Living in Lockdown and TV Production Guidance with Dr Paul Litchfield

Dr Paul Litchfield, independent medical advisor to ITV, talks about TV productions getting back to work in a Covid-19 world. He says it isn’t about eliminating risk but reducing the risk as far as employers and individuals reasonably can. He explains broadcast technicians and film and TV operators are classed as low risk and runs through TV Production Guidance: Managing the risk of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in production making, which was published 18 May, 2020. Dr Litchfield, who is chair of the What Works Centre for Wellbeing, also explains why the effect of lockdown on people’s mental health is about twice the size you would normally expect from redundancy. And he reveals that group hit most hard by the coronavirus crisis is the under-25s, even though they are at the lowest risk of becoming seriously ill through the virus. This is a video of an event that took place on 19 May, 2020, hosted by Gilly Cohen, ScreenSkills Indie Training Fund director of learning and development. It was supported by the ScreenSkills Television Skills Fund which invests in training for the freelance television workforce thanks to contributions from the BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5. It is part of a ScreenSkills programme managed by the Indie Training Fund to support freelancers to upskill and stay connected, helping keep the industry resilient in the coronavirus crisis.