The NHS should be wary of being used as a political tool

When I heard politicians insist they were being ‘led by the science’ in their response to coronavirus, it worried me for a couple of reasons. Firstly, a scientist will happily lead you down the path they believe in, but it is rare to have only one scientific view. It would be far more accurate for politicians to say we are being led by ‘one hypothesis’ from ‘one scientific group’. The modelling from Imperial that led to the current lockdown policy informed ‘the science’ but it’s now clear it was not the only scientific view.

Secondly, if the situation calls for an intervention and there is no cause and effect – i.e. if lockdown is easily achieved and it causes no damage – then you could easily argue that there is nothing to lose, and translate this ‘science’ into action. But clearly this is not the case. A range of science should advise but not lead.