London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Apr 02, 2025

Ministers are 'furious' with NHS bosses and Public Health England's failure to solve testing shortages by its 'dangerously slow' willingness to involve industry - as even their staff have no faith in their leaders

There have been concerns about level of diagnostic testing for coronavirus. Tension over testing is causing a rift between government and health officials. Sir Simon Stevens was labelled a 'megalomanic' by a senior government figure

Ministers are said to be furious at 'megalomaniac' NHS bosses and Public Health England's failure to get to grips with testing and protective equipment shortages - as a new survey shows their staff have no faith in their leaders.

There have been increasing concerns about the level of diagnostic testing for the deadly pandemic, with Matt Hancock last week admitting the UK had struggled to scale up to the mass testing of other countries such as Germany.

The failure over testing, lack of success in bringing in sufficient PPE equipment to protect NHS staff, and hesitancy to embrace the private sector, is causing a rift between the government and health officials, as reported by The Sunday Times.

Sir Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, was labelled 'a megalomaniac, micromanaging control freak' by one senior figure, the newspaper has said.

After coming out of self-isolation due to having symptoms of coronavirus, Mr Hancock pledged 100,000 tests a day and pledged to work with businesses to ramp up the UK's testing.

The plan includes tests to ascertain if a person is infected by the virus, and also separate anti-body tests to see if someone has already acquired immunity from the disease.

As part of his five-pillar plan to accelerate testing over the next four weeks, Mr Hancock said he wanted to embrace the private sector and develop a 'huge diagnostic industry'.

This morning he admitted that hitting his promise of 100,000 coronavirus tests by the end of April will be 'hard' and that people involved in the efforts will have to 'put their shoulders to the wheel' to hit the target.

A health department source told the Sunday Times: 'NHS England and Public Health England were reluctant to relinquish their power to private labs.

'Stevens has this absolutely illogical fear of anyone else getting any say over what happens in the NHS.'

A study by the free-market Adam Smith Institute was also critical of NHS quangos for not embracing help from the private sector earlier, and being slow to react.

The report said: 'The UK's COVID-19 testing has been dangerously slow, excessively bureaucratic and hostile to outsiders and innovation.

'There appears to be an innate distrust of outsiders. PHE has actively discouraged use of private sector testing.

'Even within the system, the process for testing and validation is very centralised.'

The paper highlighted that the UK has fallen to the bottom quarter of OECD countries for COVID-19 diagnostic testing, on a per capita basis.

South Korea has tested four times as many people as the UK, Germany almost three times and the United States now almost twice as many, per capita.

The institute's plan - which involves using the UK's private laboratories for mass testing - has been back by former health secretary Jeremy Hunt.

He said: 'A mass community testing plan is challenging, but not impossible if we mobilise in the way we have to produce ventilators,' he said.

'That means tapping into every laboratory, every pharmaceutical company and every university in the country without delay.'

It comes after confidence in Public Health England was lacking from its own staff members, as reported by The Sunday Telegraph.

An official survey found that 49 per cent of its employees who took part said they did not have any confience in senior managers' decisions.

Labour Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth has demanded answers on the lack of scaling up of testing: 'Experts continue to call for the UK to significantly ramp up testing.

'When Germany is testing around 500,000 people a week, many are asking why we are still not even hitting the 10,000 a day promised on March 11th.

We called for enforced social distancing, but it is a blunt tool without a national strategy to test and contact trace.'

An NHS England spokesman disagreed with the claims.

'First, NHS hospital labs are doing exactly the testing they've been asked to, concentrating first on patient testing and now staff testing.

'By contrast it has always been clear that mass testing would also need to involve private sector partners - which the Department of Health leads on and has been working to introduce.

'Second, NHS England has itself rapidly engaged with the private sector in areas for which it has responsibility, as evidenced by a deal to redeploy almost all independent hospitals across England to help with the expected surge of coronavirus patients.

'This means another 20,000 staff, 8,000 more beds and an extra 1,000 ventilators can all be used in this battle.

'Third, the NHS in partnership with the military has acted in record time to establish new Nightingale hospitals in London and now in four other regions across the country.

