Health Secretary has to check his notes before answering whether otherwise-healthy children have died from virus – but still gets it wrong then has to hurriedly correct himself
Health Secretary Matt Hancock appeared on LBC today to answer questions about new coronavirus complications affecting children.
Asked by his interviewer how serious the disease can be and whether it has taken the lives of children, Hancock has to check his notes before answering.
That is bad enough, but Hancock still gets it wrong. He says at first that all the children who have died had underlying health issues – then has to rush to correct himself:
Hancock has attempted to portray empathy for victims and their families during his attempts to paint the government’s catastrophic handling of the pandemic as a success – but has repeatedly failed to give the real death toll among NHS staff.
That is appalling enough – but wouldn’t you think that of all the tragic victims of this avoidable disaster, any official with humanity would know the information on how many children had died without needing to look it up – and without getting it wrong?
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I do not think this is a very fair criticism, many people under pressure can have a moment of confusion later corrected and blurt out the wrong figure, name or fact (Diane Abbott for example). People can get their children’s names and ages wrong for example. There are many things this administration can be hanged for but not I think a moment of confusion, unfortunately live on air.
Except that info on death figures have to be dragged out of him in other instances, for example, ‘How many doctors have died? then ‘How many nurses have died? then ‘How many health care workers have died? In each case it was ‘Well, erm….. ‘ (frightened rabit expression). They didn’t know, didn’t want to know, and deffinately didn’t want the public to know. When they finally gave figures they were from days even weeks out of date. I wonder why you have such a need to defend such charlatons.
Anyone and everyone has made an unintentional gaffe and quickly corrected on air. I’m saying this is the wrong target. There are so many policy cock ups and execution errors caused by big ego’s and political cowardice that the government can be skewered on individually and as a group it’s a target rich enviroment. Never mind the massive policy questions re over centralisation and lack of preparedness.
“There are many things this administration can be hanged for …”
Exactly … and Skwawkbox keeps consistently missing the target with journalistically and scientifically incompetent fables that ultimately help to reinforce the Tory narrative of ‘Panic! – It keeps the plebs in order while we dodge the economic agenda ‘.
There is absolutely no coherent political analysis in this – it just presents the image of the ‘left’ as a bunch of know-nothing nervy knicker-wetters without much clue, but intent on pursuing an incoherent sectional agenda – rather than holding government to account.
Hancock is consistently out of his depth (like the Spiv cabinet in general) – but asking a question like that proves that the questioner is also floundering in the shallows of SunMail journalism. The figures for child deaths are very, very small (and certainly not a central issue in this epidemic) ; identifying causation is incredibly problematic, and expecting any Secretary of State to be in command of the pathology off the top of the head is fatuous.
Utterly and completely correct.
So over 100 healthcare workers die in service from a virus in a few months, there was a lack of eqipment ie PPE as a contributary factor due to lack of government planning and – ‘It’s all quite normal, concern and anger about this is just panicking, scare mongering…….. ‘ ??????
Don’t worry RH………….you will soon have your wishes granted as MSM does the preparation for the Boris EXIT (not BREXIT). Soon society can return to ‘Normal’ as business complains that the medicine is worse than the disease & the price of partial lockdown is too high. We will have to do a Sweden & lock-up only those over the age of 70 (for their own good).
.Test; Trace & Isolate in any numbers has long since been abandoned, as is any properly resourced PPE; not just for workers in NHS; but also carers & key workers, including shop workers.
The gov’t knew what was coming & had been warned. It is as though the consequences are now ‘acceptable’ & the elimination of a generation ‘acceptable’ to Politicians; MSM & those happily engaged in an inter-generational. war consider these daily deaths also ‘acceptable’. Boris fights Covid 19 & wins…….another Win Win for the Tories & no criticism from New Labour….. isn’t the gov’t doing well?
.
Oh, but haven’t you heard, Steve? Starmer’s “forensic”, the first of his kind in the party, apparently. That’ll be why he fired his only competition in this field, Barry Gardiner, by leaving him out of the new cabinet.
So that’s alright then!
