The NHS came close to collapse during the Covid-19 pandemic and was only kept afloat by the “superhuman” efforts of healthcare workers, the official Covid inquiry has concluded. In a damning report, chairwoman Heather Hallett said the health service was in a “parlous state” before the outbreak, with low bed numbers, high staff vacancies and high bed occupancy leaving it ill-prepared.
Lady Hallett, a former court of appeal judge, said: “Healthcare systems coped with the pandemic, but only just. On a number of occasions, they teetered on the brink of collapse and only coped thanks to the almost superhuman efforts of healthcare workers and all the staff who support them.” She added that politicians, including former health secretary Matt Hancock, refused to admit the NHS was “overwhelmed” because they equated that term with total collapse.
The report found that patients did not always receive the care they needed, with some diagnoses and treatments coming too late to save lives. There was a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) at the start of the pandemic, forcing staff to put themselves and their families at risk. Infection control measures were flawed because they assumed Covid-19 spread by contact rather than through the air.
The “stay home, protect the NHS, save lives” message may have inadvertently reduced hospital attendance for life-threatening emergencies such as heart attacks. The inquiry heard that 80% of healthcare professionals acted in ways that conflicted with their values during the pandemic, with some feeling they were “playing God” when unable to treat everyone.
Dr Tom Dolphin, council chair of the British Medical Association, welcomed the report’s rejection of the political narrative that the NHS was never overwhelmed. He said many staff, disproportionately from ethnic minorities, paid with their lives, and people resorted to using bin bags instead of gowns. The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group said years of austerity left the NHS dangerously exposed, and urged the government to treat the report as a “catalyst for change”.
The report is the third of ten from the official inquiry, which has cost £204 million – making it the most expensive in history. It was based on 300 written statements, 300,000 pages of evidence, and testimony from 93 witnesses over a ten-week hearing in 2024. The inquiry finished taking evidence this month, almost three years after hearings began.
