Ex-health chief shares shocking details about UK's pandemic decision making
Former health secretary reveals new insights about hospital mask-use and political tensions during covid crisis. His testimony at the inquiry brings up fresh details about decision-making processes in 2020
In a thought-provoking testimony at the covid inquiry Matt Hancock suggested quick-action rules for future health crises. The ex-health minister thinks hospitals should make everyone wear masks right-away if another pandemic hits – a big change from the three-month delay we saw in spring-2020
Scientific proof about masks has been hard to pin down: a recent UK Health Security Agency report couldnt find any solid data about special medical masks (like N95s and FFP2s) protecting at-risk people. The findings showed a real-world gap between theory and practice; no clear-cut answers emerged
The inquiry brought up some behind-the-scenes drama with Scotlandʼs leadership. Hancock pointed fingers at then-first minister Nicola Sturgeon for making things tricky: “This was all about how Nicola Sturgeon was causing all sorts of difficulties“. The split between UK and Scottish health decisions led to different lock-down rules north of the border
There were a number of moments when the first minister of Scotland would communicate in a way that was unhelpful and confusing to the public
Hancock described protecting the NHS from No10ʼs meddling. He mentioned that political staff caused real problems with the testing program – which he called the “biggest interference“. The former minister said he had to shield health-service decisions from what he called “people being difficult from No10“
