RE: Trojan Energy30 Jul 2021 23:33
The NHS drew up secret plans to withdraw hospital care from people in nursing homes in the event of a pandemic, The Telegraph can disclose.
Confidential Whitehall documents show that the NHS plans refused treatment to those in their 70s and that "support" would instead be offered to use so-called "end of life pathways".
The strategy was drawn up by NHS England following a pandemic planning exercise in 2016 and was designed to stop hospitals being overwhelmed.
It suggests that in a "severe" flu pandemic, the Health Secretary could authorise medics to prioritise some patients over others and even stop providing critical care altogether.
Ministers have repeatedly insisted that care homes were not abandoned by the NHS during the coronavirus crisis, despite mounting evidence to the contrary. More than 42,000 residents in England and Wales died during the pandemic and hospitals released thousands of patients into care homes without testing.