Testing; why Matt Hancock should have foreseen current chaos – The Yorkshire Post says

On the day it emerged that 695,000 UK workers have been removed from the payrolls of British companies since the lockdown began nearly six months ago, it is the availability – or non-availability – of tests that is now proving so embarrassing for a government now renowned for its inattention to detail.

And while part of the problem is the ability for laboratories to process the 20 million tests that Matt Hancock, the Health and Social Care Secretary, says have been carried out, he should have foreseen that there would be increased demand when schools and offices began to reopen. Why not?

Our misgivings do not end here – even more so after Mr Hancock conceded that “the epidemic is growing” before defending his department’s response and, in doing so, appearing to be in denial of the growing criticisms.

Try telling this, Secretary of State, to people in hotspot areas, including Bradford, struggling to obtain timely tests – and in their locality.

Try telling this, Mr Hancock, to key workers – like NHS staff and teachers – who cannot serve patients, or schools, because of delays to testing.

Try telling this, Health Secretary, to those care homes who still believe that they’re still last in the queue, as cases rise again – they don’t believe his promises.

Even his predecessor Jeremy Hunt, the chair of Parliament’s Health and Social Care Committee and one of the Mr Hancock’s biggest cheerleaders, is now in despair. Rather than Mr Hancock accusing Labour of insufficient support, he needs to use every resource at his disposal to overcome systemic “operational challenges”, starting in those areas with the greatest prevalence of Covid-19, before further harm is caused to the nation’s health and wealth.

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today.

Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers.

So, please - if you can - pay for our work. Just £5 per month is the starting point. If you think that which we are trying to achieve is worth more, you can pay us what you think we are worth. By doing so, you will be investing in something that is becoming increasingly rare. Independent journalism that cares less about right and left and more about right and wrong. Journalism you can trust.

Thank you

James Mitchinson