Who is popular today?

The coalition government’s 2012 act fragmented the healthcare system and weakened its ability to cope with a pandemic
Though it’s too early to judge how successful different countries have been in managing this pandemic, it’s hard to escape the view that the UK has failed in several respects. The government muddled its initial epidemic control strategy and was slow to roll out testing and contact tracing. Shortages in PPE may have contributed to the tragic deaths of frontline health workers. And measures to shield the vulnerable in care and residential homes have been inadequate.
These failings aren’t just the result of recent decisions – in England they’re also symptoms of structural weaknesses in the health system, many of which can be traced back to the 2012 Health and Social Care Act. In October 2011, nearly 400 public health experts signed an open letter asking members of the House of Lords to reject these reforms, the brainchild of the former health secretary Andrew Lansley, warning they would “undermine the ability of the health system to respond effectively to communicable disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies”. Continue reading...