The Government’s decision to scrap Public Health England in the middle of a pandemic risks undermining the Covid-19 response, the UK’s top doctor has warned.
Professor Andrew Goddard, president of the Royal College of Physicians, said Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s last-minute reorganisation risked “losing some very, very talented people” and that its timing was “not good”.
His comments were echoed by Professor Jo Martin, president of the Royal College of Pathologists, who said staff were “all in the middle of coping with infection control changes, dealing with patients, and dealing with the fall-out of the pandemic” and that the change would leave them concerned about their future.
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The Health Secretary said on Wednesday that the major reorganisation was “absolutely the best thing to do and the best thing to do right now”, adding: “I don’t accept that there will be disruption.”
But speaking to MPs at the All-party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus, Professor Goddard of the Royal College of Physicians said:
“I think the timing though is not good. We’re still in the middle of this pandemic and to think about a reorganisation of the systems right now is probably not right.
“I’d also take the opportunity to say that the staff within PHE have worked above and beyond completely over the past months.
“Many have worked seven-day weeks, 16 hour days, and I think that the announcement about all of this will just undermine them. We risk losing some very, very talented people if we’re not careful. So it needs to be managed very carefully.”
Speaking at the same hearing, Professor Martin of the Royal College of Pathologists added: “I think the timing is interesting. Our microbiologists many of whom work with PHE, our virologists, our immunologists, are all in the middle of coping with infection control changes, dealing with patients, and dealing with the fall-out of the pandemic. Many of them hold joint positions with PHE and they are very worried. This is difficult timing, I would agree entirely.
“PHE staff have been astonishing. They have worked absolutely, creating evidence, gathering evidence, and any time of the day or night if I wanted to know something there would be somebody in PHE would who respond to that.
“Groups created, information sharing, and the willingness to really go above and beyond has really been admirable, absolutely admirable. I couldn’t fault the personal dedication of the staff of PHE during this time.”
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PA
3/50 16 AugustWasp players take a knee as Northampton Saints stand prior to kick-off in their Premiership match at Franklin’s Gardens
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Getty
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PA
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15/50 4 August 2020The ‘Timbuktu tumblers’ from Kenya perform their balancing act on the Southsea waterfront as Zippos Circus reopens in Portsmouth
Rex
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POOL/AFP via Getty
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Pool via Reuters
19/50 31 July 2020People enjoy the sunny weather at a Bournemouth Beach
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PA
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Getty/ECB
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Getty
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Pool via Reuters
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AFP via Getty
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PA
32/50 18 July 2020People enjoy the sunny weather at Painshill, an 18th century landscape garden in Cobham, Surrey
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33/50 17 July 2020Captain Sir Thomas Moore receives his knighthood from Queen Elizabeth, during a ceremony at Windsor Castle
AP
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The Daily Telegraph/PA
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Getty
38/50 12 July 2020West Indies’s John Campbell and Jason Holder celebrate winning the test as England’s Rory Burns and teammates look on dejected
Reuters
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Reuters
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Getty
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PA
42/50 8 July 2020Players take a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement on the first day of the first Test cricket match between England and the West Indies at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton
AFP via Getty
43/50 7 July 2020A circus performer from the Association of Circus Proprietors in Whitehall, London. The association handed a petition to Downing Street to ask Prime Minister Boris Johnson to allow circuses to reopen
EPA
44/50 6 July 2020Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland, which re-opened to the public after being closed due to the coronavirus lockdown
PA
45/50 5 July 2020People visit Columbia Road Flower Market, London, as it reopens following the easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions across England
PA
46/50 4 July 2020A member of bar staff wearing PPE in the form of a face mask, pours drinks inside the The Goldengrove in Stratford
AFP via Getty
47/50 3 July 2020Cardboard cutouts of fans in the stands prior to the League One play-off semi final match between Portsmouth and Oxford United at Fratton Park
PA
48/50 2 July 2020A diver cleans the inside window of the seal tank at Tynemouth Aquarium in North Shields, as it prepares to open on Saturday after further coronavirus lockdown restrictions are lifted in England
PA
49/50 1 July 2020Slackliner Sandor Nagy practices on the beach in Boscombe, on the south coast of England
AFP via Getty
50/50 30 June 2020(left to right) Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald, former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams, and Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill attending the funeral of senior Irish Republican and former leading IRA figure Bobby Storey in west Belfast
PA
The comments echo warnings by other health experts. On Tuesday Richard Murray, the chief executive of the think The King’s Fund, said PHE “appears to have been found guilty without a trial” for problems with the coronavirus response and said it was unclear what problem ministers were hoping to solve by redistributing the body’s responsibilities.
Ministers have also been accused by critics of trying to deflect blame onto government agencies and away from themselves. The decision to appoint Baroness Dido Harding, who oversaw the flagging test-and-trace programme, to lead PHE’s replacement has also raised concerns.
Source: UK Politics - www.independent.co.uk