CEO says he was ‘leant on’ to delay covid restrictions

A trust chief says he was “leant on from a big height” to delay visiting restrictions at the start of the coronavirus pandemic – a decision which he believes could have cost 25 lives.

David Loughton, chief executive for the Royal Wolverhampton Trust, told the local Express and Star newspaper: “It was Sunday, March 8, and here is my biggest personal regret. John Denley [the local director of public health] and I had, at I think about 2pm that afternoon… said we should stop all visiting immediately.

“We didn’t do that for another two-and-a-half weeks because I was leant on from a big height not to do it, and I don’t think there was any recognition that for whatever reason the Black Country was just behind London in taking off and getting to the peak.

Full story in the HSJ, 30 July 2020