Quick thread on new NHS statistics:

A&E attendances continued to tumble down in April.

I know we're all used to 'unprecedented' charts by now, but it's still shocking. Just look at the fall!

Lots of evidence that people have stayed away from hospital due to fears of coronavirus: https://twitter.com/GrahamTAtkins/status/1248180142586896384

Exactly why @instituteforgov called for the govt to clarify how it will balance Covid-19 and other concerns when lifting the restrictions - taking into account harms such as reduced healthcare access - last week: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/publications/lifting-lockdown-coronavirus-exit-strategy

(And yes, govt published a more detailed plan on Monday - but as @gemmatetlow has said, it simply wasn't clear enough: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/blog/governments-exit-strategy-either-poorly-drafted-or-deliberately-evasive)

Postscript: latest from PHE suggests that attendance did start to rise in end of April/start of May - https://twitter.com/Davewwest/status/1260936051784167427