00:00I published the third report of the UK COVID-19 Inquiry.
00:05This report concerns the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the UK's healthcare systems.
00:13I can summarise that impact as we coped, but only just.
00:19A major inquiry into the COVID pandemic has found the NHS in England was pushed to its limits,
00:26raising concerns about care, staffing and key decisions taken at that time.
00:31The report examines the experience of patients and frontline workers
00:35and questions whether some policies, including public messaging and visiting rules,
00:40had unintended consequences.
00:42The report runs across hundreds of pages and sets out how the NHS entered the pandemic under significant strain.
00:49It says a decade of constrained funding left services with too few staff and beds.
00:55describing the system as being in a precarious position before COVID began.
01:00The inquiry itself came about following intense pressure from bereaved families,
01:06healthcare experts and opposition leaders.
01:08Since the release of the findings,
01:11the COVID Bereaved Families for Justice campaign group has spoken out.
01:15Five years ago, we began calling for a public inquiry into the deaths of our loved ones.
01:20This happened because ordinary people refused to be ignored.
01:24Over the years, we have heard hundreds of hours of evidence.
01:27And although only two of the ten reports have been published so far,
01:31the inquiry's verdict on those in power during the pandemic has already been damning.
01:38Thousands of lives cut short.
01:40That is what the inquiry has exposed.
01:44And the truth is now on the public record.
01:47The report found that following the first wave, hospitals faced a rapid rise in seriously ill patients.
01:54The report said this led to extreme pressure across services,
01:58with some areas coming close to running out of oxygen supplies.
02:02The report found that intensive care units were stretched beyond normal limits,
02:07with staffing ratios changing from one nurse per patient to as many as four in some cases.
02:12Furthermore, the report stated that ambulance services also came under sustained pressure,
02:18with waiting times increasing, including for the most urgent cases.
02:22In some instances, additional support was brought in to help manage demand.
02:27The report concludes that a collapse of the NHS was narrowly avoided,
02:32largely due to what it describes as the extraordinary efforts of healthcare staff.
02:37Chair of the Inquiry, Baroness Heather Hallett, added...
02:43The healthcare systems came close to collapse.
02:47Healthcare workers carried the burden of caring for the sick and dying in unprecedented numbers.
02:54It came at a huge cost to them, to their families, to their patients, and to the loved ones of
03:00patients.
03:01It also came at a huge cost to the non-COVID patients, who were not seen and treated.
03:09The report also examines public messaging during the pandemic.
03:13While the instruction to stay home was intended to protect the NHS,
03:17the findings suggest this may have discouraged some people from seeking urgent medical help.
03:22A drop in attendance at emergency departments, including for serious conditions,
03:27is highlighted as a concern in the findings.
03:29Hospital visiting restrictions were another key focus.
03:35But the inquiry is not over.
03:37Over the next two years, the inquiry will publish further reports on healthcare, PPE, care homes and more.
03:44Those reports will give us a blueprint for saving lives.
03:47Our job now is to ensure the blueprint turns into action.
03:51A final report into the UK COVID-19 inquiry is expected in 2027.
03:57Following the completion of hearings, the inquiry's focus has turned to reporting its findings and recommendations.
04:04Baroness Hallett has emphasised that the inquiry will monitor the implementation of its recommendations to ensure meaningful change.
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