Voice of London

NHS calls for “Living with Covid” plan to be reconsidered

Although the UK is no longer at risk of lockdowns or intensive care unit overpopulation, coronavirus continues to damage much of society and the economy.

Covid-19’s return may not be producing as many deaths as it once did, however it is still posing widespread difficulties.

The NHS Confederation, has accused No 10 of having “abandoned any interest” in the pandemic, despite another Omicron surge placing further strain on an already overburdened health system.

“The brutal reality for staff and patients is that this Easter in the NHS is as bad as any winter,” said Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation.

While many of the UK’s population have detached from the severity of Covid-19, its effects remain for many of the economy’s sectors.

Zahra Shaw, a 21 year old university student says “I sometimes forget that Covid is still a thing, everything seems to have gone back to normal but then I see on the news that cases are higher than ever, it’s mad.”

When asked about her knowledge regarding the NHS still dealing with the consequences of the pandemic, Zahra replied “Obviously with cases being so high again, they’re going to be under pressure. I’m definitely going to keep myself more aware and do as much as I can to keep everyone around me safe.”

Last week, health bosses in England eagerly encouraged families to discharge their loved ones from hospitals, even those with positive Covid-19 results in order to prepare  accordingly for the expected coming surge.

The expressed concern from the NHS over the lack of awareness the health sector currently face was once again highlighted when ambulances were being turned away from A&E’s due to overcrowding, something we hadn’t seen since the heights of the pandemic. 

The NHS Confederation has stated the “Living with Covid” plan is inadequate and calls for it to be reconsidered to acknowledge the struggles of the health system. 

A spokesperson at No 10 has stated “There is no change to our guidance and our living with Covid plan still stands. Thanks to a combination of vaccination and treatment and our better understanding of the virus, we are now able to manage it as we do with other respiratory infections, so that remains the case with our approach. But, obviously, we continue to monitor any changes in the behaviour of the virus.”