So garden centres, zoos & shops are now permitted to open, and public transport services are resuming.

Large raves are getting going again in Manchester, and for many people, generally life returns to something like normal, with token behaviour changes to acknowledge Covid.

And the police acquiesce in thousands gathering on our streets in uncontrolled protests without the slightest attempt at preserving social distance. (Or law & order for that matter. We can talk about that in other article.)

But critical care departments remain closed, beds are empty and patients are suffering from lack of services.

With excess deaths from cancer alone (and many more from other condtiions) expected to hit 60,000, compared to 41,698 (as at 14th June) from CoVid19, it makes no sense to continue restricting the normal delivery of critical care by the NHS.

Dentists are permitted to open, although many are not yet doing so.

Screening programmes and preventative care (e.g. diabetes management) are closed or heavily constrained.

Other NHS services remain closed, with both acute and chronic conditions going untreated.  Ambulances can attend someone in need, but in many cases can’t take patients to hospital, because specialist services are not open.

This is unjustified negligent madness.

It makes no sense to continue denial of services based on an assumption of massive risk to patients & staff, when the majority of the rest of the country pay lip service to the continuing risk.

And what about patients’ rights ?  Do they not deserve treatment ?  Is it ok to acquiesce in the premature and avoidable death of so many people, at this stage of the pandemic ?

For sure, CoVid risk remains.  But it’s a RISK.  Compared to the near CERTAINTY of death or serious life-impacting consequences from delaying intervention on other conditions.

There is a deficit of balanced thinking and basic human decency, in a vain and politically-driven attempt to “hold the line” on CoVid measures.

The public are speaking through their behaviour.  They no longer believe that extreme CoVid-containment measures are justified.  The government need to wake up.

We have to resume critical care and specialist services NOW.

In the name of basic common humanity.

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