NHS hospitals are gradually reopening for planned operations and tests, from cataract treatment to heart operations. But many will remain sick, the treatment they need still out of reach.
Under rules laid down by NHS England, all patients must strictly self-isolate, and not attend work, for fourteen days before attending hospital. And openDemocracy has uncovered a major flaw in the plan: people in this situation could be left without a penny of income for the fortnight before they attend hospital.
openDemocracy asked the Department of Work and Pensions if people who were self-isolating under NHS instruction before attending hospital were legally entitled to Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). “The answer is currently no,” the department replied.
