By Lucy Ashton
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The NHS came close to collapse during the height of the pandemic but narrowly avoided it due to the efforts of healthcare staff, the Covid inquiry finds – read the key findings
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Staff put themselves at exceptional risk because of a lack of suitable personal protective equipment, the report says
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Both Covid patients and those needing care for other conditions were failed, the report finds, with people deterred from accessing healthcare in order to ease the pressure on the NHS
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Visiting restrictions meant some patients died without loved ones and very vulnerable patients were left without support, including children in mental health units, women using maternity services and people with dementia
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The inquiry’s chair, Baroness Heather Hallett, pictured top of page, summarises the report’s findings as: “We coped, but only just”
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It follows emotional testimony from dozens of healthcare workers about how Covid affected them and their patients – and the agonising decisions they faced as the virus spread
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Almost 227,000 people died in the UK from Covid between March 2020 and May 2023, when the World Health Organization said the “global health emergency” was over
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The inquiry has made several recommendations that it considers necessary to prevent healthcare overwhelm in the next pandemic.
Overview of the key suggestions the inquiry is making:
- Urgent and emergency care capacity should be increased to make sure hospitals can manage future surges in demand
- The body responsible for infection prevention and control guidance should be strengthened to enhance decision and improve guidance
- Data collection should be improved to make sure individuals most at-risk of infection can be identified, and the deaths of healthcare workers should be recorded more accurately
- Support for healthcare workers should be strengthened to ensure staff retention and improved resilience
- Provide clear criteria for clinical care decisions if resources become completely exhausted
Yes, and arch Tory lady Michelle Mone put her self at risk to picking up around £170 million for useless PPE.
Mone of course wasn’t the only one who filled their boots in the Great Opportunity. But hey, she’s walking free. No harm done.