UK went into Covid with ‘very low’ intensive care capability in contrast with different wealthy nations, Chris Whitty tells inquiry
The UK went into the Covid disaster with “very low” intensive care capability in contrast with different rich nations, Prof Sir Chris Whitty advised the Covid inquiry this morning.
Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, has given oral proof to the inquiry in earlier hearings, coping with pandemic preparedness and authorities choices taken throughout the emergency, however right now he’s being questioned as a part of module 3, which is how the NHS was affected.
He advised the inquiry this morning:
Taking ICU [intensive care units], specifically, the UK has a really low ICU capability in comparison with most of our peer nations in excessive revenue nations. Now that’s a alternative, that’s a political alternative. It’s a system configuration alternative, however it’s a alternative. Subsequently you’ve gotten much less reserve when a significant emergency occurs, even when it’s wanting one thing of the size of Covid.
Whitty additionally stated, with out educated workers, ICU capability couldn’t be scaled up rapidly. He defined:
The important thing factor, which is the speed limiting factor for scale up, is individuals, educated individuals,
You should purchase beds, you should purchase house, you may even put in oxygen and issues. And I feel we realized some classes from, for instance, attempting to arrange the Nightingale hospitals, in regards to the difficulties of doing that.
However basically, the restrict to that system, as to any system, is educated individuals and there’s no approach you may prepare somebody in six weeks to have the expertise of an skilled ICU nurse or an skilled ICU physician. It’s merely not doable.
So for those who don’t have it going into the emergency, if it’s an emergency of this velocity of onset, you shouldn’t have any illusions you’re going to have it as you hit the height.
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Prof Sir Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, has advised the Covid inquiry that Britain went into the pandemic with “very low” intensive care capability in contrast with different rich nations and that this was “a political alternative”. (See 12.35pm.)
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Right now the Home of Commons Library has revealed its last, most complete evaluation of the overall election outcomes. When you’ve got any political geek tendencies, it’s a should learn.
On the election 263 of the MPs elected (40%) have been girls – the best quantity and proportion ever. This chart is sweet on which of the events have been finest and worst when it comes to the proportion of candidates who have been feminine.
And this chart is fascinating too, exhibiting, amongst different issues, that greater than half of Labour MPs are newly-elected, and that the Lib Dems have extra girls MPs than the Tories do.
If you happen to get pleasure from knowledge like this, there are 128 pages of it right here.
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At a meeeting on the Outdated Royal Naval Faculty in Greenwich, John Healey, the defence secretary, renewed the Aukus submarine defence pact partnership along with his Australian and US counterparts. They agreed an up to date Aukus assertion. In line with an MoD information launch, it means:
Lots of of Australian defence and civilian personnel can be upskilled in nuclear reactor experience in 2025 by specialist Royal Navy engineers. The primary such course concluded earlier this month, with 250 personnel studying the talents essential to personal, function, keep, maintain and regulate a nuclear-powered submarine.
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Whitty says NHS ought to have carried out extra to say hospitals nonetheless open for non-Covid emergencies throughout pandemic
The NHS ought to have carried out extra to encourage individuals with critical, non-Covid sicknesses to maintain going to hospital throughout the pandemic, Prof Sir Chris Whitty advised the Covid inquiry right now.
The chief medical officer for England stated there was by no means going to a “excellent steadiness” between asking individuals to remain away if doable, in order to not overburden the NHS, and persuading them that they need to nonetheless go to hospital if critically ailing.
However he stated he felt the purpose that non-Covid sufferers in want of remedy ought to nonetheless go to hospital in an emergency may have been confused extra.
He advised the inquiry:
I’m assured what we didn’t do, was to determine over and over – you couldn’t say it too usually – that the NHS is open, specifically if it’s an pressing and emergency life threatening scenario, you will need to go to hospital, as you often would.
And there’s cheap proof, in my opinion, for instance, that the quantity of people that got here into hospital with coronary heart assaults was decrease than you’d predict, I don’t anticipate there’s any motive that had been fewer. So a few of these individuals have been staying at residence, who in any other case wouldn’t have carried out, and they’d have had remediable situations.
“So the little bit of it, which is, did we get it throughout that individuals ought to nonetheless go to hospital? I feel we didn’t get it throughout nicely sufficient.
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Two Scottish pensioners launch authorized problem to attempt to block winter gas cost reduce
Two pensioners are searching for to take the Scottish and UK governments to court docket over the reduce to the winter gas cost, PA Media stories. PA says:
Peter and Florence Fanning, of Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, have raised proceedings with the assistance of the Govan Legislation Centre in opposition to the Scottish authorities and the UK work and pensions secretary over the coverage.
