Matt Hancock, what is your opinion of his Cancer treatment speech? *edited by MNHQ at OP's request*

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Is anyone else as angry as me right now over what that absolute to&&er has just said regarding cancer patients ? I'm actually scared of what is unfolding. He is truly evil.

I don't think you understood what he was trying to say. Possibly because you had views on him before he said a word today...

You're not being rational.

People aren't behaving because they're getting away with it.

I could probably get away with a bit of shoplifting, but I don’t do it. Does everyone really need to be policed to do the right thing?

Calledyoulastnightfromglasgow Simply put, you can’t catch cancer from others.

So what?

Cancer is very often treatable when caught early. It’s expensive to treat, especially at a later stage.

Why should we prioritise covid? And if there are priorities, as discussed in March, should the 80 year old with covid take priority over the early stage colon cancer patient in their 30s?

Why should we prioritise covid? And if there are priorities, as discussed in March, should the 80 year old with covid take priority over the early stage colon cancer patient in their 30s?
Because Covid could kill the early stage colon cancer patient when they could have survived the cancer.

Why should we prioritise covid? And if there are priorities, as discussed in March, should the 80 year old with covid take priority over the early stage colon cancer patient in their 30s?

But back on March government guidelines did not say urgent non covid cases shouldn't be treated. Infact later the govenrment had to remind people to seek urgent treatment

Such a relief to see the rational responses on here.

@GiggyThePomeranian

Why should we prioritise covid? And if there are priorities, as discussed in March, should the 80 year old with covid take priority over the early stage colon cancer patient in their 30s? Because Covid could kill the early stage colon cancer patient when they could have survived the cancer.

Dunno. Depends. It's all individual opinions but (if we're going to go down the moral dilemma route of choosing whose life is worth more, which I'd rather not do) I'd personally prioritise 94 year old Sir David Attenborough over a 30 year old rapist or child abuser. Just as an example.

And what about most winters when the NHS is creaking under the usual demands of peak flu/ norovirus season and full hospitals have to cancel procedures and deflect new admissions to other hospitals.
Catching flu or norovirus is potentially very hazardous to clinically vulnerable patients too. The virus may be a new form, but the situation is not so new.

The real problem is a long-term poor combination of funding, capacity and management issues. It's not a new issue. It's just the first time that the government have had chance to deflect in this way. We don't shame people for normal social interactions in the flu season.

There hasn't been fully operational, fair access to NHS care since March and rates were low enough over the summer to have done more. People with a whole host of health conditions will be paying for this with their quality of life or life expectancy from poor access to health care on top of its usual tardiness for many years. It will take massive reinvestment to bring waiting lists back down... which will be interesting in an economy trashed by Covid measures...

No Hancock fan and he’s wrong for the manner in which he said this and for not trying to find a solution.

But it is also worth remembering that letting this virus run rampant will overwhelm the NHS and cause other deaths. As would a strict long lockdown.

We should be acting now to stop both of these happening. Their current measures aren’t working and haven’t worked in Manchester for months.

And to be honest this isn’t just a Covid issue. I had an op cancelled a couple of winters ago because our hospital was overrun with flu. Of course a high number of Covid cases will cause the usual winter capacity issues to occur on a huger level. I can but hope they’ve found the staff they need for the Nightingale hospitals (But I won’t hold my breath).

I wouldn’t say he was evil, but he’s a useless cunt.

@FourTeaFallOut

Oh fgs. 🙄

He's evil because he is telling you that the NHS is about to be hit with a double whammy of covid and flu which will have unintended and catastrophic consequences for those who require other life saving treatments?

It's just how it is. What is the alternative given the available resources?

Will you be raising your eyes if your family member died because the NHS was not fit for purpose and not up to treating patients with non Covid issues?

If they had not closed hospitals, closed wards when most areas have increased in population, perhaps they would be able to prepared for a pandemic such as this.

@Derbygerbil

It’s shit, but if the more likely Covid gets out of control, the less able the NHS is able to cope. He’s stating facts. I’m no fan of the Government, but stating that doesn’t make him “evil”.

That's your opinion, i disagree.

@Quietlyloud

That’s a lot of hate for someone that doesn’t or cannot control the situation. I get it’s sad but fucking hell, grow up a bit, no one really knows what to do right now and what would you rather? Treatment to then die from Covid or holding off until it’s safe? If you have such a great idea and you must because you’re slagging him off, then please do share it with those that can put it into action.

Hate him indeed, if any of us were this consistently incompetent we would of been sacked, the fact he has no medical experience to back him up, and those that advise him are chasing the money with huge shares in the pharmaceuticals that are making the vaccine, I think my opinion of him is valid.

