Heatwave live: Temperatures could hit 36C today, forecaster says - as he predicts when heatwave will end
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Sky News
2 hours ago
- Sky News
Matt Hancock accused of insulting 'memory of every COVID victim' over inquiry comments
Former health secretary Matt Hancock has been accused of insulting the "memory of each and every person who died" over his description of the way patients were discharged into care homes during the COVID pandemic. Speaking at the inquiry into the government's handling of the crisis, Mr Hancock said discharging patients from hospitals to care homes in the early stages of the pandemic was "the least-worst decision" at the time. "It was formally a government decision," he added. "It was signed off by the prime minister. It was really driven by Simon Stevens, the chief executive of the NHS, but it was widely discussed. "Nobody has yet provided me with an alternative that was available at the time that would have saved more lives." When the pandemic hit in early 2020, hospital patients were rapidly discharged into care homes in a bid to free up beds and prevent the NHS from becoming overwhelmed. But there was no policy in place requiring patients to be tested for COVID before admission, or for asymptomatic patients to isolate, until mid-April - despite growing awareness of the risks of people without symptoms spreading the virus. The High Court ruled in 2022 that government policies on discharging hospital patients into care homes at the start of the pandemic were "unlawful". Nicola Brook, a solicitor for more than 7,000 families from COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK, said Mr Hancock's claim that the policy had been the least-worst decision available was "an insult to the memory of each and every person who died". She added: "He knew at the time that many care homes did not have the ability to isolate the people who would be discharged from hospital and that COVID was airborne." No apology or empathy from Hancock Matt Hancock has given evidence to the COVID inquiry many times before. He has been accused of being combative, bullish and insensitive. Wednesday's appearance will do nothing to diminish that criticism. This module deals specifically with care homes. The government's decision to allow mostly untested patients into care homes with their population of elderly, vulnerable residents is widely seen as its most controversial move during the health emergency. It resulted in the deaths of thousands of care home residents. At the time, addressing the country during a Downing Street press conference, Mr Hancock said a protective ring had been thrown around care homes. When challenged on that statement today, the former health secretary said it was "rhetoric". He had tried, he said. But it was impossible. Mr Hancock told the inquiry it was not his decision but a collective one that he was charged with enforcing. He stressed several times it was the "least worst option" because if he had not acted to create capacity in hospitals by transferring patients, the NHS would have been overwhelmed. When challenged with evidence presented to the inquiry that Mr Hancock "lied about the situation" and he had left older people to be "culled" because they could no longer contribute to society, Mr Hancock simply countered by saying he had had people in touch at the time thanking him for his efforts. And this was said to an inquiry room where people who had lost loved ones in care homes sat barely a few feet away. No contrition. No apology. No empathy. 'We were in bleak circumstances' Mr Hancock, who offered no apology at the inquiry, became health secretary in 2018. He resigned from the Conservative government in 2021 after admitting to breaking social distancing guidance by having an affair with a colleague. He added: "We were trying to do everything that we possibly could, we were in bleak circumstances." 4:59 The inquiry has previously heard there were more than 43,000 deaths involving the virus in care homes across the UK between March 2020 and July 2022. A civil servant was quoted earlier this week describing the figure as a "generational slaughter within care homes". 'Would my dad still be alive?' Sharon Cook, whose parents were living in a care home when the pandemic struck, said there was a "lot of confusion" about the guidance at the time. She told Sky News her mother tested positive for COVID and died three days later. She was allowed into the care home to tell her father, who had dementia, but after one visit, she was prevented from returning. A week later, her father died and when she went to the care home, she was told they had not attempted to resuscitate him. When she asked why, they showed her a DNAR (Do Not Attempt Resuscitation) form, which, they said, "had been in consultation with me". "If they'd been using the proper form, a more up-to-date form, I would have had to countersign," she said. "So I would have seen that, and then I could have exercised his right to have a second opinion. "So I'll never know if he would have survived, or not, but there was certainly a lot of confusion around care homes at the time that the guidance was being given. "And when I went back three months later to discuss what had happened, they actually said, 'oh, our mistake, we should have actually let you in. "If I'd been let in, would my dad still be with me? I don't know."
