By contrast, Matt Hancock’s Department of Health and Social Care responded to my FOI request for the pandemic surge documents, but relied on section 36 of the FOI Act to withhold disclosure. In March 2021, my lawyers, Leigh Day Solicitors, submitted arguments against Mr Hancock’s decision:
Is this why Simon Stevens is leaving NHS England?
He’s already inserted Optum/UnitedHealthcare into the very fabric of the NHS – basically an American insurance company “training” NHS leaders throughout the UK. He’s set up CSUs – dominated by private management consultancies – to manage commissioning. He’s created PCNs which divert patients from triage by GPs to triage by non-medics, and are ripe for large-scale takeover of primary care by private corporations. His white paper will scrap section 75 of the Health & Social Care Act, allowing the Government to simply hand over NHS contracts to preferred private providers without any tendering. Job done. Why should he stay to answer questions about how so many people died during COVID-19?
Stephens and Hunt are hiding in plain sight from scrutiny of their Pandemic Planning failures.
It’s interesting that Jeremy Hunt (who failed to act after Exercise Cygnus) is in charge of the Select Committee looking at COVID-19. It’s also interesting how Hancock is being set up as the fall guy, when legally and effectively it’s Simon Stevens who’s been calling the shots. Simon Stevens instructed NHS Trust chief execs to discharge patients to care homes – why is the media pinning all the blame on Hancock?
Many thanks for your tireless efforts.
It’s high time this government was held accountable and with complete transparency. A full, independent and honest enquiry into the whole Covid debacle is now necessary.
I also wonder if government considered any findings emanating from the more recent Event 201 in the USA – late (October/November) 2019. Similarly, I await the USA gain-of-function enquiries etc. with considerable interest.
Thanks Susanne. From previous experience of inquiries (Hillsborough, Iraq War, Grenfell, etc), it seems that public inquiries might be designed to manage the public, rather than serve the public. Let’s see what happens this time!