Former UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock reportedly wanted to be the one to decide "who should live and die" if the NHS became overwhelmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to evidence presented at the COVID-19 inquiry by Sir Simon Stevens, the former NHS England chief.
Sir Simon said that Hancock believed he, rather than doctors or the public, should have the authority to make such decisions. However, he argued that medical professionals and patients, as well as the public, should be involved in making such decisions.
Fortunately, this scenario never occurred during the pandemic. Additionally, Sir Simon rejected former Prime Minister Boris Johnson's claims that delayed discharges from hospitals were the primary reason for lockdowns, stating that the NHS could have faced a much larger crisis with thousands of patients requiring hospital beds in the reasonable worst-case scenario.