Dorset charity says government was "too late to react" to Covid-19 pandemic
Long COVID Kids calls on today's government to implement recommendations from the first Covid-19 inquiry report
A Dorset charity says the government’s failure to “adequately” prepare for the COVID pandemic led to "heartache, loss and disability".
The first report by the UK Covid-19 inquiry has found people were "failed" by a lack of preparation for the by the pandemic.
Sammie McFarland, founder of Lond Covid Kids, said: “We're all living with the consequences of them not being prepared and we’ve seen a huge loss of life as a result of the way the pandemic was handled.”
There were more than 235,000 deaths involving Covid-19 in the UK up to the end of 2023.
Throughout the course of the Covid inquiry, politicians accepted blame for failing to properly prepare for a coronavirus-like pandemic.
Lord David Cameron conceded it was a "mistake" for his government to focus too heavily on preparations for combating a wave of influenza.
Mr Jeremy Hunt also admitted to a "narrowness of thinking" that failed to prepare the UK for anything other than a flu outbreak.
The former health secretary, Matt Hancock, said it was a "colossal" failure to assume the spread of the virus could not be stopped.
Kirsty Stanley, health lead at Long Covid Kids, said: “Children are talking about lost childhoods, not being able to do the same things as their peers, losing friendships, education and opportunities.
“But this is just the beginning of their worries, the real test will be how this impacts on the rest of their lives.”
Inquiry chair Baroness Heather Hallett is expected to highlight how austerity measures led to public health cutbacks in today's report.
As well as highlighting blunders made in the run-up to the pandemic, Lady Hallett will make recommendations about how the UK can better prepare itself for a future outbreak.
Ms Stanley said: “We’re calling on this government to improve the public health messaging around COVID and to help raise awareness of the long-term effects of COVID.
“What we’d like to see is for Labour to take action on the recommendations made, not just about future preparedness but also how we’re addressing it now.”
Ms McFarland added: “We're still seeing high numbers of COVID cases in our communities now, so it isn't just about what happened back then, it's about what can we do right now to safeguard citizens and change the situation going forward so that we don't see a repeat this catastrophic event.”
Academics have said it is a question of "when not if" another pandemic will hit, so it is hoped that recommendations, if implemented, could put the UK in a better starting place to face a new and unknown disease.