“Inquiries must be initiated to investigate any factors that may have led to healthcare workers’ deaths. It is the next necessary step towards setting things right and preventing any more…
Dolin Bhagawati writes in The Independent that contracting external parties to make PPE, run our drive-in testing centres, and build a Test and Trace programme didn’t work. It’s time to learn from these expensive mistakes
Doctors and campaigners have launched a High Court challenge against the Government over its refusal to hold an urgent public inquiry into PPE shortages amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Scores of frontline healthcare workers have died while battling the Covid-19 crisis, while widespread complaints over PPE shortages for medics have been commonplace.
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The group, which is crowdfunding its case, says an inquiry which complies with Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the right to life, should be automatic and is required in circumstances where those deaths and illnesses have been “caused or contributed to” by the state.
They also say such an investigation must take place “as soon as reasonably practicable” because there is an “urgent need to gather evidence and learn lessons” now, ahead of a possible second or third spike of infection.
Dr Rinesh Parmar, chairman of the Doctors' Association UK, said: "We have seen over the last few weeks that the UK has one of the highest death rates from Covid-19 in the world.
"Health and social care workers rose to the challenge, returned to the frontline from retirement and pulled out all the stops to save lives.
"Some had no PPE, others had inadequate, out of date perishing supplies.
"Alongside caring for patients, we've cared for colleagues and also faced the sad and grim reality of losing colleagues, who themselves were caring for patients.
"Now is the time to learn key lessons to enable us to avoid future pitfalls, protect the frontline and ultimately save lives.
"Our calls for a public inquiry and our petition of nearly 120,000 signatures have all fallen on deaf ears as the Government buries its head in the sand and steadfastly refuses to commit to the learning required to prevent further tragedies."
Ministers are facing a high court legal challenge after they refused to order an urgent investigation into the shortages of personal protective equipment faced by NHS staff during the pandemic. The case is being brought against Matt Hancock, the health and social care secretary, by the Doctors’ Association UK (DAUK), the Good Law Project headed by Jolyon Maugham QC and the charity Hourglass, which campaigns on issues involving care homes.
"This Morning viewers were furious as they watched Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby quiz the Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Tuesday.
The government has been heavily criticised after frontline NHS workers claimed they did not have adequate PPE, but the MP insisted the death rate of 158 workers was a great success.
A shipment of PPE which was delayed was then found to not pass safety standards, while companies that created PPE said the government was not interested in buying it.
Images even circulated of doctors and nurses wearing makeshift PPE including raincoats to try to protect themselves.
Holly told the Health Secretary that the Doctors Association UK is demanding an enquiry into the failure to provide adequate PPE."
Doctors are taking legal action to force the UK government to launch an independent inquiry into its failure to provide adequate personal protective equipment for NHS staff and other frontline care workers. The challenge is being brought by the Doctors Association UK (DAUK) and the Good Law Project
