First Covid inquiry report to show UK plan failures
The failures and weaknesses in the UK's pandemic preparations are expected to be laid out in the first report published by the Covid inquiry.
Baroness Hallett, who is chairing the public inquiry, will set out her findings at lunchtime.
Her report will cover the state of the healthcare system, stockpiles of personal protective equipment (PPE) and the planning that was in place.
It is the first of at least nine reports covering everything from political decision-making to vaccines and the impact on children.
Trained army medic Dr Saleyha Ahsan, who worked in hospitals during the first two waves of Covid and is now part of the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK group, after losing her father to the virus, said it felt like there had been “zero planning”, with doctors often struggling to get hold of the right PPE
“The rules were changing on a daily basis in the first few weeks - it was ridiculous,” she said.
“We were in the flimsiest of PPE, just a little surgical mask with a white apron.
“It felt like we were making do and the people who were being pushed to the front were healthcare workers."
“It's so, so important for those of us who worked through it, who lost through it, or who have suffered ill health because of it, to really appreciate where things went wrong and who was responsible.”
Source: BBC News, 18 July 2024
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