We all want to go back to normal but Government must be guided by data

Responding to Secretary of State Sajid Javid’s statement to the House of Commons, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, said: “We all want life to go back to normal, not least NHS staff, who have lives outside of work. However, despite vaccinations increasing at great speed, absolute caution is still needed when deciding when to lift the final restrictions in England.

“Already, NHS leaders are saying that current pressures across their services are akin to what their staff would typically experience in winter. Hospital admissions with COVID-19 jumped by a third over the last week; many emergency departments are already at 95 per cent capacity; primary, ambulance, community and mental health services are seeing increased and more complex demand; and 2 million people are believed to have long COVID. On top of that, over 5 million people are waiting for elective treatment.

“Simply put, patient care could be at risk and NHS staff will be even closer to burnout if the Government makes a wrong move and fails to be guided by the data.”