@ancientgran the NHS was dealing with a novel virus. At the time it wasnt known that asymptomatic cases could still transmit the disease. So patients were considered to be safer outside hospital and sent out. I think every country has had high levels of deaths in care homes. Can I ask you what you would have done with very sick patients arriving on your doorstep unable to breath and requiring intensive support? Perhaps you'd have said, sorry go away and die in the street?
However what I was talking about was transforming theatres into intensive care units, repurposing equipment, finding new treatments - and all while large numbers of your staff are out of action either because they have the virus or because there are no tests for them or their family and they are isolating for what was not always Covid.
I doubt any business has continued to provide a normal level of service, certainly I dont know of any - and health care is more complicated than the average business because people want perfection.
Although the ONS studies have been very important they are not designed to cope with what we have now - very different levels of infection in different parts of the country.
I see Oldham as worse now than in March. We werent testing enough then but we were also going into lockdown, now we're planing the re reopening of schools. Blackburn still isnt coming down either.
The local authority page shows that only around 15 in 1000 people have had positive tests, even in the worst affected places. Even if you reckoned on 90% having it mildly (to allow for some asymptomatic in the tests) that's still likely to be short of herd immunity.
So it's being kept at a manageable level in most places but still has the potential to go out of control fast.