Yahoo Finance ‘We knew people were dying’: Boris Johnson's coronavirus response criticised by Lancet editor
The editor of prestigious medical journal The Lancet has hit out at Boris Johnson’s government over the way it has handled coronavirus, branding it a “national scandal”.
Richard Horton said the government had known since January that COVID-19 was coming to the UK but had “wasted February” by failing to ramp up testing or ensure there is enough personal protective equipment (PPE) for NHS staff.
Speaking on BBC’s Question Time on Thursday night, Horton said: “Sorry to say this but it’s a national scandal. We shouldn’t be in this position.”
The Lancet’s Richard Horton brilliant takedown of the Government’s handling of #coronavirus as a “national scandal” 👏#bbcqtpic.twitter.com/XPYMY9uLXy
— end of daves ❄️ 🥕 🧻 (@davemacladd) March 26, 2020
He said: “We knew in the last week of January that this was coming. The message from China was absolutely clear that a new virus with pandemic potential was hitting cities, people were being admitted to hospital, admitted to intensive care units and dying and the mortality was growing.
“We knew that 11 weeks ago and then we wasted February when we could have acted - time when we could have ramped up testing, time when we could have got PPE ready and disseminated. We didn’t do it.”
Latest coronavirus news, updates and advice
Live: Follow all the latest updates from the UK and around the world
Fact-checker: The number of COVID-19 cases in your local area
Explained: Symptoms, latest advice and how it compares to the flu
Horton’s comments build on concerns that there is not enough, or the right, PPE for doctors and nurses treating patients with coronavirus.
Earlier this week the British Medical Association (BMA) warned that doctors and patients will die without adequate personal protective equipment.
Horton hit out at what he branded hypocrisy by the government for encouraging the nation to applaud NHS workers on Thursday night whilst failing to equip them properly.
He said: “I’m hearing that not just PPE is not available, it’s the wrong kind of PPE. What we have isn’t even WHO standard.
“We’re putting our health workers who we’ve just all clapped here in the front line without the armour they need to defend themselves. They’re wearing surgical masks which are not WHO standard, they’re wearing thin plastic aprons which are not standard and they’re wearing rubber gloves which only cover their wrist exposing their arms to danger.
“That is nothing short of a national scandal. How could we allow this to happen? The hypocrisy of clapping NHS workers and yet the government not supporting them to go into that front line is tragic and it was preventable. I’m sorry to say but it was preventable.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said millions of pieces of PPE have been sent out and a hotline has been set up so staff can report where there are shortages.
