Well it depends on your definitions of ‘new’ and ‘hospital’

27 Aug 2021 | Full Fact's weekly news
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FACT CHECK
Did Sajid Javid really open a new hospital in Carlisle?
Health Secretary Sajid Javid was criticised by Labour MPs after a tweet saying “looking forward to opening one of new 48 [sic] hospitals later today.”

The Conservatives previously pledged 40 new hospitals during the 2019 election (which later grew to a promise of 48).

While it’s true that Mr Javid officially opened a cancer care centre in Carlisle, whether you’d call this a ‘new hospital’ depends on your definition of those two words.

The Northern Centre for Cancer Care, North Cumbria was built on the former site of the tower block building at the Cumberland Infirmary, and was planned before the 2019 election. The Cumberland Infirmary in its current form was opened in 2000.

In a press release, the government refers to the new building as a “cancer hospital”, while the NHS trust’s own website refers to it as a “cancer centre”.

Alexa, define “new” ([link removed])
FACT CHECK
What do we know about Covid-19 vaccines and fertility? ([link removed])

We’ve been sent in over three hundred questions over WhatsApp since launching our Covid vaccines and pregnancy helpline with Pregnant Then Screwed last week.

Many people got in touch to ask about whether vaccines affect womens' fertility.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG), the NHS and Public Health England all say there is no evidence to suggest that the Covid-19 vaccines affect fertility.

The RCOG also states that there is no biologically plausible mechanism by which the vaccine would cause fertility problems.

The RCOG and the British Fertility Association recommend that women eligible for the vaccine and who are pregnant, or planning to conceive in the near or distant future, get the Covid-19 vaccine.

Fertility and vaccines ([link removed])
FACT CHECK


** Covid testing hasn't left 12 million on NHS waiting lists ([link removed])
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A Facebook post shares a meme which says “Britain in 2021: We are currently testing millions of people who aren’t ill, whilst not treating 12 million people who are ill”.

The post’s caption states that the backlog of “genuinely sick” people exists because the NHS is too busy testing healthy asymptomatic people.

It is true that disruption to health services during the Covid-19 pandemic has meant more people are on waiting lists. The number of people waiting to start treatment within the NHS at the end of June 2021 in England was 5.5 million. Some estimates do speculate numbers could reach up to 12.2 million.

But it is incorrect to suggest that this is the current situation, and to say that the backlog has been caused by the NHS testing individuals for Covid-19.

Former health secretary Matt Hancock previously attributed the rise in waiting list numbers to cancelled elective operations to create capacity for Covid-19 patients, individuals not seeking healthcare as readily in the midst of the pandemic, and a number of other Covid-19 related factors.

Much of the Covid-19 testing also happens outside of the NHS.

How Covid-19 testing works ([link removed])
MORE FACT CHECKS
Also this week...
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