As the government suggests retired doctors could be enlisted to help treat Coronavirus Dr Jenny Vaughan DAUK’s Law and Policy Lead questions these plans. Speaking to GP Online DAUK raise concerns about how retired doctors would be more vulnerable to COVID-19, and how the NHS pensions tax which forced many to retire is still not fixed.
Eight out of the 1,618 respondents said they believed the health service was ready to deal with an outbreak when asked by The Doctors' Association UK (DAUK), despite the prime minister's insistence that the NHS will cope if it is hit by a surge in the number of people falling ill.
Providing a voice for frontline medics, DAUK has been warning for weeks that doctors across the country are concerned that the NHS is unprepared for an outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19). Today, the government has heard and acknowledged what frontline doctors have been saying for some time - that the NHS is already on its knees, such that it will find it difficult to cope with a Coronavirus outbreak. It should not have taken this long to have an honest conversation to address the issue of critical care capacity and our ability to look after our sickest patients.
As Boris Johnson reveals the Coronavirus Action Plan DAUK’s GP Lead Dr Yaso Browne reacts live on This Morning with Holly and Phil and Nick Ferrari.
Our survey also shows that a large majority of doctors fear the NHS is ill-prepared to deal with a major outbreak. More than 99 per cent of 1618 medics questioned by the Doctors’ Association UK did not agree that the service is well prepared to cope if it is hit by an epidemic.
In a poll, The Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK) asked doctors “Do you feel the NHS is well prepared for coronavirus?” Only 8 of the 1618 respondents answered that they did feel it was prepared.
Our survey of over 1600 doctors revealed that just 8 think the NHS is well prepared for Coronovirus. Frontline doctors have detailed their concerns including critical care capacity and lack of basic provisions. Read more in The Guardian here.
