According to the boss of private healthcare company Bupa, governments and healthcare facilities around the world have not learned the lessons of Covid-19 and are not ready for another pandemic.
“We could turn ourselves in [another pandemic] soon,” said Iñaki Ereño.
Hospitals must be prepared to treat infected and uninfected people separately, Mr Ereño told the BBC.
In the UK, the unprecedented number of hospital admissions caused by Covid-19 has weighed heavily on the NHS.
“The main question is: do we all have it [around the world] Learned a lot, so are we ready next time? I don’t think that’s the case,” said Mr. Ereño.
He believes countries need to consider how to minimize disruption to routine healthcare in a future pandemic.
“This must not happen again. We cannot stop the normal medical care of the people who need us,” says Mr. Ereño, referring to pregnant women and cancer patients.
“The planning wasn’t good, we can’t just empty the hospitals and clinics [a disease like] Covid, and allow people who have been through very severe episodes to stay at home.”
Bupa offers private health insurance to 24 million customers worldwide. It has 82,000 employees and had a turnover of £14 billion last year.
It also runs its own clinics and hospitals, such as the Cromwell Hospital in London.
In some countries like Spain, the hospitals have been used to treat Covid patients. More than half of Spanish hospitals are privately run.
Mr Ereño believes hospitals must be prepared to be segregated, or alternatively separate hospitals could be designated only to treat infected people in a future pandemic.
Ensuring UK hospitals are better prepared for a future pandemic is a good idea but may be difficult to implement, says Paul Elkington, a professor of respiratory medicine at Southampton University.
“Another pandemic is inevitable,” he says, “but since Covid-19 the NHS has been hit by a range of challenges, including strikes by staff across the sector, the war in Ukraine which led to supply chain disruptions and high energy costs . It’s very difficult for NHS managers these days to focus on the next pandemic.”
He says investment would be needed to convert buildings to have things like “clean entrances” for non-infectious people.
Ultimately, while private healthcare providers have stepped in during the pandemic to clear waiting lists for non-urgent treatments, it is not sustainable, says Prof Elkington.
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Mr. Ereño also questioned whether countries stocked enough personal protective equipment (PPE).
“Do we already have all the protective equipment? [we need in every country] Ready in case there’s another pandemic? My guess is that not everywhere. It’s not happening the way it should be.
“But we have the protective gear we need for our people [in Bupa].”
The British Medical Association (BMA) published a report last year criticizing PPE preparedness in the NHS before the pandemic.
Prof David Strain, chair of the BMA Science Committee, says there is still more to learn.
“Large stocks alone are not enough: the PPE we have must be operational. The medical workforce is diverse, which means we need PPE for different face and body shapes, different hair textures, headgear and facial hair. That was a failure early in the pandemic and has still not been resolved for the NHS staff dealing with Covid today.
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “We are committed to learning lessons from the pandemic and have already completed a review of emergency preparedness measures, including PPE, to be available in the event of a future pandemic.
“This is already making a difference and helping our future hospitals adapt to changing healthcare needs as part of our new hospital program.”
An independent public inquiry into the Covid-19 pandemic was established in the UK last year, chaired by Baroness Heather Hallett. The report will offer advice on what lessons can be learned from it.
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