A time to applaud everyone who has stepped up to the plate
The pandemic of Covid-19 is a challenge the like of which we have never experienced before in our lifetime. So it is understandable that the ramping up of PPE provision and testing capability has been a problem not only for our government but for all governments around the world as well as for the private health sector.
Through our shared effort and all our shared pain, we must applaud the Boris Johnson Government for the measures it has taken to help address the concerns of our industry. The Secretary of State for Health, in particular, has to be applauded for his efforts in ramping up testing across our region, exceeding the government’s national target of 100,000 tests a day by the end of April. It has rightly always been a key focus of Matthew Hancock and the government to prioritise the testing of social care residents and staff.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is also to be commended for his swift and decisive action; he has understood the problem facing companies in the healthcare sector, regarding VAT on PPE, and reduced the burden on them significantly. Can we also ask the Chancellor to look at ways of rewarding frontline care staff for their extra effort? The sterling efforts of MPs in supporting our business, including Lowestoft MP Peter Aldous and West Norfolk MP James Wild, must also be applauded. In examining the national response to the pandemic, we must also highlight the steadfast support of the Care Quality Commission to our industry in this time of crisis.
When there is a time for reflection, once the pandemic has subsided, we must implore the government to devote its energy on seeing through a root and branch review of the social care system in the UK. This is all the more important in light of the UK’s ageing population demographics. We must look to create a system that fairly supports people at the time of life they need it and removes artificial barriers between healthcare and social care.
