Matt Hancock makes bombshell claim that Covid pandemic did not overwhelm the NHS

Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock is contiguous giving grounds earlier the Covid-19 inqury portion bereaved families successful the nationalist assemblage held up photos of relatives who died

Matt Hancock denied that the NHS was overwhelmed during the pandemic successful grounds earlier the Covid-19 Inquiry.

Bereaved families successful the nationalist assemblage held up photos of relatives who died and became affectional during grounds by the disgraced erstwhile wellness secretary.

During often testy exchanges Mr Hancock was presented with grounds that radical died due to the fact that NHS unit numbers were stretched and immoderate were denied lifesaving treatment.

He agreed nether questioning that the NHS entered the pandemic with debased intensive attraction unit and furniture capableness and galore were already astir full.

A defiant Mr Hancock said: “My occupation was strategic. It was to thrust the system… truthful the speech would person gone: ‘We request to guarantee we grow NHS capableness oregon tin we physique much capacity?’ And of people responsibilities did constituent to doing that due to the fact that we didn't person capable staff. ‘Can we agelong this down a bit?’

“They would travel backmost and said ‘yes we can’. We deliberation that it's good to agelong them to 1 to six. The grade of agelong was not a determination for me.”

Questioning him, Jacqueline Carey KC said: “The information that the nurses are being stretched to the ratios that we've looked astatine and the imaginable adverse consequences for those who are successful ICU does not successful information show the NHS was, successful fact, overwhelmed.”

Mr Hancock said: “No due to the fact that radical could get treatment. The attraction was not arsenic bully arsenic successful the aforesaid mode that the waiting times for a genu cognition was not arsenic bully arsenic pre-pandemic.

“I'm not saying that the NHS was cleanable successful the pandemic, and I'm not saying that it wasn't severely pressured successful galore areas and that that unit had consequences. The constituent of saying that it would beryllium overwhelmed is that the strategy arsenic a whole, withstood the pressure.”

Ms Carey said: “Mr Hancock if you marque a connection similar ‘the NHS was not overwhelmed’ but you can't get an ICU furniture due to the fact that you're aged oregon you've got down syndrome, oregon due to the fact that determination aren't capable nurses. People would accidental that is overwhelmed, wouldn't they?”

Calling a interruption successful proceedings, Chair Baroness Heather Hallett said: “I deliberation immoderate radical successful the nationalist assemblage present are experiencing immoderate distress. Could I promote them to question immoderate enactment if they request it.”

Mr Hancock was shown a clip of earlier grounds of a elder medic breaking down successful tears portion recalling his acquisition successful intensive attraction units (ICUs) which were moving retired of assemblage bags.

The erstwhile I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here contestant had provided a written connection arguing that astatine nary constituent was intensive attraction capableness exceeded, but that erstwhile an idiosyncratic ICU was afloat patients were transferred to a antithetic hospital.

Mr Hancock was accused of coating a “rosy picture” of the NHS and asked whether helium had made it wide to “cabinet colleagues and the premier minister” what was happening successful hospitals.

Mr Hancock said: “What I was trying to avoid, and what we successfully avoided, was an wide rationing, to accidental ‘people according to these characteristics aren't going to beryllium cared for’.

“That's what would person happened if we fto the microorganism get much retired of control. And we managed to debar that some successful the archetypal and the 2nd phase. Did radical get arsenic bully attraction arsenic they would person done successful mean times? Of people not.”

Mr Hancock admitted radical were much apt to drawback the microorganism successful hospitals “than successful astir immoderate different setting”.

The latest module is investigating the interaction of the pandemic connected the NHS and Mr Hancock was grilled connected his assertion that the NHS remained “available to each who needed it”.

He insisted the determination to suspend each non-urgent, planned attraction was the close one.

Chair Baroness Hallett said: “You said that the NHS was ever disposable to each according to need… it wasn't ever disposable to those who needed crab screening oregon who needed a large elective country similar a hep operation.

“So I conscionable don't recognize however you could support that it was close to halt non-urgent attraction and past accidental ‘but it was ever disposable to all’.”

A defiant Mr Hancock responded: “Well I don't privation to get into linguistic analysis, what I attraction astir is the substance, that it was not harmless medically to spell for immoderate crab attraction during the pandemic, due to the fact that crab attraction sometimes involves reducing the immune system.

“It was amended to hold immoderate non urgent operations successful bid to support some the abstraction of the NHS and the patients themselves, because, arsenic we know, successful hospitals are much apt to drawback Covid than successful astir immoderate different setting.”

He added: “The wide constituent is that we did not person a illness successful the system.”

Unions representing NHS unit responded with choler erstwhile responding to Mr Hancock’s evidence.

UNISON’ caput of wellness Helga Pile said: "Matt Hancock's lasting bequest volition beryllium however not to respond to a nationalist crisis. He should clasp his caput successful shame for deserting wellness and attraction unit successful their hr of need.

"Dodgy dealings astatine the bosom of authorities meant galore profited from supplying substandard protective clothing. Safety kit was either unavailable oregon unfit for purpose, and attraction workers and those they looked aft died.

"It's clip Matt Hancock took work for the chaos caused and the lives mislaid portion helium was successful charge."