BEREAVED families have described the opening of the final module of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry tomorrow as a “huge moment.”
The effect of lockdowns on domestic abuse victims, the homeless and bereaved unable to attend loved ones’ funerals will be examined as part of the inquiry’s last section.
Public hearings for the 10th module are expected to last for three weeks and will examine the overall impact on the population.
There will be a particular focus on key workers, the most vulnerable, and the impact on mental health and wellbeing.
A Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK statement said: “This is a huge moment for bereaved families. Module 10 matters because it centres the human impact.
“It is where the inquiry will hear, directly, about the trauma of losing someone in the pandemic, how families were treated, what support was missing, and the reality that the harm was not felt equally.
“Our campaign does not end when the hearings finish. We will keep pushing until the inquiry’s recommendations are implemented and the lessons learned lead to changes that save lives in the future.”
Countrywide closures of the hospitality and retail sectors, as well as cultural institutions such as museums and theatres will also be considered in the Impact on Society module.
Mind mental health charity’s Sarah Hughes said the pandemic had “created a national mental health emergency in multiple, profound ways,” and the inquiry was a “critical opportunity to learn lasting lessons and to build a mental health system that protects everyone, at all times.”
Nicola Brook, a solicitor from Broudie Jackson Canter law firm, which represents more than 7,000 families, said: “This module will also allow some to have a voice and to talk through their experiences.
“It will show that many are suffering prolonged grief disorder and PTSD caused by the horrific circumstances in which they lost their loved ones and by the restrictions that prevented them being with their loved ones as they passed.”
This year, the inquiry will publish five reports from its other investigations covering healthcare systems, vaccines and therapeutics, procurement, the care sector as well as the test, trace and isolate system.
