DAUK in Newsweek: What’s in U.K. Spending Review for the Next Year of COVID Crisis?

Britain's chancellor has the unenviable job of planning how to spend the country's money against a backdrop of an economy devastated by the COVID crisis and huge job losses. Dr. Ellen Welch, who sits on a committee of the Doctors' Association U.K. (DAUK), tells Newsweek that if a potential pay freeze does hit those working within the NHS it "will come as a huge kick in the teeth for staff morale".

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DAUK in the mirror: Serco to make £165m profit after being paid to operate ‘shambolic’ test and trace

Outsourcing firm Serco has announced its profits are set to soar after being paid to operate NHS Test and Trace. The company announced that extra cash could be funnelled to shareholders in the week the performance of the part-privatised contact tracing system hit a new low. Campaigners have labelled the profit alert “obscene” while a group of independent scientists have called for the contact tracing system to be “dismantled”.

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DAUK reacts to the NHS Confederation report on the “Triple Whammy” from coronavirus

The Doctors’ Association UK echoes the concern of the NHS confederation report “NHS reset” with regards to the “triple whammy” that threatens the NHS. Frontline NHS workers have been concerned about the combination of local coronavirus outbreaks, a second wave of COVID-19 and an ever-increasing backlog of NHS patients needing planned treatment such as surgery creating a health timebomb. DAUK raised these issues at its recent oral submission to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Coronavirus.

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DAUK reacts to the Department of Heath’s PPE strategy – Press Release

The Doctors’ Association UK welcomes the publication of the Department of Health’s PPE strategy. We wholeheartedly support planning for PPE provision for a winter in which the NHS is likely to experience a second wave of COVID-19. However, DAUK does have some reservations regarding the information published.

Women and those of a BAME background have, in particular, experienced issues with appropriately fitted PPE. This represents the majority of NHS workers and these issues were raised in April 2020. However, 6 months later, this strategy promises a data gathering exercise rather than a concrete solution. A promised project to improve mask designs will not deliver in time to help women and those from a BAME background given that coronavirus cases are already increasing.

DAUK is also concerned that there is a lack of acknowledgment regarding the misteps taken in the early phase of the pandemic response. A cardinal rule in medicine is to analyse and learn from one’s mistake and therefore do not repeat the same again. Without accepting the mistakes made regarding the wastage of taxpayers money in purchasing of unusable PPE, coupled with a lack of transparency regarding the tendering of such contracts, the worry is that the same errors will occur, with frontline NHS staff suffering.

DAUK does welcome the concept of re-usable PPE, particularly concerning the environmental impact of such an idea. However, we would seek assurances that a robust process of decontamination and involvement of trained Public Health England staff to ensure its safety.

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