BMA calls for 'urgent rethink' of government's
Covid strategy, saying it is allowing virus to ‘let rip’
The British
Medical Association, effectively the trade union for doctors, has called for
“an urgent rethink” of the government’s Covid strategy, arguing that Boris
Johnson has gone too far in lifting restrictions. Dr Chaand Nagpaul, the chair
of the BMA council, has frequently questioned government policy in the past,
but this morning he issued a particularly strong critique, arguing that the
media focus on the so-called pingdemic is missing the point. He said:
The
government’s current public infection control strategy is not working, it is
leading to rocketing case numbers with more illness in the community, more
people in hospital, and more people having to isolate. It is time for an urgent
rethink rather than staying on the same course.
BMA members
across the country are seeing patient care threatened as surges in Covid
illness is resulting in hospitals having to cancel more non-urgent care and GPs
are overstretched with demand. Local public health units are overwhelmed with
calls from schools and businesses. These pressures are now being exacerbated by
increasing numbers of health service staff themselves falling ill or
self-isolating, and unable to work at a time when they are most needed. Other
key services such as supermarkets are telling us that they are struggling to
put food on their shelves due to staff absences.
The
government needs to wake up. This is not a problem about excessive pinging of
the NHS app, but is a direct result of lack of effective measures by government
that is allowing the virus to let rip throughout the nation. The BMA has
repeatedly warned that amidst the highest levels of infections in the world,
now is not the right time to abandon legal restrictions such as social
distancing and mask wearing - and we are likely to see this situation continue
to worsen as a result.
On Monday
the government announced that fully vaccinated frontline health and social care
workers will be able to use daily testing as an alternative to isolation, if
they have been in contact with someone testing positive, in some circumstances.
(This is broadly the same policy extended to food depot workers, and to some
critical workers, last night). But Nagpaul argued this policy was a mistake. He
said:
Exempting
healthcare staff from self-isolation to get them back to work is a desperate
and potentially unsafe policy that does not address the root problem. The
safety of patients and staff must be paramount. People go to see healthcare
professionals in order to get better, not to risk getting infected, and staff
should not fear transmission of the virus from their own colleagues.
UK Covid
live news: BMA calls for ‘urgent rethink’ of unlocking policy, saying it is
allowing virus to ‘let rip’
- ‘The government’s current public infection control strategy is not working, it is leading to rocketing case numbers,’ says BMA chair Dr Chaand Nagpaul
- Minister rules out wider use of isolation exemption in England
- Limited number of critical workers to be allowed to avoid self-isolation
- ‘Pingdemic’ effect: how different sectors in England have been hit
- Pfizer vaccine second dose has ‘sweet spot’ after eight weeks – scientists
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