Drastic action was taken to protect patients and NHS staff at the start of the pandemic and treatment of patients with covid-19 was prioritised. This has meant access even to urgent diagnostic procedures and treatment for non-covid conditions has been severely restricted, putting lives at risk
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We are calling on the Government to prevent avoidable harm and death by acknowledging the scale and seriousness of the problem; ensuring the NHS prioritises re-opening of services and catching up with backlogs; providing the NHS with the extra resources it needs to do this and publishing its strategy for protecting non-covid patients with life threatening conditions and for vulnerable groups. Maximum use should be made, with sensible precautions to protect staff and patients, of spare capacity in the NHS, the Nightingale Hospitals and the private sector capacity which was commissioned to help deal with the pandemic.