Covid forced the UK and Scottish Governments to use the full might of their powers to tackle the deadly pandemic.
Every aspect of our lives was touched by the mass response.
The cost of living crisis, which threatens to plunge millions of people into poverty, requires a similar intervention.
The financial nightmare of what is about to hit people on modest incomes cannot be underestimated.
Energy costs are about to soar by nearly £700, with more rises likely later on.
National insurance will increase and interest rate rises will make mortgage payments go up.
Water bills are heading northwards, as is the amount of council tax people will pay.
This is set against a backdrop of rising inflation, which will hit folk in the pocket when they go to the shops.
But families do not have to wait until “awful April” for the pain to arrive - it is already here.
As we report today, Tesco chairman John Allan warned that the worst of rising food prices is “yet to come”.
Food prices at the supermarket chain grew by only 1 per cent in the last quarter, but he believes they could rise by 5 per cent in the coming months.
This comes as it is revealed almost half of parents are already finding it hard to pay the bills ahead of looming price hikes.
The UK Government response so far - energy loans and council tax rebates - has been woeful.
We need an emergency Budget which helps people cope with a tsunami of extra costs.
The alternative is allowing people to slide into poverty, dashing the hopes of another generation.
End Cancer Limbo
Anyone being told they may have cancer is plunged into a hellish limbo.
The anxiety of waiting on a final diagnosis is unbearable for patients.
Being informed that it will be eight weeks before getting a life-changing check-up is bad enough.
But to then be told that the waiting time has increased to 30 weeks is simply unacceptable.
The mum who was informed this was how long it would take before she could get a colposcopy must have been in despair.
We are continually told that early diagnosis is vital to increasing survival chances.
How NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde could expect a patient to have the spectre of a cancer diagnosis hanging over her for so long is beyond belief.
The woman’s mental health would have been badly affected even if, God willing, the results of her test were eventually positive.
The Scottish Government has committed £1million to increase capacity in both sample taking and colposcopy services.
It’s a pledge that hasn’t come a moment too soon if waiting times have stretched to more than six months. Let’s hope it’s enough.
