There is a health crisis in Britain.
Over the past 15 weeks, England and Wales have averaged around 1,000 extra deaths, none of which are due to Covid.
If the current trajectory continues, the number of non- Covid excess deaths will surpass the deaths from the virus this year.
What's happening? The early stages of the Pandemic may now be coming back to haunt the Government.
Policies that kept people indoors, scared them away from hospitals and deprived them of treatment are taking their toll.
The picture seems to be in line with what some of us were suggesting from the beginning.
Delay and deferment of treatment for other conditions, like cancer and heart disease, and from those associated with poverty and deprivation are some of the causes of death.
If cancer is not treated promptly, patients don't die immediately but do die in greater numbers than would otherwise be the case.
The majority of excess deaths seem to be from cardiovascular issues and diabetes, which can be fatal without proper care.
At a time when Britain was already facing historic levels of obesity and heart disease, there was an increase in sedentary lifestyles and alcohol consumption.
The chief executive of Doctorcall said that many people did not get the help they needed. That has damaged things.
It is time for a national debate about this.
The National Health Service is struggling to bring down the Pandemic Treatment Backlog and is failing to meet its targets.
A record 29,317 patients were forced to endure 12-hour waits in July, a rise of 3% in a month.
There was a 33 per cent increase in the number of people waiting for A&E in July. The figure before the Pandemic was 450.
In July, heart attack or stroke patients in England waited more than half an hour longer for an ambulance to arrive, compared with before the swine flu epidemic.
Many people with heart conditions are facing dangerously long waits for potentially life saving cardiac care.
Getting seen on time can be the difference between life and death for people with cardiovascular disease.
Health professionals are frustrated that little is being done to highlight excess death problems. There was a call for more restrictions when there was a lot of deaths from Covid.
The director of the Centre for Evidence Based Medicine at Oxford University said there was an increase in excess deaths from around the end of April. The past seven years have seen them stay high.
He said that the signals in the data suggested something wasn't right. An investigation that may involve accessing the raw data on death certificates, a random sample of medical notes or analyzing autopsies should be triggered by a sustained rise in deaths.
There is a lack of clarity when it comes to people's health and wellbeing.
The latest release by the Office for National Statistics shows that the number of excess deaths at home is more than expected.
Some experts think the excess deaths may be people whose health was weakened by a Covid infections, which can increase the risk of stroke and heart attacks.
People who have recovered from a Covid infections are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease.
According to Dr Adam Jacobs, the senior director of biostatistics at premier research, it is possible that allowing millions of people to be exposed to Covid could increase deaths from cardiovascular disease.
Others think that the excess deaths are likely to be a response to government policies and restrictions.
According to Dr Tom Jefferson of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, Covid is no longer an issue and there appears to be an increase in cardiovascular events and diabetes due to a more sedentary lifestyle.
Increased alcohol and food intake, stress, and not getting treatment can cause strokes and heart attacks. You call the ambulance, but it doesn't show up.
The Department of Health and Social Care is concerned about the figures. Excess deaths have been analysed by the office for health improvement and disparity.
The Government is concerned that a combination of long delays for ambulances and emergency care, coupled with people missing out on routine checks and treatment, is behind the increase.
According to a spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care, the majority of excess deaths may be due to circulatory diseases and diabetes.
There is good evidence that many of the deaths caused by heart issues are preventable.
It will be difficult to get to the bottom of what is behind the rise, but we need to understand the long-term impact of policies to tackle Covid.
At the moment, the majority of excess deaths seem to be related to heart disease and diabetes, but it will only be a matter of time before people die of long-term conditions left unaddressed.
The deaths of 200,000 people could be caused by delayed healthcare according to a government report. The Government was urged to press ahead with the restrictions.
The current excess deaths will be the beginning of a larger problem. We crashed into it because it wasn't too obvious.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