I am reading through each comment and replying as such, but what shocks me is the majority of you think it's acceptable that is has to be one or the other?? This is so wrong, the NHS should not be treating Covid at the expense of everything else, they should be treating everyone and the fact they their cuts to the NHS is the very reason why they can't.

What he said sounds honest to me, and is total sense?

This is not to say the Tories have not (purposely) ran the NHS into the ground of course. And thats a whole other topic in itself. But what Hancock said was entirely correct.

Declaring a politician evil for a (rare) moment of truth seems a bit OTT.

@alreadytaken

Covid patients are in dire need, cancer patients can usually last a bit longer. And the Covid patient sometimes has more chance of survival with the right treatment. Sorry to be brutal but pussyfooting around is getting us nowhere - would you want to be told go away and suffocate/ drown as your lungs become full of infection so we can treat this cancer patient?

Your still not getting it, the NHS should be treating all because where does this stop if they are going to chose who they want to treat?

@PicsInRed

He's not evil, I mean, come on. He's clearly a perfectly normal man in presently one of the world's least desirable jobs.

Yes with no medical knowledge or experience but with a massive conflict of interest in a certain Pharmaceutical company and T&T that is doing well out of this Pandemic, perhaps I will settle for he is not evil, but his party's intentions are.

@annabel85 I call it heartless sending elderly Covid patients to nursing homes killing lots of elderly people off then refusing to see the family's of those who died!

@Woundedadmiral

I don't think you understood what he was trying to say. Possibly because you had views on him before he said a word today...

You're not being rational.

I am not being rational? Neither are my work colleagues then all of which work frontline NHS .

@BogRollBOGOF

And what about most winters when the NHS is creaking under the usual demands of peak flu/ norovirus season and full hospitals have to cancel procedures and deflect new admissions to other hospitals. Catching flu or norovirus is potentially very hazardous to clinically vulnerable patients too. The virus may be a new form, but the situation is not so new.

The real problem is a long-term poor combination of funding, capacity and management issues. It's not a new issue. It's just the first time that the government have had chance to deflect in this way. We don't shame people for normal social interactions in the flu season.

There hasn't been fully operational, fair access to NHS care since March and rates were low enough over the summer to have done more. People with a whole host of health conditions will be paying for this with their quality of life or life expectancy from poor access to health care on top of its usual tardiness for many years. It will take massive reinvestment to bring waiting lists back down... which will be interesting in an economy trashed by Covid measures...

Exactly! The trust I work in has had wards closed yet the population has increased dramatically, and there is never any beds all year round! I am glad someone else had understood this, trusts have policy's with National guidance on Pandemics, we have protocols to deal with it, and I worked through the last 2, the fact this Government is imposing restrictions so not to swamp the NHS means they know they are accountable for the mess the NHS is in.

I have just had surgery. I paid privately because of the predicted wait time of 2 years minimum and I was in agony. I couldn’t wait. The nhs still has control of all private hospitals and private and non private slots are greatly reduced. What I don’t understand is why the nhs has taken over all these hospitals just to see them working far below capacity. I can understand caution will be required as cases rise. But they were so low for months and the surgeon told me he was battling to get slots. This is replicated across all areas of the nhs, dentistry etc.

It’s pretty obvious people are suffering and some may die. There is a lack of joined up thinking from what I can see. Things should have got going a lot quicker once cases were rapidly reducing. Had the extra capacity in private hospitals been effectively utilised, they could be scaled back when cases rise too far.

Actually he and Rishi Sunak are the only members of the current cabinet that I can tolerate. They'll state the facts even if they are unpopular with the public. The rest seem to be experts at lying, bluffing, dog whistling and "do as I say, not as I do."

Exactly! The trust I work in has had wards closed yet the population has increased dramatically, and there is never any beds all year round! I am glad someone else had understood this, trusts have policy's with National guidance on Pandemics, we have protocols to deal with it, and I worked through the last 2, the fact this Government is imposing restrictions so not to swamp the NHS means they know they are accountable for the mess the NHS is in.

The national pandemic plans assumed a flu virus though. This isn’t a flu virus, so some of the plans weren’t relèvent or turned out to be insufficient. It spreads faster and has higher rates of hospitalisation.

Hancock isn’t really saying anything that isn’t being said elsewhere. Lack of funding from the Tory government might exacerbate the issue, but it would happen anyway. There isn’t a healthcare system anywhere in the world that could deal with high levels of circulating covid and carry on healthcare as normal.