Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock have come under intense criticism from bereaved families during the ongoing Covid inquiry for allegedly misleading the public by claiming the NHS effectively managed the pandemic. On the first day of a ten-week review focused on the pandemic’s impact on the health service, Pete Weatherby KC, representing Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK, argued that claims about the NHS’s ability to cope were “false.”
The inquiry, chaired by Heather Hallett, was presented with evidence showing that the NHS entered the pandemic severely underprepared, with fewer intensive care beds compared to many other developed nations, compounded by a high number of nursing vacancies. Data from the Intensive Care Society revealed that the UK had only 7.3 critical care beds per 100,000 people, in contrast to Germany’s 28.2 and the Czech Republic’s 43.2.
This lack of capacity led to significant challenges in patient care. A survey of 1,683 healthcare workers showed that 71% of A&E doctors and 62% of paramedics were unable to escalate care for patients during the height of the crisis. In March 2020, London’s ambulance service experienced severe delays, with some calls taking nearly 10 minutes to be answered. This prompted the Department of Health to draft a policy for prioritizing critical care in the event intensive care units were overwhelmed.
The inquiry also highlighted troubling issues like the misuse of “do not resuscitate” orders and the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on black, Asian, and minority ethnic communities, who constituted a large portion of the NHS workforce.
Weatherby stressed that the narrative portraying the NHS as having coped without being overwhelmed was misleading. “We may not have seen scenes out of a dystopian disaster film,” he said, “but the fact hospitals continued functioning does not mean everything was satisfactory.”
Earlier, Johnson testified that his government prevented the NHS from being overwhelmed and ensured every patient received care. Hancock, who resigned after breaching Covid social distancing guidelines, similarly claimed the NHS was never pushed beyond its limits.
However, Jacqueline Carey KC, the inquiry’s lead counsel, shared testimonies from healthcare staff who witnessed patients dying alone in wards, acknowledging that while efforts were made to increase ICU capacity, many patients still did not receive the care they needed.
