Relatives and those who have suffered during the pandemic will be at the center of the COVID-19 public inquiry, the chairman said, pledging to be “honest” and “thorough”. Former Court of Appeals judge Baroness Heather Hallett opened the inquiry in London and said she planned to examine the UK’s preparedness for a pandemic, the government’s response and its impact on patients. NHS and social workers and the public. Possibly hundreds of thousands of people are expected to share their experiences through a formal listening exercise, while there will be a permanent tribute to those who have died in the auditorium.
A minute’s silence was held for those who lost their lives, with Lady Hallett saying: “There is one word that sums up the pandemic for so many, and that is the word ‘loss’. While there were positive aspects to the pandemic, for example the way communities came together to help each other and the vulnerable, millions of people suffered losses, including the loss of friends and family members; the loss of good health – both mental and physical; economic loss; the loss of educational opportunities and the loss of social interaction.
“Those who are bereaved have lost the most. They lost loved ones and the ability to grieve well.”
Dozens of lawyers, forming teams representing more than 20 core participants, stood with heads bowed and hands folded.
Lady Hallett said the inquiry would analyze how the Covid pandemic unfolded and determine whether the “level of loss was inevitable or if things could have been better”.
She added: “My main aim is to prepare reports and recommendations before another disaster strikes the four nations of the UK and, if possible, reduce the number of deaths, suffering and hardship. I have a duty to the public to conduct a thorough, fair and independent inquiry for the whole of the UK and I intend to do so.”
The former judge promised the investigation “wouldn’t drag on for decades and produce reports when it’s too late for them to do anything right”.
She added: “I promised the next of kin during the job description consultation process that those who have suffered will be at the center of the investigation and I intend to keep that promise.”
But when she raised some issues raised by next of kin, she said she wouldn’t be able to cover every issue people wanted to address or cover every issue in as much detail “as some would like”. She assured families that “no decision will be taken lightly” as she also pledged to look into the use of do not resuscitate orders in the NHS and the quality of care given to people.
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Families have expressed fears that they could be sidelined from the investigation if they share their experiences only through a Listening Project, which is set up so members of the public can participate without formally testifying or attending a hearing.
Lady Hallett said: “I have not yet made any decisions about which witnesses to call, so no one is excluded from testifying.”
Pete Weatherby KC, who represents the UK’s Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, said families had experienced “significant frustration” over delays in formally starting the investigation, and there are now concerns about how the investigation team is dealing with them. copes .
He said: “We are aiming for a two-way street. We want the investigation to come to us, as well as for us to come to the investigation to discuss important matters that directly concern the next of kin or where the next of kin have a central position in trying to assist in the investigation, for example the scope of the modules and what should be, and that identifies with the utmost respect the problem – this idea of dialogue has to come from both sides.”
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Mr Weatherby said the most important issue for families right now is the listening exercise.
Commenting on Mr Weatherby’s submission, Lady Hallett said there is “absolutely no doubt that the bereaved will be marginalized” and that she is “determined that those who have suffered will be at the center of this investigation”.
She continued: “The listening exercise, rather than marginalizing the bereaved, is to expand the number of people who have suffered and the number of bereaved ones who have suffered to many, many thousands more than we could do in the ordinary, classical way. of a formal hearing.”
The survey was informed that 28 individuals and organizations have been awarded Core Participant status for the first module of the survey.