody else has been affected

So yet again a prime example of sassy not only being gullible, but yet again being a stooge of the Russians

sassy wrote:“Sir, Further to your report (“Poison Exposure Leaves Almost 40 Needing Treatment”, Mar 14), may I clarify that no patients have experienced symptoms of nerve-agent poisoning in Salisbury and there have only ever been three patients with significant poisoning. Several people have attended the emergency department concerned that they may have been exposed. None had symptoms of poisoning and none has needed treatment. Any blood tests performed have shown no abnormality. No member of the public has been contaminated by the agent involved.

STEPHEN DAVIES, Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust”

The father and daughter and the Police officer, what we already know

Like I said, sassy needs to go to specsavers

Many people attended as a precaution

So what is the news here?

Other than sassy being comtpletely dumb as fuck as usual and a again a complete stooge for the Russians

sassy wrote:NOTE:   ACTUAL COPY OF THE LETTER IN THE TIMES NEWSPAPER ATTACHED, VERIFIED BY THE TIMES


https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-salisbury-poison-fears-allayed-by-doctor-vf9v0zg0m

As Theresa May visited the Wiltshire city and declared it “open for business”, Stephen Davies, a consultant in emergency medicine at the Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, said that no one other than Sergei and Yulia Skripal and Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey had needed treatment.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russia-salisbury-poison-fears-allayed-by-doctor-vf9v0zg0m

So thanks for posting that, proving you are an idiot

I should think that if a nerve agent attack happened in a particular town, some people would start to think they had been affected and might imagine they have symptoms.

I can't see a problem, three people treated, people from the pub and restaurant checked anyone knowingly coming into contact ie passing by, in the vicinity of the first two patients would get themselves checked, then I suppose you have people who may not have been near the sites but panic and think they are contaminated and maybe even have psychosomatic symptoms.
Really a bit desperate trying to put a spin on this.