Covid inquiry returns to examine pandemic’s impact on NHS staff and patients

The Covid inquiry will resume today and enter a new phase in which it will examine the impact of the pandemic on NHS staff, patients and healthcare delivery.

The first public hearing of the third part of the UK’s Covid-19 inquiry will take place on Monday, with health and safety executives and Unison leaders expected to give evidence this week.

This part of the inquiry, led by Baroness Heather Hallett, looks at the government and societal response to Covid-19, assessing the impact of the pandemic on the way NHS services were delivered.

It comes after the second phase of the inquiry resulted in a damning report into the UK’s pandemic preparedness which found the government had failed to prepare for a “completely unimaginable” event.

At least 235,000 Britons are believed to have died from the virus since the pandemic began, disrupting the NHS and leading to more deaths due to routine screening for health problems such as cancer.

Baroness Heather Hallett, chair of the inquiry, will return today to reopen the inquiry.

The first public hearing of the third part of the UK’s Covid-19 inquiry will take place on Monday (Image: National Covid Memorial Wall, London)

The third phase will examine how managers led the response to the pandemic, the role of primary care and GPs, the NHS backlog and how the vaccine programme was put together.

Long-term Covid diagnoses and assistance provided to victims will also be examined.

Evidence will come this week from Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice; Dr Barry Jones, Chair of the Covid-19 Airborne Alliance; Richard Brant, Director of the Policy and Engagement Division of the Health and Safety Executive; and Sarah Gorton, Head of Health at Unison.

Nicola Brooke, a solicitor at Brodie Jackson Canter, which represents more than 7,000 families in the Justice UK group for families bereaved by Covid-19, said: “This module of the inquiry is the most important in understanding the true horrors of the epidemic.”

‘It will reveal some of the most shocking details, sad stories and despicable scandals.

‘Despite the narrative spread by those in charge of tackling the UK, the sad truth is that people have died unnecessarily.

“Groups such as the disabled and the elderly were excluded because their lives were deemed not worth saving.”

The first report from Baroness Hallett’s inquiry found the pandemic was “predictable” and the government had “failed its citizens” by failing to prepare.

At least 235,000 people have died from Covid-19, according to estimates (Image: Covid Test)

In July, the first report of an inquiry into pandemic preparedness found that the UK government and civil service had “failed” the public due to “significant failures”.

He said there was a “harmful lack of attention” to the systems and infrastructure that would be needed to deal with the fast-spreading disease, even though a coronavirus outbreak in pandemic form was “to be expected”.

Chairwoman Baroness Heather Hallett said lessons must be learned because if changes are not made, the next pandemic “will bring with it immeasurable suffering and huge financial costs, and the most vulnerable in society will suffer the most”.

He added: ‘There were serious failures on the part of the State and serious failures in our civil emergency system. This cannot be allowed to continue happening.’

The report also found that there is a “harmful lack of attention” to the measures needed to tackle a rapidly spreading disease, leading to “the tragedy of the death of every individual.”

The 240-page document also called for “radical reforms” to protect against future pandemics and warned: “It is not a question of ‘if’ someone will be affected, but ‘when.’”

In a 2,000-word foreword, Baroness Hallett concluded that “never again will a single disease be allowed to cause so much death and suffering.”

The inquiry said there was “no doubt” in concluding that “the processes, plans and policies within the UK Government for structuring the civil status and administration and civil services have failed its citizens”.

The third phase of public hearings is expected to last 10 weeks.