(Source: The Guardian)
A lack of vital protective equipment and long waits for coronavirus test results are stopping hospitals from tackling a huge backlog in operations, a key NHS leader is warning.
Patients whose surgery has been postponed because of the pandemic face even longer delays because hospitals are having to wait for as long as 13 days for the outcome of tests, Chris Hopson told the Guardian.
In thinly veiled criticism of the health secretary, Matt Hancock, the chief executive of hospital group NHS Providers blamed ministers for repeated failures to ensure easy availability of fast-turnaround testing for NHS staff, whiletrusts have warned about the lack of adequate supplies of surgical gowns.
Both problems risked patients unwittingly becoming infected with Covid-19 in hospitals across England, which would not be able to get back to providing the range of treatment they had before the pandemic until those problems were solved, said Hopson.
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