'Lack of [#NHSEngland] #ICUcapacity was ‘political choice’, #ChrisWhitty tells #CovidInquiry – #UK politics live

#ChiefMedicalOfficer #England] tells #Covid19 inquiry that UK had ‘very low’ capacity compared with other wealthy countries'

'The main thing we could do at the beginning, before we understood it slightly better, was to reduce the amount of Covid. If you don’t get Covid, you don’t get #LongCovid.'
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2024/sep/26/uk-politics-labour-keir-starmer-un-general-assembly-speech
#ToryPoliciesInAction #ToryLegacy

'Doctor in tears at #CovidInquiry says what #NHS staff saw was ‘indescribable’

#ProfKevinFong, who was on shift during 7/7 bombings, says height of pandemic was like a ‘#TerroristAttackEveryDay’'

'data that officials in #London relied upon to understand how hospitals were faring failed to capture the reality of the crisis on the frontline, he said, with some hospitals “bursting at the seams” & close to “a state of collapse”.'
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/sep/26/doctor-in-tears-at-covid-inquiry-says-what-nhs-staff-saw-was-indescribable
#COVID19 #NHSEngland #ToryPoliciesInAction

#Corporate #UK #TaxBreaks to cost £20bn more than they generate, study finds

Exclusive: Relief rolled out in 2023 will cost £30bn in taxes but spur only up to £10.5bn investment, analysis shows
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/sep/22/corporate-uk-tax-breaks-to-cost-20bn-more-than-they-generate-study-finds
#ToryPoliciesInAction #ToryLegacy

#CovidInquiry

#Johnson and #Hancock accused of making ‘false’ #NHS claims

Inquiry told how #NHS entered #pandemic with high nursing vacancies and low number of critical care beds
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/sep/09/boris-johnson-matt-hancock-criticised-covid-inquiry-nhs
#ToryPoliciesInAction #NHSEngland #BreakAndPrivstise #Covid19

'#Britain was hit far harder by the #Covid19 #pandemic than other developed countries because the #NHS had been “seriously weakened” by disastrous government policies over the preceding decade, a wide-ranging report will conclude this week'
https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/sep/07/tory-health-reforms-left-uk-open-to-covid-calamity-says-top-doctors-report
#ToryPoliciesInAction

#Sunak’s Government Did Not Know How #Schools Spent £9.2 Billion a Year Allocated to Help #DisadvantagedChildren

‘There has been a lack of sustained progress by government in reducing the attainment gap between disadvantaged children and their peers’, a new report by the #NationalAuditOffice has found
https://bylinetimes.com/2024/07/24/sunaks-government-did-not-know-how-schools-spent-9-2-billion-a-year-allocated-to-help-disadvantaged-children/

#ToryPoliciesInAction #ToryLegacy

Nottingham A&E staff may have mistaken dying woman for homeless person, inquest told - https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jul/24/inga-rublite-inquest-nottingham-queens-medical-centre
#ToryPoliciesInAction [cost lives] #UnderfundingPublicServices #ProfitsBeforePeople

#Homelessness in #England at highest level on record, watchdog says

#NationalAuditOffice report on #Tory government’s attempts to tackle problem finds situation has worsened since 2017
https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jul/23/homelessness-england-highest-level-on-record-national-audit-office-report
#ToryPoliciesInAction #ToryIndifference #ToryLegacy

'#NHSEngland finances so dire that whole service may collapse, says spending watchdog

#NationalAuditOffice says
years of #underfunding have left the NHS in England so cash-strapped that it cannot treat patients quickly enough, and the rising tide of ill-health will make matters worse, the #NationalAuditOffice (#NAO) said'
https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jul/23/nhs-finances-so-dire-that-whole-service-may-collapse-says-spending-watchdog
#ToryPoliciesInAction #ToryLegacy #UnderfundingPublicServices

#CareQualityCommission (#CQC)

‘National disgrace’: #BlackMothers in #England twice as likely to have #NHSEngland birth investigated

