COVID inquiry 'won't drag on for decades', bereaved families promised

The head of the COVID inquiry has said one word - "loss" - sums up the pandemic, as she promised bereaved families the investigation into the UK's preparedness and response to the outbreak "would not drag on for decades".

Former Court of Appeal judge Baroness Heather Hallett said those who have suffered will be at the "heart" of the independent public inquiry, and pledged she would conduct a "thorough" and "fair" hearing.

Just before a minute's silence was held for those who lost their lives, she said: "There's one word that sums up the pandemic for so many, and that is the word 'loss'."

She opened the inquiry in London saying she was "determined" that it "would not drag on for decades", but insisted it would still be "as thorough as possible" and that the bereaved would be "properly consulted".

The inquiry would analyse how the pandemic unfolded - and would determine whether the "level of loss was inevitable or whether things could have been done better", she said.

Baroness Hallett said she would not be able to cover every issue, as she promised to look at the use of do-not-resuscitate orders in the NHS and the quality of care given to people.

She added: "My principal aim is to produce reports and recommendations before another disaster strikes the four nations of the UK and, if it is possible, to reduce the number of deaths, the suffering, and the hardship."

What will the inquiry cover?

The inquiry is so wide-ranging that it has been split into three modules, with more to be announced.

The first will examine the resilience and preparedness of the UK for a coronavirus pandemic.

The second will look at the decisions taken by the PM and the cabinet, as advised by the civil service, senior political, scientific and medical advisers, and relevant committees.

The third module will look at the impact of COVID on health care systems, including on patients, hospitals, and other health care workers and staff.

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Families have expressed fears they could be sidelined if they are only able to share their experiences through a listening project.

This was established so that members of the public can take part without formally giving evidence or attending a hearing, and is due to begin later this year.

Potentially hundreds of thousands of people are expected to share their experiences via the formal listening exercise, while there will be a permanent tribute to those who died set up in the hearing hall.

Pete Weatherby KC, representing the UK-wide COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, said families had experienced "substantial frustration" amid delays in getting the process formally started, and there are now concerns about how the inquiry team has been engaging with them.

He said: "We seek a two-way street. We seek the inquiry to come to us, as well as us coming to the inquiry to discuss important matters which either directly engage the bereaved or which the bereaved have a central position in trying to assist the inquiry... And to some degree that is what's missing at the moment."

Read more:
The lessons to be learned - the Sky News COVID dossiers
The pandemic year - an interactive timeline of the unfolding COVID crisis
COVID hospital admissions rise amid new 'autumn wave'

According to its terms of reference, the inquiry will "listen to and consider carefully" the experiences of bereaved families and others affected by the pandemic.

It "will not consider in detail individual cases of harm or death", but "listening to these accounts will inform its understanding".

Baroness Hallett said on Tuesday: "As I'm sure they will understand that does not mean that I can, or should, consult them and the other core participants at every single stage of our preparation - if I did, the inquiry would go on forever.

"But today, I do invite further submissions on the listening exercise and other issues and thereafter we shall of course be listening to the most affected as we design the listening exercise and the commemoration or commemorations."

The inquiry is expected to last a year, and hold its first evidence hearings in spring 2023.