NHS 'came close to collapse' during Covid-19 pandemic

The NHS for England and Wales nearly collapsed due to demand during the pandemic,an inquiry has found.

Baroness Heather Hallett,who was leading an inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic,said UK healthcare systems ‘teetered on the brink of total collapse’ and while it did cope,it ‘only just’ managed to.

The retired judge warned that some patients with critical health problems were deterred from seeking treatment due to the ‘Stay home,Protect the NHS,Save Lives’ messaging used during the pandemic.

She also said that despite the ‘extraordinary efforts’ of NHS staff,‘some patients did not get the level of care they would usually receive’.

Lady Hallett published a new 387-page report today on how the NHS coped across the four nations.

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Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.The report highlights how the need to protect the NHS from being overwhelmed became a key priority for politicians (Picture: Getty)In a statement accompanying the report,the retired British judge said: ‘I can summarise that impact as: we coped,but only just.‘Healthcare workers carried the burden of caring for the sick and dying in unprecedented numbers.’She went on to stress that ‘some patients did not get the level of care they would usually receive.’Her report found that patients who did not have Covid-19 had their diagnosis and treatment delayed ‘to the point where their conditions became untreatable’.Lady Hallett also warned that ‘Stay home,Save Lives’ messaging ‘deterred’ people from accessing vital healthcare.She said some people teered clear of A&E,even for life-threatening emergencies such as heart attacks,because they did not want to overburden the NHS.Lady Hallett said the devastating impact on the NHS was ‘unsurprising’ because of the ‘parlous state’ the service was in at the start of the crisis.

Key findings of the new Covid-19 inquiry report

Lady Hallett published her new 387-page report today

– Thousands of patients died in hospitals alone and grieving families were deprived of the opportunity to say goodbye;

– Many patients with Covid-19 ‘did not get the quality of treatment they needed’;

– Initial guidance on preventing the infection from spreading was ‘flawed’ because it ‘failed properly to consider the extent to which the virus was also spread by aerosol transmission’,initially focusing on spread through contact;

– Visiting restrictions ‘may be unavoidable’ in a pandemic,but should be ‘facilitated as far as possible’;

– Communications with millions of people shielding during the crisis ‘were not always appropriately handled’,with some incorrectly told to shield while others were not given the instruction when they should have;

– Decisions made in the early stage of the crisis – including discharging patients from hospitals to care homes – should have been planned for sooner and not in the ‘turbulent early stages of the pandemic’;

– She said there also needs to be better planning for end-of-life care,highlighting reports of blanket do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DNACPR);

– Access to healthcare for long Covid ‘has been and remains variable’ across the UK;

The report found that some people with critical health conditions were deterred from going to hospital (Picture: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Ministers,including former health secretary Matt Hancock,had insisted the health service was not overwhelmed,but Lady Hallett said this was ‘semantics’,adding: ‘There was clearly overwhelm’.

The former judge stressed that ‘collapse was only narrowly avoided thanks to the extraordinary efforts of all those working in healthcare across the UK.’

Reacting to the report,Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice said: ‘This report is clear and utterly damming:

The impact of the pandemic on our healthcare systems, its staff and patients was devastating.’

The statement went on: ‘Our loved ones,many of whom where healthcare workers themselves,paid with their lives.

But that outcome was not inevitable.

‘Years of austerity left the NHS dangerously exposed,without the staff,beds or resilience needed to withstand a major shock…

‘We urge the Government to use this report as a catalyst for change. Failing to do so would be unforgivable.’

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