‘Huge moment’ for bereaved families as pandemic inquiry’s final module opens

Families bereaved in the pandemic have described the opening of the final module of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry this week as a “huge moment”.

The impact 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.

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.

Public hearings for the 10th module of the long-running inquiry begin on Monday and are expected to last for three weeks.

While examining overall impact on the UK population, there will be a particular focus on key workers, the most vulnerable, and the impact on mental health and wellbeing, the inquiry said.

A spokesperson for campaign group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK said: “This is a huge moment for bereaved families. After years of fighting for this Inquiry, the final public hearings are now beginning.

“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.”

A lawyer representing bereaved families said the final module “is significant as it will vindicate what our clients have consistently said: that the grief they suffered was different to others in mourning”.

Nicola Brook, a solicitor from Broudie Jackson Canter law firm – which represents more than 7,000 families CBFFJ, said: “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 and from grieving fully and properly.

“This module will also allow some to have a voice and to talk through their experiences, which we welcome.”

Mind charity chief executive, Sarah Hughes, said the pandemic had “created a national mental health emergency in multiple, profound ways” and that the inquiry was a “critical opportunity to learn lasting lessons and to build a mental health system that protects everyone, at all times”.

This year the inquiry will publish a 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.

To date, the team behind the inquiry said it has sat for 250 days overall, published more than 600,000 documents and called more than 600 witnesses across four cities across the UK’s four nations.