Covid inquiry will examine NHS ‘capacity and resilience’

The inquiry issued its draft terms of reference for a short public consultation.

Under the heading “the response of the health and care sector across the UK”, it will look at: 

• “preparedness, initial capacity and the ability to increase capacity and resilience;
• the management of the pandemic in hospitals, including infection prevention and control, triage, critical care capacity, the discharge of patients, the use of ‘Do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation’ (DNACPR) decisions, the approach to palliative care, workforce testing, changes to inspections and the impact on staff and staffing levels;
• the management of the pandemic in care homes and other care settings, including infection prevention and control, the transfer of residents to or from homes, treatment and care of residents, restrictions on visiting, and changes to inspections;
• the procurement and distribution of key equipment and supplies, including PPE and ventilators;
• the development and delivery of therapeutics and vaccines;
• the consequences of the pandemic on provision for non-covid related conditions and needs; and
• provision for those experiencing long covid.”

Another of the key areas considered will be “central, devolved and local public health decision-making and its consequences”, including ”shielding and the protection of the clinically vulnerable”, “the use of lockdowns and other ‘non-pharmaceutical’ interventions such as social distancing and the use of face coverings”, and “testing and contact tracing, and isolation”.

The inquiry will also “consider the experiences of and impact on health and care sector workers, and other key workers”, and will “consider any disparities evident in the impact of the pandemic and the state’s response”.

It will also “listen to the experiences of bereaved families and others who have suffered hardship or loss as a result of the pandemic”, but “not investigate individual cases of harm or death in detail”.

The inquiry chair is Baroness Heather Hallett, a cross-bench peer and formerly a senior judge.

11 March 2022 9.40am: Updated to include some more areas the inquiry will look at.