- Marie-Louise Connolly
- BBC News NI Health Correspondent
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The UK’s coronavirus inquiry into Northern Ireland has heard devastating evidence of multiple failures across several departments, including the Department of Health (DoH).
Three weeks of public hearings in Belfast brought the health policy under forensic scrutiny, revealing how critical information was communicated by health authorities and sought by other officials.
“Political dysfunction” has been found to be hindering the rollout and compliance of some coronavirus prevention policies.
By January 2021, this had a direct impact on the number of cases and deaths, according to lawyers at the inquiry.
The study leaves unanswered questions and issues for health services.
How did care homes go wrong?
The first day and opening statements brought to light the plight of care home residents, owners, staff and families.
The survey asked how older people were the first victims of the pandemic and how they were being ‘forgotten’.
The senior citizen committee member’s explanation of the feeling that “elderly people are being excluded from hospitals and sent to nursing homes without being tested” was horrifying.
Eddie Lynch said the Department of Health’s actions were “reckless”.
However, the chief medical officer said in evidence to the inquiry that discharge from hospital was not a “key factor” in the infection.
Over the next three weeks, a series of questions were asked about plans for protecting vulnerable people before and during the pandemic.
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Among the questions was: “Where was the risk analysis?”
Care home owners said they felt their emergency plans had been “forgotten”.
“Elderly people were exposed to severe radiation exposure,” the commission’s lawyer said in his closing statement.
Was the Ministry of Health ready?
The absence of parliament for three years before the pandemic took its toll.
In his closing remarks, a lawyer for the families said that years of austerity and underfunding from single-year budgets had left sectors such as health “devastated and exhausted.”
This affected staffing throughout the system when rapid response was required.
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The test and trace system was “understaffed” and the chief medical officer said the Public Health Agency (PHA) was unable to respond quickly to the severity of the situation.
The chief scientific advisor had been on sick leave since mid-February 2020.
The DoH did not replace Professor Ian Young, who returned at the end of March.
How did those in charge deal with the pandemic?
To answer this, we first need to find out who was in charge.
Investigations were attempted, but with little success.
The answer depended on who was in the witness stand.
Evidence has confirmed that health authorities have agreed to discharge care home residents to hospital without testing.
Health Secretary Robin Swann said in evidence that more could have been done to prevent deaths in care homes and that “every penny dropped” for him about the “critical position” Northern Ireland was in. It was not until March 10th that the
Mr Swann said he did not believe he was to blame for other ministers not understanding the seriousness of the coronavirus, but said he would accept it if he had failed to sound the alarm. Ta.
How do the families feel about this investigation?
The family said Britain’s coronavirus inquiry team should have investigated what happened in Northern Ireland longer.
Spokeswoman Brenda Doherty said the inquiry revealed shortcomings in health and social care and how badly Northern Ireland had been let down by politicians.
Those who lost loved ones said, “There were days when I felt depressed, but there were also days when I saw results.”
The family said nothing could bring back the father, mother, aunt and grandmother, but the law would be passed to prevent other mistakes from happening.
What needs to happen next?
The government can plan for civil emergencies and appoint someone to initiate and lead a cross-departmental response during a crisis, according to the findings and families.
Laws are necessary to protect the elderly, disabled, and vulnerable.
A small but important example is that nursing homes are equipped with visiting pods and protective equipment that allow families to remain in contact with their families, even for a day.
Will there be anything to be gained from the inquiry?
Public questions are not designed to be fun, easy, or even satisfying. And the UK coronavirus survey being conducted in Belfast is no exception.
The families have spent time researching the situation in Northern Ireland and are not satisfied with the answers that have emerged.
But if the interrogation was forensic, it could reveal what happened at the nursing home and the big mistakes that followed.
Families said it also exposed a lack of “overarching responsibility” to lead and manage the pandemic.
History has shown that families in Northern Ireland often struggle with the system for decades, and investigations tend to yield little results.
The hope is that enough people will listen and “get through it,” in the words of the inquiry borrowed from the late Mo Mowlam.
