NHS money won’t mask failures over testing as lockdowns extended – The Yorkshire Post says

IT is certainly wise of Matt Hancock to make £2.7bn available to the NHS to prepare for winter challenges, including money to expand A&E departments and money to continuing subsidising the salaries of social care staff if and when they have to go into Covid-19 isolation.
By YP Comment
Published 17th Sep 2020, 16:35 BST
The NHS will face even more formidable winter pressures due to Covid.The NHS will face even more formidable winter pressures due to Covid.
The NHS will face even more formidable winter pressures due to Covid.

This is preferable to waiting for a full-blown financial crisis, as has happened in the past, before Ministers become wise to public pressure. By then, it is too late. And it might be now after the Health and Social Care Secretary used the language of war to declare: “The battle against coronavirus is not over.”

After all, the recent upsurge in Covid cases – and difficult decisions to widen the scope and jurisdiction of local lockdowns – explains why he is making an extra £24m available to boost the number of call-handlers on the 111 non-emergency helpline, including more clinical staff.

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If a pilot scheme is successful, he hopes to roll it out across the country by the end of the year so people use this triage-like service before going to A&E. It’s all very laudable but it does, for the Minister’s benefit, depend on the public trusting the medical advice that they receive over the telephone – where does he intend to recruit the necessary staff and clinicians?

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock has put the NHS on a war footing.Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock has put the NHS on a war footing.
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock has put the NHS on a war footing.

And, frankly, every aspect of health policy is now contingent on Mr Hancock coming up with a testing programme and policy which is ‘fit for purpose’. Given his propensity for over-promising and under-delivering throughout this crisis, he will understand why his reforms to 111 can only be given a cautious welcome for now – he still has a lot to prove and very little time to do so.

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Thank you

James Mitchinson

Related topics:Yorkshire PostMatt HancockNHSCovid-19

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