Robin Swann accused of ‘horrifying and then confusing’ remarks about prioritising Covid patients

Alex Easton, an erstwhile member of the Stormont health committee , was speaking to the News Letter in the wake of two separate sets of comments by Mr Swann, just a couple of days apart.

The first was late on Friday when, interviewed for the BBC, ex-UUP leader Mr Swann said the NHS could not “turn a Covid patient away”.

He went on to indicate that this means “saying to other people: ‘Sorry – your operation, your scope, your diagnosis is going to have to be put off until we can safely accommodate you’”.

Reporter Tara Mills put this to the minister: “So you are saying tonight that a Covid patient won’t be turned away, but the result of that decision is that a cancer patient may die.”

He replied: “Yes, that’s as black and white as it is.”

Then at 6pm on Sunday evening the Department of Health sent out a statement to all media.

This statement, with a brief foreword from Mr Swann, was described as “the first in a planned series of mythbusters correcting inaccurate claims about Covid-19”.

It declared that it is “incredibly offensive for anyone to accuse frontline staff of prioritising one condition over another”.

It continued: “Are Covid-19 patients being prioritised over other patients?

“No, they are not. Patients are treated according to clinical priority. Clinical priority is determined by specialist clinical staff...

“Redeploying staff has unfortunately meant some elective treatments – scheduled surgery and other procedures – have had to be postponed.

“Every effort is being made to reschedule these patients as soon as possible. Sadly, some red flag cancer procedures are among those to have been postponed... These cases will be prioritised for rescheduling.”

Alex Easton, North Down DUP MLA who has sat on the heath committee on-and-off since 2007 (and was replaced by Jonathan Buckley just a fortnight ago), told the News Letter: “I’m absolutely horrified and shocked by the original statement from the health minister.

“There can be no condition that is life threatening that is not treated.

“For the minister to be insinuating what he has in [the] first statement is unacceptable.

“Then, to try and cover up his misuse of words, his second statement has added even further confusion to the situation.

“The health minister has had months to prepare for this second surge of Covid-19 and has had millions and millions of pounds pumped into the health service.

“If he is struggling, then he needs to tell the Executive.”

Turning away cancer patients is something which Mr Swann simply “shouldn’t be allowing to happen”.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH: OVER-REACTION CLAIMS GROUNDLESS

The News Letter put it to the Department of Health that Mr Swann’s statement about a “black and white” choice of a cancer patient versus a Covid one appears incompatible with its later statement about not prioritising Covid patients.

It was also asked about comments made by Jeffrey Donaldson the previous evening, where he questioned why there is not daily testing of health staff.

Click here: Sir Jeffrey Donaldson demand on health staff testing turns heat on Robin Swann

The Department of Health responded: “Covid-19 has been recognised around the world as a serious threat to public health. The global data on fatalities bears this out.

“Any suggestion that our health service is overreacting to the pandemic is groundless. It also does a disservice to the incredible work our frontline staff are doing.

“It is not the case that Covid cases are being prioritised ahead of other conditions.

“Patients are prioritised according to medical need. There have been growing numbers of Covid patients needing life-saving interventions in ICU.

“As a result, staffing resources have had to be redeployed from other parts of the heath service to increase ICU capacity. Unfortunately, that has meant that that some treatments and procedures for conditions that are not immediately life-threatening have had to be postponed.

“Every effort is being made to reschedule these as soon as possible.

“The best way to protect non-Covid health care is to drive down Covid infection rates in our community.

“The best way of protecting the delivery of all of our health services is to keep the levels of Covid transmission at the lowest possible level.”

Johns Hopkins medical university in the USA currently estimates the global Covid death toll to be 1.32 million (with 54.52 million cases).

READ MORE FROM THIS REPORTER:

Click here: Rumours of Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford sacking greeted by silence – except for show spokesman saying they have ‘stellar line up’

Click here: Triple tragedy in one family should serve as warning to Covid ‘conspiracy theorists’

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