The chair of the UK COVID-19 inquiry has said the NHS “came close to collapse” during the pandemic.
Baroness Heather Hallett concluded, “We faced it, but only fairly.” Third report of investigation, Released on Thursday.
He said Britain’s health care systems were “on the brink of complete collapse”.
Module 3, the third of the 10 investigations, examined the impact of covid On health care systems in four countries.
Latest COVID Inquiry
It examined how governments and society responded to the pandemic, the capacity of health systems to adapt, and the impact on patients, their loved ones and healthcare workers.
The report, based on testimony from 97 witnesses, found that Britain entered the pandemic “unprepared”, with this weakness leading to “serious consequences” when the crisis hit.
It said that, despite the best efforts of healthcare workers, many COVID patients did not receive the care they otherwise would have received, and there were delays in diagnosis and treatment of non-COVID patients.
Baroness Hallett said health workers “carried the burden of caring for unprecedented numbers of the sick” during the pandemic.
“It has come at a huge cost to them, their families, their patients and the patients’ loved ones,” he said.
He said the collapse of the system was narrowly avoided thanks to the extraordinary efforts of health workers.
Baroness Hallett said: “The enormous pressure placed on health care systems was unprecedented.
“The people working within it were forced to work under unbearable pressure for months.”
The report makes 10 recommendations “to prevent health care systems from being overwhelmed in the next pandemic.”
These include increasing capacity in urgent and emergency care and ensuring “surge” capacity in hospitals, strengthening the body responsible for infection prevention and control guidance, and better advance care planning.
Campaign group COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice described the report and its findings as “utterly damning”.
It said the “devastating” impact on UK health systems during the pandemic could have been avoided.
“Years of austerity have left the NHS dangerously exposed, without the staff, beds or flexibility needed to withstand a major shock,” the group said.
“That was a political choice.
“And when the pandemic came, those in power failed us again.
“They failed to act quickly enough, failed to follow the evidence, and failed to respond as promptly as the times demanded.”
Looking ahead, the group says the UK health service is now in a worse position to deal with another pandemic than it was six years ago.
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it says Current meningitis outbreak in Kent “This underlines why restoring resilience and capacity to our health system must be a priority for those in power”.
“That’s why what happens now is so important. This report must not be left to gather dust and its recommendations must be the floor, not the ceiling, of the government’s ambitions.”
“We urge the government to use this report as a catalyst for change. Failing to do so would be inexcusable.”
A government spokesman said it was “committed to learning the lessons of the Covid investigation.”
He added: “We will carefully consider Baroness Hallett’s findings and recommendations and will provide a full response in due course.”
