You might think that a cabinet minister and privy councillor whose reputation for truthfulness had been brought into (very public) question would be inclined to keep their public utterances strictly on the straight and narrow.
You’d be failing to allow for the enthusiastic approach of the Health Secretary. Matt Hancock used his presentation to today’s NHS Confederation Conference to try to explain that the five million-strong NHS backlog, claiming it was down to Covid-19.
Asked about providing guarantees of funding to address the NHS backlog, Mr Hancock told the event that ‘the virus is responsible, and the backlog is a consequence of the pandemic’.
This is, quite simply, untrue. The NHS backlog has been growing for much of the last decade, caused by the mismatch between NHS funding growth, the system’s activity and demand for care.
Since February 2016, the NHS has been missing its 18-week referral to treatment target.
Comments
Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just $5 for 3 monthsAlready a subscriber? Log in