Exclusive: head of #RoyalCollegeOfMidwives blames ‘InstitutionalRacism’ as black women face greater risk of #death and #stillbirth
https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jul/23/national-disgrace-black-mothers-in-england-twice-as-likely-to-have-nhs-birth-investigated
#ToryPoliciesInAction #ToryLegacy

#Newborn baby made #homeless by #HomeOffice in [#Tory] frenzy to clear #asylum backlog

Department ordered to reconsider cases of father with baby and a mother with two children
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/jul/20/newborn-baby-made-homeless-by-home-office-in-frenzy-to-clear-asylum-backlog
#ToryPoliciesInAction #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #ToryLegacy

'The [1st of 7] #Covid InquiryReport makes it clear: #Britain was completely and fatally unprepared

The #UK must never succumb to such shocking complacency again. Planning for the next #pandemic must start now'
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/article/2024/jul/18/uk-government-covid-covid-inquiry-report-britain-pandemic
#ToryPoliciesInAction #Covid19 #PublicHealth #ToryIndifference

#CovidInquiry

#Hunt to #Hancock: six politicians in the frame in #Covid19 inquiry report

While many of the failings are seen as institutional, the report names some politicians for their role in the crisis
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/jul/18/the-politicians-named-in-covid-inquiry-report-over-failures-prior-to-pandemic
#ToryPoliciesInAction #ToryIndifference #BrexitBonus

'#Hancock and #Hunt failed to prepare #UK for #pandemic, #CovidInquiry finds

Health secretaries failed to fix flaws in contingency planning before #Covid19 killed more than 230,000 in #UK, report says'

“Never again can a disease be allowed to lead to so many deaths and so much suffering.”
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/jul/18/hancock-and-hunt-failed-to-prepare-uk-for-pandemic-covid-inquiry-finds
#ToryPoliciesInAction #LongCovid #ToryLegacy #ToryIndifference #BrexitBonus

'#Children missing from #HomeOffice hotels likely to have been #trafficked, report finds

Exclusive: Study sparks new calls for #PublicInquiry into ‘scandal’ of missing #migrant children in #UK
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/jul/17/children-missing-from-home-office-hotels-likely-to-have-been-trafficked-report-finds
#ToryPoliciesInAction #ToryInhumanity #ToryLegacy

‘‘Staggering shortfall’ of #NHSEngland staff as record number of patients wait for tests

Lack of #radiologists blamed for waiting list for diagnostic tests more than doubling in 10 years in #England
https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jul/14/staggering-shortfall-of-nhs-staff-as-record-number-of-patients-wait-for-tests
#ToryPoliciesInAction #NHS #BreakThenPrivatise

'First #CovidInquiry report to set out ‘appalling failures’ during #pandemic

Catalogue of errors by government and #health officials includes the deliberate winding down of #PPE stockpiles.'

The inquiry has been told of a catalogue of failings in preparing for a pandemic during years of #austerity under the #Tories and the Tory-#LiberalDemocrat coalition.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/article/2024/jul/14/first-covid-inquiry-report-to-set-out-appalling-failures-during-pandemic
#Covid19 #ToryPoliciesInAction #LivesLost

#VoterID rule may have stopped 400,000 taking part in #UK #election, poll suggests

Exclusive: 3.2% of those surveyed say they were turned away at least once, with minority ethnic people worse affected
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jul/08/voter-id-rule-may-have-stopped-400000-taking-part-in-uk-election-poll-suggests
#ToryPoliciesInAction [#Change needed]

#PrivateRents in #GreatBritain hit record high, data shows -

Rightmove calls on new government to prioritise sector as rents outside London climb 7% in a year
https://www.theguardian.com/money/article/2024/jul/03/private-rents-in-great-britain-hit-record-high-data-shows
#ToryPoliciesInAction #Rentiers #GE2024

Half of #NursingStudents in #England have considered quitting, survey finds

Exclusive: Figure suggests 32,000 students could walk away, mostly over costs and fears of burnout
https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/jul/03/half-of-nursing-students-in-england-have-considered-quitting-survey-finds
#ToryPoliciesInAction #NHSEngland #BreakThenPrivatise #GE2024