Almost a year after the UK's first lockdown, pressure is mounting on the government to fulfil its promise of a public inquiry into the pandemic response. Healthcare workers, care home operators, and grieving families are demanding answers, citing systemic failures that cost lives.
Dr Richard Breeze, an intensive care consultant at University Hospital Lewisham in south London, has witnessed the devastating toll firsthand. He has broken the news of Covid deaths to 50 families and observed patterns he believes must be investigated. 'We locked down late and that cost us a unit full of people,' he said. He also criticised the handling of Dominic Cummings' trip to Durham, arguing it undermined public trust in lockdown rules.
Breeze noted that victims disproportionately came from black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) communities. 'Most of the younger people we lost were black – people in their 30s and 40s,' he said. Staff shortages worsened during the second wave, with nurse-to-patient ratios reaching one to four, causing immense stress. 'People are shattered,' he added.
Nicola Richards, who runs three care homes in Sheffield, lost 27 residents to Covid and saw one home collapse into administration. She wants the inquiry to examine why the NHS was prioritised over social care. 'We just do not get the recognition the NHS have and we did not get the protection the NHS got,' she said. Early guidance that masks were unnecessary for staff and delays in testing exacerbated the crisis, she argued.
Richards also highlighted funding failures: 'I had to shut a 60-bed home in the middle of fighting Covid. I was asking for help with funding.' She stopped supplying staff to other homes in April to prevent virus spread, but at the time, testing was unavailable. 'If we had access to testing that would have reduced the number of deaths,' she said.
