Good morning. One of many largest points worrying authorities in the meanwhile is what is going on within the NHS. It’s typically introduced as a easy query, will or won’t the NHS be “overwhelmed”? (a binary framing for which the federal government itself is essentially accountable, as a result of it made this a key criterion for Covid alert levels), however, as we discovered on Tuesday, Boris Johnson cannot define what the NHS being “overwhelmed” means, and that’s as a result of there isn’t any yes-or-no reply. Chris Hopson, chief government of NHS Suppliers, made this level properly within the course a protracted thread he posted on Twitter final evening.
Chris Hopson
(@ChrisCEOHopson)On single nationwide image, notably vital to watch out about language and calibration of scale of NHS strain. NHS leaders and employees working extremely onerous to keep away from “overwhelm”, “tipping level” and “disaster” and that work must be positively acknowledged …16/24
Chris Hopson
(@ChrisCEOHopson)…NHS does not simply go from a state the place it supplies care to at least one the place it does not. Additionally vital proof from earlier waves of covid-19 that some sufferers received’t come ahead in the event that they assume the NHS is “overwhelmed”. Both as a result of they assume they received’t get therapy…17/24
The Hopson thread, which is properly value studying in full, begins here.
However individuals will make a judgment about how properly the NHS is doing, and whether or not the federal government is operating it properly, no matter whether or not or not some notional tipping level has been reached, and a report (pdf) out this morning from the Conservative-dominated Commons well being committee ought to make sobering studying for ministers. Its title is “Clearing the backlog attributable to the pandemic”, and its key message is that this may occasionally show not possible. It says that, partly due to Omicron, and partly due to long-term staffing issues (a selected obsession of Jeremy Hunt’s), the federal government’s plans to deal with the backlog are in jeopardy.
That is from Hunt, the previous Tory well being secretary and committee chair, summing up his committee’s findings.
The NHS faces an unquantifiable problem in tackling a backlog of instances attributable to the pandemic, with 5.8m sufferers ready for deliberate care and estimates that the determine may double by 2025.
Nevertheless, our report finds that the federal government’s restoration plans danger being thrown off beam by a completely predictable staffing disaster. The present wave of Omicron is exacerbating the issue, however we already had a severe staffing disaster, with a burnt-out workforce, 93,000 NHS vacancies and no signal of any plan to deal with this.
Removed from tackling the backlog, the NHS will be capable of ship little greater than everyday firefighting until the federal government wakes as much as the dimensions of the staffing disaster dealing with the NHS, and urgently develops a long-term plan to repair the problem.
I can be focusing much more on Covid and the NHS at present.
And the opposite most important fear for Johnson, after all, is the price of dwelling disaster. In a single day it was reported that Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Commons, wanted the planned national insurance increase to be shelved. We can be listening to from Rees-Mogg himself within the Commons later.
Right here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: The ONS publishes its newest knowledge on lengthy Covid.
10.10am: George Eustice, the setting secretary, provides a speech to the Oxford Farming Convention.
10.30am: Jacob Rees-Mogg, the chief of the Commons, takes questions within the Commons on subsequent week’s enterprise.
11.30am: Downing Road holds a foyer briefing.
Round 11.30am: Liz Truss, the overseas secretary, makes an announcement within the Commons about Russia.
Round 12.30pm: Victoria Atkins, the Dwelling Workplace minister, makes an announcement to MPs in regards to the Afghan resettlement scheme.
2pm: The UK Health Safety Company publishes its weekly Covid surveillance report.
I’ll protecting UK Covid developments on this weblog at present, however for wider coronavirus protection, do learn our world dwell weblog.
I attempt to monitor the feedback under the road (BTL) however it’s not possible to learn all of them. When you have a direct query, do embody “Andrew” in it someplace and I’m extra prone to discover it. I do attempt to reply questions, and if they’re of normal curiosity, I’ll publish the query and reply above the road (ATL), though I can’t promise to do that for everybody.
If you wish to entice my consideration shortly, it’s most likely higher to make use of Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
Alternatively, you possibly can electronic mail me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com