Actually a Flu Pandemic has been the most serious risk on the National Risk Register since 2004 - above everything including terrorism, floods etc. Government investment in a central buffer stock of PPE has been a lynchpin of response plans since then. This is because economies of scale make it better that they maintain large supplies of "in date" PPE rather than individual hospitals and GP Practises. Hospitals were literally told to only buy small amounts to tide them over until the central stocks were released.

Unfortunately we saw for ourselves that investment in the central buffer stock hadn't been what it should be when orders couldn't be processed due to shortages and we received items that were years past their expiry date and utterly unsuitable or unsafe. I could tell you stories that would make your hair stand on end.

While Covid19 wasn't influenza the PPE required was much the same as would've been needed for a flu pandemic.

I hope this particular part of the shambles isn't forgotten about when the public enquiry is held.

would that be a GLOBAL PUBLIC ENQUIRY?

I'm not with you. What?

Well, the WHO have been blocked from China, nearly 2 million will have died worldwide, so why would an anti-tory UK public enquiry be sufficient?

other than to suit the political agenda of some on here?

You would hope a open enquiry would set a platform of excellence in dealing with a future large scale public health emergency.

There is no doubt this government has not covered itself in glory and it doesn't seem to learning from its passed mistakes i.e. over promising.

There isn't a government in the world that couldn't have done a better job it is just a matter of highlighting those areas and developing a more appropriate solution.

I think there's more to be gained by learning lessons in time for the next pandemic. To not do it because it might hurt someone's feelings isn't a valid excuse.

you mean like we learned from fake WMD, selling off gold at a record low, or do you mean a chance to try and give the Conservatives a bloody nose. Ypur aim is as flimsy as the basis for your politics.

Anyway,enough said, this is getting boring,green user names intimidating people.

To find out what has been done well and what could be done better in future



The UK cant control what happens in China but, it can take some "learning" from what happens over here (understatement).

Thankfully nobody cares about your opinion.

You cared enough to post

According to the PM, it's too early to say where any mistakes have been made in the Covid response.
The UK now has the highest death rate per capita in the world and many of those death are at the feet of the country's "leader".
Too indecisive to act, either when closing borders, going into lockdown or his "world beating" test and trace.

Shame on him.

shame on the lefties spilling hate and insults, wish I had a green username.

When you are the only country in the world that reports deaths as “any reason within 28 days of a positive test” I’m not surprised we do.

Although the excess deaths figure which is the internationally accepted standard to work out mortality rates pretty much equals the above and still confirms that we are the worst in Europe for Covid deaths

What I don't understand is why the government don't simply explain the thinking behind the decisions - if mistakes have happened then people will understand the logic - dealing with this is not an exact science as we have seen across the world.

Would it not be simple to explain why they delayed the first lockdown - they didn't want to trash the economy - perfectly logical position

Why didn't we have sufficient PPE - finite money it was invested in other more pressing areas - actually how many trusts in the NHS did run out - none.

Care homes - we panicked when we saw what was going on in Italy - in hindsight very poor decision

Communication would have gone a long way - sadly politicians never want to admit they got it wrong - and no one gets everything right

Yes but, The Government was advised to "lock down" on 3 occasions and on ALL 3 occasions, although we did follow the advice, there were a few weeks delay.
Not being able to grasp the fact that acting early saves lives and means that restrictions will be in place for less time, has been just too difficult for the Bojo circus to understand and having just lost a good friend to Covid, this is just unforgivable, absolutely unforgivable.

I agree - but it would be helpful to understand why?

Well get your thinking cap on so you can use it for your next resurrection

GreenUsernameStinker

He can have that one for nowt.

Yes and we've made our Island status and border controls work to full effect.
So bloody keen to let the "middle classes" take an overseas break, we have kept on re-seeding the virus and keep on importing new "strains" of the virus, from wherever they pop up.
Compare our handling of the pandemic to that of Australia and even a fool can see how we may have done things differently.

Even our "beloved" Captain Tom went of on a jolly up and now he has the virus, it's utterly bloody ridiculous.

Thanks for your input though

You cannot compare the transit arrangements of the UK and Australia - the UK according to HMG stats had c300m visitors through the airports - Australia approx.12m. It is like Scotland yes they can lock it down - today they have 3 international flights in the whole day. The UK is a major transit hub you are not talking about the same thing - have any of the major EU countries locked their borders?

IF the UK was serious about properly controlling the pandemic, it would and should have stopped all international travel, perhaps with some minor exemptions.

Giving people free reign to fly in and out of the UK, with very little control has been utterly reckless and despite 3 "lockdowns" we are only just beginning to put any meaningful controls in place.
Asking people where they will be self isolating is an absolute joke, it needs enforcing.

The sad irony is that, those selfish b'stards that insist on overseas travel are literally killing their fellow countrymen and all with the "blessing" of the government, who couldn't control a mickey up in a brewery.

It's interesting that studies are now being carried out regarding "mixed" vaccines.

Do you think that, as we are being told, this is because the think that a "mix" will actually be more effective or, is it more likely, that our government have cocked this up as well and now need to explore some other options

You decide.

However, if a "mix" was really though to be potentially more effective, surely, this would have already been looked into

Yes he is beloved. He caught in hospital. But well done on trying to score points on a guy who has done more for the nhs than you ever have and ever will. I didn’t really have a good opinion of you. You’ve Always been a keyboard warrior. Happy to sit behind a computer screen with no chance of recourse and this post confirms it

Did you find this one whilst looking in the mirror

I'm probably what people would call centrist, although probably 'right-wing' on law and order, but I know a sh*t sandwich when I see one.

This government has been inept. Just compare them Japan's government - also an island nation, high income per capita, with a greater population density, lots of inbound business travel and outbound tourism just like us, much closer to the initial outbreak. I could catalogue BoJo's government's failings but I haven't got a whole day. About the one thing they have got right is the vaccine buying strategy.

What I'm more interested in/inflamed by is how anyone who points out this government's many failings is nowadays shut down as a 'lefty'. I do wish people would stop doing it on here, in the wider sphere of public debate too.