The backlog in the NHS means that almost half of patients are waiting too long for cancer treatment, with more than 7,000 waiting over 62 days. There are more than 7 million people waiting for hospital appointments, a record with the numbers double what they were in March 2020.ĭuring the first year of the pandemic, Britain cancelled more cancer operations than anywhere else in Western Europe. The findings come as the detrimental impact of lockdowns are still being felt across society. Their research was limited by the number of studies with comparable data, they say, adding that future studies should attempt to differentiate between the impact of voluntary and mandated behaviour changes. The research found that limiting gatherings was counterproductive and increased Covid mortality by 5.9 per cent.” “With restrictions on meeting in places such as parks, beaches, some people would be more likely to meet at less safe (indoor) places despite the rules. “Lockdowns often limited people’s access to safe outdoor places,” the book notes. They also noted that compliance drops when infections drop and some measures could have unintended consequences, like a stay-at-home order resulting in someone infecting their family members. In Germany, research found that most infections occurred in homes, care homes, hospitals and workplaces which were not subject to restrictions. Secondly, lockdown measures only impact a proportion of potential contacts. It comes as the Covid Inquiry, which will examine the Government’s decision making during the pandemic, is set to get under way in earnest on June 13 with its first evidence hearings. The findings will likely lead to further questions about the benefits of lockdown compared with the detrimental impact that it has had on the NHS and treatment of conditions such as cancer, as well as children’s mental health, education and the economy. “Our results made clear that lockdowns had negligible public health effects when measured by mortality.” “To put those numbers into context, during an average flu season, approximately 72,000 deaths are recorded in Europe,” the researchers say. Through a meta-analysis of studies, they estimated that, across Europe, lockdowns “resulted in 6,000 to 23,000 deaths avoided”. At the time, the modelling suggested that 500,000 people could die if the Government did not act.įor the first time, researchers have looked back at the impact of lockdown in the first wave of the pandemic on the UK and the data suggest that in reality the measures prevented as few as 1,700 deaths in England and Wales. No prime minister would want to put in place restrictions knowing the “damage that this disruption is doing and will do to people’s lives, to their businesses and to their jobs”, he told the public as he ordered them to stay at home.īut it was essential to “save many many thousands of lives”, he said. When Boris Johnson announced that he would be placing the UK in lockdown he admitted that it was with a heavy heart.
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