NHS must have better funding

WE can take comfort in that we are moving into a better place to put the Covid emergency behind us. Shortly, we will face an avalanche of inquiries challenging all the decisions that have been taken in the attempts to deal with this pandemic.

Globally, the overall quality of leadership has been a concern, particularly in those Western countries where, for various reasons, the epidemic has been particularly brutal.

Thankfully, one notable exception has been how the UK has managed the escape route in the form of the development and widespread availability of vaccines.

The inquiries will challenge the extent to which a severe lockdown strategy, solely responsible for the crippling economic impact, has, indeed, been effective in the round.

What will be considered in any inquiry will undoubtedly be that Sweden rejected the scientific modelling relied on by the UK and other European countries, electing to adopt a much softer regime and yet is currently having an impact trajectory consistent with the UK (and, indeed, Northern Ireland).

Time will tell as to how all these decisions have been evidenced as proportional.

Our own Executive will not be immune from examination. From an objective point of view, in relation to Northern Ireland, it is quite clear that we were not prepared for a pandemic.

In 2019, your newspaper was reporting that the NHS in the province was “on its knees” due to the lack of adequate bed capacity.

In the last 10 years, the Executive has overseen the reduction of our average bed resource by 1,200 — despite an increasingly ageing population. During the most severe month of the pandemic the average bed occupancy by Covid patients was 950.

The fact is that, notwithstanding any reviews around the journey we have just travelled, we cannot afford the impact of another lockdown.

Therefore, it is essential that the Executive immediately takes steps to make sure that our NHS resource in relation to beds/staff is restored to levels that will be sufficient to face any future eventuality with confidence. That is the most appropriate way for the NHS to be protected and, in turn, to help the NHS to protect us.

BRIAN KELLY

Belfast