'Everyone across the NHS is completely focused on coming together to respond to the biggest global health emergency in a century.'

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Europe Pursues Digital Autonomy Amidst Transatlantic Strains
OpenAI Lands Unprecedented $40 Billion Funding.
Charity Chairwoman Accuses Prince Harry of Bullying and Harassment
DOGE revealed that USAID provided $84 million to the Clinton Foundation. Of this amount, $3 million was spent on Chelsea Clinton's wedding, and $10 million was used to acquire a lavish mansion.
The State Department has announced the formal closure of USAID.
Apple's Innovation Deficit: Falling Behind in AI and Foldable Technology as Chinese Developments Progress
President Trump Proposes Military Intervention to Obtain Greenland
Passenger Taken into Custody After Engaging in Masturbation on SWISS Air Flight
Barcelona player Dani Alves found not guilty of rape accusations.
PUTIN'S LIMOUSINE DETONATES—SECURITY CHAOS ENSUES
French Foreign Ministry Denounces U.S. Interference in Corporate Diversity Initiatives
Copyright Issues Emerge as AI-Generated Studio Ghibli Images Gain Popularity
This is what we refer to as CREATIVITY.
Removing the Political Opponent Means Dismissing the Remnants of Turkey's Economy.
Malaysia Strengthens Semiconductor Regulations in Response to U.S. Pressure to Restrict AI NVIDIA Chip Exports to China.
OpenAI Launches New Image Generation Tool for ChatGPT
Ex-FIFA President and French Football Icon Acquitted of Corruption Allegations
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz Under Investigation After Journalist Added to Secret Military Chat
Ex-Business Partner of Hunter Biden Discusses Possible Pardon from President Trump
U.S. Attorney General Announces Task Force to Prosecute Government Fraud
American Brands Face Consumer Boycott in Europe Amid Escalating Trade and Political Tensions
White House Investigates Security Breach After Journalist Accidentally Added to Secret Yemen Strike Chat
Samsung Executive Han Jong-hee Dies Suddenly Amid Ongoing Corporate Challenges
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has just signed off on a national debt hike to fast-track Germany’s militarization
Heathrow Airport Restarts Services as Investigation into Power Outage Commences
Pope Francis Released from Hospital Following Pneumonia Treatment
Pope Francis Appears in Public for the First Time in Five Weeks After His Hospital Stay
Usha Vance to Head U.S. Delegation During Greenland Visit Amid Discussions on Annexation
Trump suggests US could join British Commonwealth if offered by King Charles
Elon Musk Files Lawsuit Against Jamaal Bowman for Defamatory Remarks
European Countries to Boost Defense Expenditures in Response to Changes in U.S. Assistance
Iconic Boxer George Foreman Dies at 76
European Airline Shares Fall Following Disruption from Heathrow Power Outage
Pope Francis Set to Leave Hospital Following Recovery from Pneumonia
Thousands Take to the Streets in Amsterdam to Protest Racism and Fascism
Revealing the Electromagnetic Characteristics of the Great Pyramid of Giza
President Trump Cancels Security Clearances for Notable Political Figures.
The Development of China's Automotive Sector
Netanyahu Dismisses Shin Bet Chief Amid 'Loss of Trust' and 'Qatargate' Corruption Investigations Involving Netanyahu's Advisors
UK Conservatives Remain Optimistic Despite Polling Challenges
Labour MPs Unveil Initiative to Combat Harmful Influencers and Advocate for Healthy Masculinity
Miami Beach Mayor Cancels Plan to Expel Cinema Following Documentary Showing
Thousands of Drones Illuminate the Sky in Honor of Trump.
Leaders of the US and Ukraine Participate in Constructive Call During Ongoing Conflict
Elon Musk's X Experiences Valuation Recovery to $44 billion.
UK Government Set to Implement Major Budget Cuts in Spring Statement
US Federal Reserve Downgrades Economic Growth Outlook Due to Tariff Uncertainty
EU Claims US Tech Giants Have Violated Digital Regulations
Canada Denounces the Execution of Its Citizens in China Amid Rising Tensions
European Union Moves Toward Joint Debt for Military Spending
×