Are these two twins singing from the Tory hymn sheet?
Problem being it’s not once or a rare occurrence. It’s happening every day he comes out and lies on national TV etc. You can claim oh it was a mistake but his mistakes cost lives! FFS this fool doesn’t even know how many of the NHS heroes have died to keep idiots like him safe. While he cannot even get basic ordering and delivery sorted out. So please don’t come here and try and defend the indefensible and then try and throw a FU to labour into the mix it just makes you look like what you probably are a Tory stooge…
There’s more than one Tory stooge on here it seems.
On question time about a month ago Hancock was on the panel and the issue of the loss of doctors lives while fighting the virus came up. He is then confronted politely by the leader of the RCN (also on the panel) about the lack of figures for the number of nurses that had died. ‘I’ll get those figures’he reasured her. So, here’s the secretary of state for social care who doesn’t think he should know those figures and has not even been inquisitive or concerned enough to ask and seems surprised when he’s asked. The government treats these healthcare workers as disposable as the PPE they fail to provide. But then again, I’m probably just panicking.
Except that parents are not paid huge sums of money when they get their children’s name’s wrong.
If he isn’t up to the job he can always get an easier one where it is harder to fuckup and has far less consequences. Like at McDonalds.
Another broadcast by the conservative and unionist party
Thats plain citizen the Tory boy from Bolton
And who was desperate to be first in the bleedin’ queue to castigate Abbott for her (Hypoglycaemic) ‘confusion’?
That’s right, the gobshite known as hancock.
Which makes it all the more reason he should’ve been prepared – instead of taking it upon himself to explain the deaths of children in order to dodge the flak that really ought to have brought him down by now but hasn’t, because of the servility of the state broadcaster and it’s sycophantic ‘journalists’.
Fuck him. Let him burn in his own grease.
As posted over a month ago on Skwawkbox.org, reliable figures re Covid-19 DEATHS are the EXCESS DEATHS, compared to similar periods in the past.
Ahead of the curve here on skwawkbox.org as ever, that method is now being accepted internationally. Furthermore it was pointed out more than a month ago, that the outsourced nursing and social care settings are key areas of concern. That too is only now getting some attention on the MSM.
My expectation is that to date, UK EXCESS deaths directly ➕INDIRECTLY due to Covid-19 is around 45,000.
These EXCESS deaths were avoidable. Prompt screening at ports, quarantines, testing, tracing, and PROPER protection was vital. Instead despite pleas, to the government, the NHS only had flimsy plastic Tory tat. Proper adequate protection for ALL health & social care staff IN and OUTSIDE the NHS settings was obviously needed. ALL supermarkets, pharmacies and ALL other areas of high footfall / traffic / close contact, needed PROMPT supplies of protection. APPLAUSE and HOT AIR from politicians are WORTHLESS. The applause is nice, emotional and well meant from the public. The politicians are another matter. Their words and promises are USELESS SPIN / NOISE / DELIBERATE DECEIT. We need politicians to care, not pump out hot air. Their promises do not save lives. Common sense ACTION does.🌹🌹🌹
But signpostnotwindchimes, your just panicking! (Like me., it seems)
Carlene i am not panicking. like you, i know of what i speak. we know this is a serious matter. 40,000 deaths. Avoidable loss and grief. Ignore the trolls.🌹🌹🌹
The Tory twins are not trolls! They are just cheerleaders for the right wing establishment.
There was another Panorama Drama on last night, although only 30 minutes long there was enough red meat for Skwawkie and others on here to get their teeth into
The ground was laid for the inquest after the event, slowly the science is being challenged and an adult conversation is to be had about ending lockdown
‘We gotta get out of this place
If it’s the last thing we ever do’
UC failures will lead to a drastic surge in foodbank usage, homelessness and prenature deaths = scaremongering.
Closing fire stations in londinium will risk lives = scaremongering
Cutting police numbers will increase the likelihood of terrorist attacks & crime increase = scaremongering.
I’m just waiting for…
Loosening restrictions will lead to another spike in C19 cases = scaremongering