Delaying routine care was the least bad of the ‘terrible options’, Matt Hancock tells Covid Inquiry

Canceling patients’ non-urgent treatments during the Covid crisis was the “least bad” of a range of “terrible options”, Matt Hancock has said.

In his third and sometimes combative appearance at the Covid-19 inquiry, during which he repeatedly interrupted the inquiry’s lawyer, Jacqueline Carey KC, the former Health Secretary defended his decision to allow the NHS to provide routine treatment and care from April 2020 to postpone.

Asked if he thought it was the right decision, Hancock said: “Well, reluctantly of course, but you are faced with a series of terrible options – that was the least bad.”

He said the “general point is that there is no question of a collapse of the system”.

But Heather Hallett, who chaired the inquiry, questioned Hancock’s claim that healthcare during the crisis was available to all, as needed, and pointed out that patients needing cancer screening, hip replacement or other surgery could not access the care they needed. necessary.

Hancock stressed that the NHS was not “overwhelmed” and that it was “better to postpone some non-urgent operations” to protect the health service and patients themselves, as people were “more likely to get Covid in a hospital than in almost every other hospital.” other institution”.

Previously, Hancock told the inquiry that he had “ruffled a few feathers” to protect the NHS from political “interference” during the crisis and that he had been in a “battle” with other parts of the government who wanted the Covid measures were relaxed.

He said part of his job was to “provide a shield” against the “people who are difficult” in Number 10, but that interference caused “incredible difficulties” in testing people for Covid-19.

Hancock also claimed that Scotland’s former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon caused “all kinds of problems” as the pandemic developed.

The former health minister was asked at the start of the hearing on Thursday to what extent frontline staff had been protected. While the government was doing “everything we could”, he said, “this means, in a system that employs 1.4 million people in the NHS, and another around two and a half million people in social care, that every decision was perfect? Of course that wasn’t the case.”

And he admitted that the NHS in England came within “six or seven hours” of running out of gowns and other personal protective equipment. While there was never a “national shortage” of personal protective equipment for healthcare workers, “in some places they ran out – and it was terrible.” The NHS needed to learn lessons and ensure better supplies for the future, he added.

Responding to Hancock’s evidence, James Telfer on behalf of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK accused the former MP of avoiding any blame.

“In the wake of catastrophic failures, which have contributed to Britain having the second highest death toll in Western Europe, Matt Hancock remains more concerned about defending his legacy than helping Britain to to ensure that the hellish scenes that unfolded in our overwhelmed hospitals during the pandemic are never repeated,” said Telfer, whose mother died of Covid.

“Faced with the indisputable evidence that our loved ones were refused care because of their age or disability, because blanket warnings (do not resuscitate) were imposed on them regardless of their physical capabilities, and the evidence that the NHS was understaffed and under-resourced to the extent it couldn’t keep the public safe, Matt Hancock defends his claim that the NHS has never been overwhelmed, saying it was crucial to ensure the public felt safe using it.”

BMA council chairman Prof Philip Banfield said Hancock was ‘triumphant’ saying the NHS had not been overwhelmed and that this was a great success for himself and that the government was ‘incredibly annoying’ to BMA members who were worked on the front lines during World War II. survived the crisis and prevented the healthcare system from collapsing completely.

He said: “Large amounts of healthcare were rationed and patients who would normally have received treatment outside of a pandemic did not. Large parts of care were canceled to make way for all but the most urgent Covid cases. This included many cancer treatments. This is the definition of rationing.

“Meanwhile, many people stayed away from hospitals and died at home.

“Our members – physicians who worked around the clock to care for patients – often spoke out about their inability to provide the level of care they knew patients needed and were trained to provide. Staff numbers were cut and standards lowered to meet the enormous demand. Physicians and our colleagues were physically and emotionally overwhelmed and today still bear the mental scars of this moral injury.”

Helga Pile, head of health at Unison, said Hancock’s legacy was “how not to respond to a national crisis. He should be ashamed of himself for failing health and care workers in their hour of need.”

The safety kit was unavailable or unsuitable for its intended purpose, and caregivers and those they cared for died, she added.

“It is time for Matt Hancock to take responsibility for the chaos caused and lives lost while he was in charge.”