Coronavirus: Mass testing will tackle shortages, says Jeremy Hunt

Former health secretary says he passed up a job in government to campaign on patient safety

Mass testing of the UK population for coronavirus is the “only sustainable solution” to tackle spikes in demand causing test shortages, former health secretary Jeremy Hunt has said.

In an email message to mark world patient safety day on Thursday, Mr Hunt said demand for tests was only going to keep rising and introducing mass testing would avoid people panicking and trying to get a test at the same time as everyone else.

The chair of the Commons health select committee also reiterated his calls for weekly testing of hospital staff to give patients and frontline workers confidence in hospitals being Covid free.

“Population testing, as advocated by Tony Blair, William Hague and others seems to me the only sustainable solution given that demand is likely to keep soaring”, he said.

“People would not get into a panicked rush for a test if they knew they would get one soon anyway. Such a solution may not be too far off: quadrupling October’s 500k daily test target would mean the whole population could be tested monthly, something well within the bounds of Operation Moonshot.

“But we need a plan based on existing technologies if people are to have confidence the end is in sight.”

The former foreign secretary said he was “reasonably confident” issues with the supply of protective clothing for NHS staff had now been sorted in England but added: “There are clearly massive strains in the testing system at the moment. In fairness to the government testing has increased from around 100k per day in May to 224,000 [on Wednesday] and is heading for the new 500,000 daily target by the end of October.

“The issue seems to be that this has been accompanied by an even bigger spike in demand as offices and restaurants get back to normal - if one person tests positive, everyone in the workplace understandably wants to get tested.

Mr Hunt, who ran against Boris Johnson to be prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party, has set up a new charity, Patient Safety Watch, to help push improving safety in healthcare, a major focus during his six years as health secretary.

Mr Hunt said: “I know some people were perplexed by my decision to turn down a Cabinet position and stand as health select committee chair. Was it really to spend more time with family...? Well yes, but also to campaign on patient safety - something I felt was unfinished business from my time as health secretary, when I was moved beyond measure by families who had suffered avoidable harm and devoted their lives to fighting for lessons to be learnt.”

He said the safety of maternity services, which has been the centre of a campaign by The Independent, was a key issue with poor care at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust now up to almost 2,000 cases which Mr Hunt said “would make it potentially a bigger disaster than Mid Staffs,” referencing poor care at Stafford Hospital between 2005 and 2009.

MPs on the health select committee are investigating maternity safety. Mr Hunt said: “Although I believe we have made some progress it is clear there is much, much more to do.”