Covid-19: NHS cannot demand lockdowns at ‘first whiff of extra pressure’
NHS Providers warned that a lack of staff is now the biggest problem facing trusts as they head into a challenging winter.

The NHS cannot demand “tough and long-lasting lockdowns” at the “first whiff of extra pressure” from Covid, the head of NHS Providers has said.
Chris Hopson, who is chief executive of the body representing NHS trusts, said the success of the vaccine rollout had changed the context of the pandemic.
It comes as the body warned that a lack of staff is now the biggest problem facing trusts as they head into a challenging winter.
This includes difficulties in recruitment, with nearly 100,000 NHS vacancies, and the loss of key staff to other sectors including retail and hospitality that pay better for some roles.
Mr Hopson said: “NHS Providers has always taken the view that, on public Covid infection control measures, the NHS doesn’t have all of the information and evidence needed to balance the health factors with the economic and social factors. Only the Government can make those decisions.

“All of us in the NHS recognise that we can’t be in a position where, at the first whiff of extra pressure, the NHS appears to be demanding that the nation goes back to very extensive, tough and long-lasting lockdowns.
“We recognise that vaccines, assuming their continued efficacy, have completely changed the overall context.