The British Medical Association says so: “the facts, figures, and the living reality for thousands of patients and NHS staff daily demonstrate undoubtedly that the NHS is currently already overwhelmed.”6 But the prime minister is not so sure: “different places, at different moments, will feel at least temporarily overwhelmed,” he said last week.6 Just not enough—yet—to warrant further measures to control covid-19 cases. Protecting the NHS from being overwhelmed has been a government priority throughout the pandemic.789 This has often been interpreted as the number of people in hospital and the capacity, such as numbers of beds, available to treat them.10 But there is no clear definition of an overwhelmed healthcare system, despite the risk of it happening looming large in the political psyche. One version might be when a healthcare system cannot provide care to people who need it. Another version of “overwhelmed” might be when quality of care falls below an acceptable threshold. This is ultimately a political gamble—and government must be honest about the consequences for the NHS and the public it serves.

Source: The Guardian January 11, 2022 10:50 UTC