The judicial overview – which has been raised on the court docket of session – now requires a choose’s approval to maneuver to a listening to on the deserves, with the Govan Legislation Centre searching for to expedite each the case and its utility for authorized help to make sure a call may be handed down earlier than the winter.
The case asks the court docket to rule on whether or not the choice was illegal, which might then permit the petitioners to ask the court docket to, in impact, put aside the coverage and restore the winter gas cost to all.
The case’s argument rests on the accusation each governments didn’t adequately seek the advice of with these of pension age on the change and didn’t launch an equality affect evaluation on the modifications.
A freedom of data request revealed an abridged model of such an evaluation had been carried out by the Division for Work and Pensions (DWP), with the UK authorities arguing a full examine was not required.
Former first minister and present Alba social gathering chief Alex Salmond was instrumental in placing the Fannings in contact with the Govan Legislation Centre forward of the motion being raised.
Talking on the press convention on Thursday, Salmond stated each individual in Scotland “ought to be grateful” to the Fannings for elevating the motion, which he stated ought to have been taken ahead by the Scottish authorities within the first occasion.
Rachel Moon, the instructing solicitor and a accomplice at Govan Legislation Centre, stated: “Fairly merely, (authorities) ought to have thought of this rigorously. This coverage and the choices taken have an effect on these with protected traits, together with age and incapacity, and it impacts 10 million individuals.”
Whereas campaigning organisations repeatedly attempt to problem authorities choices in court docket on this approach, it’s uncommon for them to succeed, significantly if they’re attempting to overturn large fiscal choices. Governments repeatedly announce modifications to tax and welfare coverage with minimal session.
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Physician in tears at Covid inquiry says what NHS workers noticed was ‘indescribable’
Earlier than Prof Sir Chris Whitty began giving proof, the Covid inquiry heard proof from Prof Kevin Fong, a former medical adviser in emergency preparedness, resilience and response at NHS England. As Andrew Gregory stories, Fong stated coping with the Covid disaster was, for NHS workers, like having to reply to a “terrorist assault every single day”, with contaminated sufferers “raining from the sky”.
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Keir Starmer advised US enterprise leaders at a breakfast assembly in New York right now that he needed to “turbocharge” the economic system.
After saying that discussions with enterprise helped formed Labour’s insurance policies, he stated:
As a result of if we will get into the query of what works, what doesn’t work, get the economic system to actually turbocharge, what are the ambitions for funding, that basically helps us form our working.
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Whitty says it is debatable well being chiefs overstated dangers from Covid at begin of pandemic
Prof Sir Chris Whitty, the chief medical officer for England, remains to be giving proof to the Covid inquiry in regards to the pandemic’s affect on the NHS. Listed here are some extra strains which have emerged.
Whitty stated it was debatable that well being chiefs overstated the chance from Covid at first of the pandemic, fairly than understated it. Requested if the federal government ought to have positioned extra emphasis on the chance from lengthy Covid at first, he stated:
I nervous originally – I nonetheless fear, truly, looking back – about did we get the extent of concern proper? Have been we both over pitching it so that individuals have been extremely afraid of one thing the place, the truth is, their actuarial danger was low or have been we not pitching it sufficient, and subsequently individuals didn’t realise the chance they have been strolling into? I feel that steadiness is actually arduous.
And arguably some individuals would say we, if something, overdid it, fairly than underneath originally. So I’m not sure loading a further danger on would in itself be helpful.
I feel we most likely ought to have been swifter off the mark in recognizing lengthy Covid because it emerged, though I feel we have been comparatively fast and it wasn’t apparent, we may have carried out one thing completely different in consequence.
The principle factor we may do originally, earlier than we understood it barely higher, was to scale back the quantity of Covid. If you happen to don’t get Covid, you don’t get lengthy Covid.
He criticised a tweet by the World Well being Organisation (WHO) from March 28 2020, which stated: “#COVID19 is NOT airborne.” Requested about this, he stated:
I feel what was fallacious about this was the diploma of definitiveness that was put into this tweet ..
I don’t truly suppose tweeting is an excellent medium for attempting to place ahead actually tough science.
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Hunt says, if Reeves modifications fiscal guidelines to permit extra borrowing, rates of interest will keep larger for longer
Jeremy Hunt, the Tory former chancellor, has stated that Treasury officers all the time advised him that larger borrowing would result in rates of interest staying larger for longer. He posted this on social media, in response to stories that Rachel Reeves is contemplating altering the way in which debt is outlined in her fiscal guidelines to permit extra borrowing.
