The UK faces a “prolonged period” of excess deaths due to the collateral effects of the lockdown, according to Sir Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance
They claim that the nation is facing a rising death toll from heart disease and cancer after operations were cancelled and people avoided the NHS during the pandemic
It was these characters who told people to stay home to avoid spreading the virus.
The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for England and Chief Scientific Adviser made their comments in a technical report on the pandemic, published Thursday, advising future health chiefs how to deal with similar threats.
MSN reports: Across eleven chapters the authors cover topics such as care homes, contract tracing, testing and lockdowns.
An introduction to the report stresses it is not a “definitive narrative” of the pandemic to date, or policy decisions taken. However, it’s the first comprehensive run-through of events and implications, which occured over the last two-and-a-half years, published by officials.
It comes after the start of the UK Covid-19 inquiry, chaired by Baroness Heather Hallett, which will begin public hearings next year examining the Government response to the pandemic.
In chapter 10, “improvements in care of COVID-19”, the authors set out changes to healthcare, such as GPs moving to remote appointments and the postponement of elective surgeries.
There were “limits” to how far telephone and video GP appointments could replace face-to-face appointments, the report said, but added “in many cases the balance of risks and benefits still favoured remote support”.
Discussing measures put in place to respond to the surge in Covid patients it said: “Shifting to remote consultations, discouraging unnecessary health setting presentations and asking that those with specific symptoms avoid healthcare settings unless necessary has been an effective way to reduce potential transmission risks and additional burden during a time of significant pressure.
Leave a Reply