29.05.20
NHS Confederation: Complacency must be avoided in lockdown easing
Alongside welcoming in news of further easing of lockdown measures in England, NHS Confederation Chief Executive Niall Dickson also issued a stark warning for everyone to still remain vigilant and cautious to ensure we maintain the success we’ve had in combatting the current coronavirus outbreak.
NHS Confederation represent organisations across the healthcare sector, whose staff are seeing progress being made but are still treating notable numbers of Covid-19 patients.
Mr Dickson said: “Everyone will welcome some easing of lockdown measures in England and in the other parts of the UK. But the health service and the care system remain alert and cautious.
"Staff are still struggling with large numbers of very sick Covid-19 patients and our whole system has been turned upside down by the virus. Moving back to normality will be nothing like flicking a switch. We face a long and difficult struggle to manage services, not just over the next few months but long afterwards into what is likely to be a very difficult winter.
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"The immediate priority is to prevent another surge. We welcome the new NHS Test and Trace service in England which will be indispensable in stamping out new outbreaks by combining national and local contact tracing.
"But no-one should be in any doubt that there is little room for manoeuvre and the risk of another major outbreak remains. The new Test and Trace service will take a little time to bed down and we must be vigilant everywhere.
"The other key element going forward will be clear communication. With more nuanced and less binary advice, where everyone will be expected to exercise some discretion, the overriding messages about hand hygiene and social distancing will be more important than ever. Nor do we need grand promises.
“Our greatest enemy now may well be complacency."