NHS Chief Reveals Unused Covid-19 Care Prioritization Plan

Professor Sir Stephen Powis describes fears of NHS overwhelm during early pandemic stages, leading to the creation of an unpublished decision tool.

• The unpublished Covid-19 Decision Tool was drafted in March 2020 to prioritize care if NHS capacity was exceeded.
• Factors like age, clinical frailty, and comorbidities were considered in the tool, which assigned points to patients.
• The decision to halt the tool's release was made as the pandemic's peak approached, reducing the likelihood of capacity being breached.
• Concerns were raised that the tool could oversimplify medical decisions and provoke public controversy.
• Professor Powis emphasized the need for societal discussion on such tools outside of pandemic conditions.

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i Evening Standard Evening Standard