by
Les May
THE
sister of a friend of mine is notorious for her habit of putting
things off until the last possible moment. If reminded of
something she has to do
she inclined to reply
that she will do it ‘When
she gets round to it’.
Having heard this once too often, for her next birthday he bought
her a circular ceramic plate inscribed with the word ‘Tuitt’ in
large letters. She didn’t
take the hint!
I
was
reminded of my now deceased friend this morning whilst listening to
an interview with Matt
Hancock the
Secretary
of State for Health
and Social Care.
The
government it seems has a plan to
deal with the UK outbreak of Corvid19 and
they will implement it, ‘when
they get round to it’.
At
present the UK has 5000 ventilators, a piece of equipment likely to
be needed by about 1 in 20 of people who show symptoms of Corvid19.
Tomorrow he is going to contact manufacturers to urge them to
construct more. He will tell them, ‘The
NHS will buy all that you make’.
You might have felt more reassured by this if he had
said it three weeks ago.
No
wonder a senior government source recently
found
it necessary to say, ‘the
perception that ministers are reluctant to make difficult and costly
decisions to battle the virus is wrong’.
Oh really? Then
why are people who think they have the symptoms of Covid19 and being
told to self isolate not being tested? Testing and tracking recent
contacts is the way to limit the spread of the virus.
Thankfully
Hancock
did
say that aiming for herd
immunity
by allowing the SARS2 virus to infect 60% or so of the population is
no longer part of the government strategy. The
fact that it got
so far as to be
publicly
discussed
by medical professionals alarmed at the prospect
does
not give confidence that the overall strategy of Johnson’s
government is well thought out.
‘The
strategy of the British government in minimising the impact of
Covid19
is to allow the virus to pass through the entire population so that
we acquire herd immunity, but at a much delayed speed so that those
who suffer the most acute symptoms are able to receive the medical
support they need, and such that the health service is not
overwhelmed and crushed by the sheer number of cases it has to treat
at any one time.’
Robert
Peston
12 March 2020.
Hancock
made much of the government’s strategy for protecting ‘the
vulnerable and elderly’.
Any
impact that this might have had in suggesting that there really was a
well co-ordinated strategy was diminished by the fact that the news
had
been allowed to emerge last night from a journalist.
The
effect of drip feeding us bits of information about ‘the plan’
merely makes the government look shambolic and secretive. My
impression of Hancock’s performance this morning is that he has
been promoted to one level above his competence. We need clear
information both about the government’s overall strategy and the
scientific evidence upon which it is relying in making its political
decisions.
Telling
a significant proportion of the population they must stay indoors for
three to four months for their own protection is a big ask. It is
far more likely to be accepted if we are given clear information
about why it is necessary and
what it actually means in practice. I find it difficult to believe
that I would be putting myself at significant risk if I took a stroll
around the park each day and
avoided being close to anyone.
I
think I would be more at risk in accepting a food container into my
house without first wiping it over with dilute bleach and
then washing my hands.
Those
of us who are old enough to remember the Falklands war will recall
the nightly TV briefings put out by the Ministry
of Defence
and read by Ian
McDonald.
His matter-of-fact delivery on the latest developments gave the
bulletins an air of authority, something
which
was entirely lacking in Hancock’s answers. I’m
not sure that anyone in the present government is sufficiently
trusted by the public to take on the role of keeping us informed.
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