With all of the dialogue about Labour altering the fiscal guidelines to borrow billions extra money (a lot for ‘absolutely funded’ commitments), it is value noting that the Chancellor explicitly dominated out doing so final 12 months. My recommendation from HMT officers was all the time very clear on this: extra… https://t.co/7iO53ZlTMy
— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) September 26, 2024
With all of the dialogue about Labour altering the fiscal guidelines to borrow billions extra money (a lot for ‘absolutely funded’ commitments), it’s value noting that the Chancellor explicitly dominated out doing so final 12 months. My recommendation from HMT officers was all the time very clear on this: extra borrowing means rates of interest keep larger for longer.
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Severin Carrell
The knowledge commissioner is investigating an alleged knowledge breach involving WhatsApp messages held by one in every of Scotland’s most senior civil servants.
Unredacted messages held by Alyson Stafford, the Scottish authorities’s director basic for Scottish exchequer, have been despatched by authorities officers to a psychological well being campaigner with the names and numbers of junior officers absolutely seen.
Peter Todd, a campaigner primarily based in northern Scotland who acquired Stafford’s messages final week utilizing freedom of data laws, has complained to the Info Commissioner’s Workplace, which investigates knowledge breaches.
He stated the messages, written to and from Stafford on the top of the Covid disaster, included confidential conversations, gossip and details about the federal government’s funds throughout the pandemic which ought to have been redacted.
The ICO confirmed it was assessing Todd’s criticism.
The Scottish authorities stated it had alerted the officers affected, and took the “unintended launch” very critically.
Nevertheless, it’s understood it doesn’t imagine the info breach is critical sufficient to require it to inform the ICO. Scottish authorities officers advised Todd they have been “content material that we dealing with it according to our statutory duties.”
Todd stated the unredacted names, cellphone numbers and messages have been despatched to him by officers in a bundle of paperwork, most of which had been rigorously redacted.
The seen names, numbers and messages got here to him highlighted in yellow, as have been notes alongside them on which elements of Scotland’s freedom of data act required their redaction.
He was offended in regards to the knowledge breach as a result of he believes his medical info had been mishandled by the NHS on earlier events, and that inadequate care is taken by public our bodies.
“The Scottish authorities ought to have robust procedures in place to stop obvious knowledge safety errors like this taking place,” he stated. “I belief all these affected are being swiftly knowledgeable.”
A Scottish authorities spokesperson stated: “We’re conscious that some info supposed for redaction was launched in error in response to a freedom of data request and people affected are being made conscious.
“Any unintended launch of data is handled very critically and is topic to overview in order that applicable motion may be taken to stop future incidents.”
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Campaigners says newest figures present street dying figures for 2023 nonetheless ‘unacceptably excessive’
Street deaths in Britain stay “unacceptably excessive”, campaigners stated right now.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) was commenting after the Division for Transport revealed street casualty figures for Britain in 2023.
James Broun, analysis supervisor at RoSPA, stated:
Whereas we’re happy to see street fatalities fall by 5% on 2022, sadly 1,624 individuals nonetheless died on the roads final 12 months – an unacceptably excessive determine following years of stagnation in fatality discount. We’re significantly involved that once we embody the variety of individuals critically injured on the roads, the general determine (29,711) has proven just about no enchancment during the last 12 months.
It’s essential to place this into context. Though it’s good to see that street fatalities have decreased by 9% over the previous decade, this can be a marked slowdown in comparison with the 47% discount achieved within the earlier ten years. Taking an extended view, it’s clear that with no complete street security technique in place, momentum has been misplaced.
RoSPA additionally stated the figures for 2023 confirmed pedestrian fatalities up 5% on the 12 months earlier than.
Listed here are the street dying figures for 2023.
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Knife crime in England and Wales rose by 4% in 12 months ending March 2024, ONS says
Knife crime rose 4% in England and Wales within the 12 months ending March 2024, in response to a report from the Workplace for Nationwide Statistics right now.
The ONS says:
Offences involving knives or sharp devices recorded by the police rose by 4% (50,010 offences) in YE [year ending] March 2024, in contrast with the earlier 12 months (48,409 offences). Of those offences, 22,167 (44%) have been for assault with harm, or assault with intent to trigger critical hurt, and 21,226 (42%) have been utilized in a theft. These figures exclude the Higher Manchester Police.
These knife crime statistics come from recorded crime figures – police information from when against the law is reported.
The ONS report additionally covers figures from the crime survey, which measures crime charges by asking individuals about their expertise of crime (whether or not or not it was reported to the police), and it says that, on his measure, the general price of violent crime was about the identical within the 12 months ending March 2024 as within the 12 months earlier than. It says:
In YE March 2024, roughly 0.5% of individuals aged 16 years and over skilled violence with or with out harm the place the perpetrator was an acquaintance, and 0.7% skilled this the place the perpetrator was a stranger. There have been no statistically vital modifications, in contrast with YE March 2023.
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