National bodies ‘failed to help staff with rationing care during covid’

Six in 10 healthcare professionals said they lacked support from national bodies like NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care when making decisions about which patients to prioritise for higher-intensity care during the pandemic, according to research.

A similar proportion of staff said they were unable to escalate some patients to a higher level of care, when they otherwise would have, a survey carried out for the covid-19 inquiry found.

The most common reasons given for not escalating were a lack of staff and not enough beds, including for high dependency care and for invasive mechanical ventilation.

It comes as NHS England’s representative, Eleanor Grey KC, urged the inquiry to “bear in mind the resources that were available” and “external constraints… such as the ageing NHS estate”.

Ms Grey also argued the exercise should consider what alternative decisions could have been taken by NHSE, arguing: “Evidence of the harm caused by a measure that was adopted has to be balanced by an equally serious assessment of the anticipated harms of alternatives.”

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Source: HSJ, 11 September 2024