U.K.’s Javid Warns Hospital Backlog Could Soar to 13 Million

(Bloomberg) --

Hospital waiting lists in England could more than double to 13 million people in the coming months due to the impact of coronavirus and lockdowns, Britain’s new health secretary warned.

Sajid Javid told the Sunday Telegraph that some people who needed treatment, including for cancer checks and mental health problems, hadn’t turned up for fear of catching the virus or because of a “very British” attitude of not wanting to overburden health-care workers.

He said he was “confident” that virtually all of England’s remaining virus-related restrictions would be lifted as planned on July 19, despite concerns from some scientists over rising infection rates.

Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zawahi said pandemic guidelines would be set out on Monday for people and businesses so the nation can remain “cautious and careful” even as it moves on from over a year of government orders on behavior.

This will include guidance that “people are expected to wear masks in indoor, enclosed spaces,” Zawahi told Sky News.

Labour’s shadow education secretary Kate Green said voluntary steps risked being a “recipe for confusion,” saying on the same show that masks should be made mandatory on public transport.

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Zahawi said the U.K. was on track to vaccinate two thirds of adults with at least one dose by July 19. He dismissed a report in the Sunday Times that the gap between shots will be halved to four weeks to speed up the program as the delta variant spreads and case numbers climb.

He said the eight-week interval was the optimum period because it offered an “additional fortification”.

The number of patients waiting for NHS treatment reached a record 5.3 million at the end of May out of England’s population of about 56 million. Javid said he was “shocked” to be told by scientists it could go as high as 13 million before long.

“It’s going to be one of my top priorities to deal with because we can’t have that,” he said in his first newspaper interview since being appointed as health secretary in June.

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