HISTORY tells us that
there are lies, damned lies and statistics. This mantra could well be
the slogan for the Age of Coronavirus. We are so assaulted by data
that we are losing the will to discern fact from mis-fact.
And our politicians are
not helping by daily moving their own true north to suit the
numbers cascading through. And with it all, the real truth begins to
lie, tarnished and bleeding, on the arena sand.
Of course there are
those quick to apologise for the ministers, suggesting they have a
tough job, could we do it better, what's your bright idea sunshine...
Wrong headed.
I thought it might be
fun to back up a bit and take a longer look at what we think we know,
what we know we think and what we have absolutely no clue about.
If you can remember the
beginning of the year you may recall the absent prime minister. We
now know that it was not just around Christmas and New Year that our
PM took a long breather in the sun (paid for by another). It was a lot
longer that he was off-watch.
On the fourth Friday of
January the first of five briefings took place for Cabinet members in
Briefing Room A in Number 10. Health secretary Matt Hancock breezed
out to tell us the coronavirus risk to the UK was “low”. The PM
was not there. And he missed the next four COBRA sessions. Presumably
he took Hancock's half cocked assessment at face value.
The spin on this
dereliction continues.
In the same month of
January, the same Matt Hancock told the House of Commons that the UK
was “well-prepared and well-equipped to tackle any contagion”. He
added we “had a world-leading test for Covid-19”. Once again the
spin swirls but what we now know is that we were not well prepared.
In fact so badly prepared that front-line staff are still going into
battle without suitable protection. And so poorly equipped that we
had to bend every sinew to avoid the NHS being overwhelmed. Indeed we
had to build entire hospitals and buy in every type of ventilator
available. And as for the world-leading test? Let us hope the world
was not hoping for us to lead since we seem even now not to have a
reliable test.
Way back you will
recall being told that – a bit like China – would build whole
hospitals in exhibition centres and football stadia to house
thousands of additional ITU wards, vast numbers of ventilators. We
built them. There were those who cautioned that staffing could be an
issue. But ahead we went. Brilliant work but where are the doctors
and nurses and others? Nowhere to be seen since our entire NHS is
already creaking under the pressure of, guess what, covoid-19
infections. London's miracle unit has taken 40 odd patients.
We have been told
throughout that we had enough ventilators. Right up to the moment
when we admitted we did not. But had we really taken steps to find
more? Well, prominent people offered salvation but nothing has come
of that. And yet real manufacturers had offered to build more of the
conventional variety but told us they were being ignored. Along with,
we now know, hundred of potential PPE makers who were not Burberry or
Tory party donors. OK, that is a bit cynical – but only if
wrong...
Meantime we have been
told we have been following the science. Of course, although given
recent attitudes to 'experts' we could be forgiven for doubting it.
But are we really to accept that the scientists told us NOT to cancel
major events like the Cheltenham Gold Cup (250,000 attendees) and
Liverpool v Atletico Madrid (3,000 visitors fresh from covid-19 rife
Madrid). Really? Or did no one ask their opinion on those examples
but simply ascribe their faulty assessment of risk (low) coupled with
Hancock's hopeless assessment of preparednes (none) and let it rip?
For rip they surely have.
Back to testing. I think most of us took a sharp intake of breath when Matt Hancock promised 100,000 tests A DAY by the end of April. And then we saw them rolled out to a few remote locations - and remain empty while staff were too far away and way too busy to trek to the units. Why did they not go in vans, two crew, one set of kit and visit the front line peripatetically. And we are still some 80,000 tests short of Hancocks Half-baked target.
I always stop at about
this point. It's is a whole A4 page now and your forbearance cannot
be assumed. Unlike that of the general public....
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