About the Inquiry
The UK Covid-19 Inquiry is
- finding out what happened during the covid-19 pandemic in the UK
- learning how to prepare for pandemics in the future
The Inquiry is divided into modules.
Each module is about a different subject. Each module has:
- public hearings – events where people talk about their experiences
- a report
Every Story Matters
Every Story Matters is how the Inquiry gathers people’s experiences of the pandemic.
Anyone in the UK can share their s with us. The stories are used in the Inquiry. We do not use people’s names.
Stories help us to learn about what happened, then decide how to do things differently in future.
This page is about people’s experiences of healthcare during the pandemic.
Getting Healthcare
People told us they
- felt afraid to go to hospital and delayed getting treatment
- found it hard to speak to a GP
- waited too long for ambulances
- felt lonely and isolated
Face masks made it hard for d/Deaf people to understand what people were saying.
Many people told us they got good care, from staff who were tired and working very hard.
Changes to healthcare
People told us
- it was difficult to support family and friends at the end of their lives
- not being allowed visitors in hospital made things extremely hard
- not being able to visit also made it more difficult to cope with losing someone you love
- new mothers in hospital also had no visitors. Many mums felt lonely and afraid.
Long Covid
Long Covid happens when people do not recover from having covid. It can last for many months.
People told us
- long covid has a very big effect on their lives
- they felt disappointed, angry and frustrated with the care they got
- some people could not get any help with long covid, or found it difficult to get help
Shielding
Shielding means staying at home, or wearing a face mask if you are out.
People told us
- they had to shield for a long time, to prevent themselves getting ill
- they didn’t know how long they would have to shield for
- they could not do things they enjoy
- they could not meet friends and family
- people felt isolated, lonely and afraid
Working in healthcare
Healthcare staff told us
- they had to do much more at work than before the pandemic
- they had to work in different ways
- they didn’t get the training they needed to do unfamiliar work
- it was hard to find PPE that fitted properly.
PPE means Personal Protective Equipment, and includes face masks, aprons and gloves.
- they felt exhausted. It affected their physical and mental health
- routines changed a lot
- it was hard to see families not being able to be together, especially if their loved one was dying
Healthcare staff told us
- staff caught covid and had to stay at home. This made it even harder for the staff who were still working.
- health services started to use more technology.
For example, video calls for GP appointments.
- They are still feeling the effects of the pandemic now.
Life has not gone back to how it was before.
Government guidance
The government made lots of decisions during the pandemic.
The Inquiry is finding out about these decisions.
People told us
- hospitals and other health services were not ready for a pandemic
- it felt chaotic – everything was changing very fast, and people were not sure what was happening
People told us
- there was not enough PPE, and it did not fit properly. This made them feel unsafe.
- at the start of the pandemic, there were no tests to find out if people had the virus
- the rules about what people could and couldn’t do changed a lot.
They felt confused and unfairly treated
Tell your story
You can share your experiences in 3 ways:
Our website
Our website
We run drop-in events in towns and cities across the UK.
Research
We do research with selected groups of people.
Thank you for reading this page.