The NHS for England and Wales nearly collapsed due to demand during the pandemic, an inquiry has found.
Baroness Heather Hallett, who was leading an inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic, said UK healthcare systems ‘teetered on the brink of total collapse’ and while it did cope, it ‘only just’ managed to.
Ministers, including former health secretary Matt Hancock, previously insisted the health service was not overwhelmed, but Lady Hallett said this was ‘semantics’, adding: ‘There was clearly overwhelm’.
In her new 387-page report, she said the devastating impact on the NHS was ‘unsurprising’ given the ‘parlous state’ the service was in at the start of the crisis.
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The report highlights how the need to protect the NHS from being overwhelmed became a key priority for politicians.
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