Stretched NHS even less ready to cope with a new pandemic, scientists warn

People queue at a vaccination centre at St Thomas' Hospital, central London, two years ago. Photograph: James Manning/PA

The UK is now worse prepared for a pandemic than it was when Covid-19 first swept the country, a former government health minister has warned.

Lord Bethell, an under-secretary of state at the department of health in 2020, told the Observer that in terms of identifying future threats, and handling any new outbreak, he believes Britain’s overstretched health system is now less able to respond to another major viral outbreak.