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Boy, three, who died of sepsis would have got to hospital earlier if 111 operator graded calls life-threatening, inquest hears
A three-year-old boy who tragically died from sepsis might have been rushed to hospital earlier if a 111 operator had treated his call as a life-or-death emergency, an inquest heard. Mother Kayleigh Kenneford dialled 111 on the evening of July 7, 2022, desperate for help as her son, Theo Tuikubulau, felt seriously unwell. For 36 hours, little Theo had been steadily worsening, battling a high fever, flu-like symptoms, struggling to breathe, and refusing food and drink. Just a day earlier, Theo had already been admitted and discharged from Plymouth's Derriford Hospital with what doctors suspected was an upper respiratory infection. But confusion over emergency call grading systems sealed Theo's fate. At Devon Coroner's Court, it emerged that 999 calls and 111 calls use separate triage systems, and while Theo's breathing difficulties were classified as the highest emergency level, category one, by the 999-linked medical priority system on July 6, the 111 service ranked the same symptoms a less urgent category two the next day. That meant paramedics took a full 90 minutes to reach Theo after his mother first called for an ambulance just before 11pm on July 7. Theo was rushed back to Derriford Hospital, arriving just after 1am, but tragically died hours later from sepsis caused by a deadly 'invasive' Strep A infection.P Jon Knight, head of emergency operations at the South West Ambulance Service Trust, had reviewed the 111 call and was asked what would have happened if it had been made to his employers. 'My belief is based on the trigger phrase that the patient was fighting for breath at the time, it would have triggered a cat one through the AMPDS system,' he said. Mr Knight said he was dealing with 'hypotheticals' as to how quickly a category one ambulance that night would have reached Theo. 'It is really hard to commit to a time,' he said. 'It certainly would have been quicker than 90 minutes, would be my belief. 'I think with the right set of circumstances - if you didn't have an ambulance available in the area and you were bringing one from Derriford Hospital - you are probably looking at 30 minutes.' Louise Wiltshire, assistant coroner for Devon, asked Mr Knight about the evidence of Ms Kenneford in which she said she was told by the 111 call handler an ambulance would not be long. 'What I can tell you is within the training with our own service, we would not ask or allow our colleagues to give people average or any sort of indication of ambulance response time,' he replied. 'What we say to patients is: 'An ambulance has been arranged for you. It will be with you as soon as possible. If your condition changes or worsens in any way, call us back immediately.' 'We try to manage patient expectation in that way and give them a very clear instruction to call us back, regardless of timescale.' Mr Knight told the inquest that having reviewed documents relating to Theo's care that evening, the ambulance crew recognised he was seriously unwell and immediately took him to Derriford Hospital. 'I think the crew made all the appropriate and correct decisions in their decision to leave the scene and take Theo to hospital,' he said. The hospital was also alerted in advance that the ambulance was coming and staff were waiting for him, Mr Knight said. 'I absolutely support all of the decision-making that was made at the time,' he added. Andrew Morse, representing Theo's family, suggested if the call on July 7 had been assessed as a category one then he could have potentially arrived at the hospital by 11.45pm. 'On balance, given the testimony I've already given to the coroner, I think that that's a reasonable assumption,' Mr Knight replied. The inquest heard there was a paramedic crew who could have reached Theo within 33 minutes had his call been graded as category one. Megan Barker, Mr Knight's deputy, said: 'At best guess, if we compared that to the resource that did go approximately an hour and a bit later, it would have taken them around 30 to 33 minutes to get to Theo. 'We can guess that they would have spent a similar amount of time with Theo, so likely have had a hospital arrival time of about 30 minutes later. 'That puts us around maybe 12.10am.' The inquest before a jury at County Hall in Exeter continues.
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Four dead as Europe endures deadly heatwave
A deadly heatwave is sweeping across Europe, claiming four lives and triggering widespread wildfires in Spain and Turkey. Two individuals died in a wildfire in Catalonia, Spain, while France reported two heatwave-related deaths and 300 hospital admissions. Italy issued red alerts for 18 cities due to the extreme temperatures, which meteorologists describe as 'exceptional' for their early arrival. A nuclear reactor unit in Switzerland was shut down and another halved output due to high river water temperatures affecting cooling systems. Spain and France experienced their hottest Junes on record, with scientists linking such extreme weather to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.
