Doctors’ group warns: This is too little, too late

The British Medical Association (BMA) also criticised the timing of the measures, describing the announcement yesterday as “too little, too late”.

Dr Tom Black, a GP based in Londondery, is the chair of the BMA’s Northern Ireland council.

“While these restrictions are welcome, doctors feel that they are too little too late and don’t go far enough,” Dr Black said.

“It was clear from the rising case numbers across the country and increasing hospital admissions that full lockdown measures needed to be brought in much sooner and it is highly regrettable that this delay in political decision-making has brought our fragile health service closer to the cliff edge.”

He said the lag between cases and hospital admissions means the situation facing the health service is likely to be even more severe by the halfway stage of the new lockdown.

“We realise the economic impact these new lockdown measures will have, but the effect on our health service and the staff who deal with the daily clinical reality of this pandemic cannot be understated,” he said.

“It must be remembered there is a two-week time lag between exposure to Covid-19, positive cases and hospital admissions.

“In two weeks’ time our doctors, nurses and frontline health service staff will deal with the effect of daily positive Covid case rates that now exceed the 800 mark and growing.”

He continued: “These dedicated staff, many of whom are dealing with fatigue and burn-out from the first wave, must now tackle this second surge with the added pressure of more and more colleagues being absent or having to isolate. “Doctors tell us they feel they are unable to hold the line this time around and that a full lockdown needs to be brought in as soon as possible.”