John’s Campaign, Care Rights UK and Patients Association are Core Participants at Care Sector module of Covid Inquiry 

The three organisations will be represented by the human rights team at law firm Leigh Day in Covid Inquiry Module 6 as they aim to ensure that the voices of people needing care, their families and care providers are fully heard.

They speak on behalf of individuals deeply affected by the pandemic either because they relied on care services or as relatives and carers, many of whom remain traumatised by their experiences and continue to experience the ongoing effects of the pandemic on social care provision.  

Leigh Day solicitor Beatrice Morgan will address the first of the Module 6 hearings on Tuesday 19 March at Dorland House in Paddington.  

The groups have also made written submissions which highlight the need for the Inquiry to properly consider and assess amongst other things:  

• The experiences of people living in care homes and supported living facilities and their loved ones during the pandemic  
• The experiences of those working in the care sector as well as of others who provided care, including unpaid care  
• The use of Do Not Resuscitate decisions 
• The discharge of people from hospital into care homes in the early part of the pandemic 
• Infection control, access to PPE, the management of Covid 19 in care homes  
• The (often conflicting and unclear) guidance given to care homes 
• Whether equality and human rights laws were overlooked 
• Whether there was sufficient oversight by regulators  

John’s Campaign and Care Rights UK have also been represented as Core Participants at Module 2B which concluded last week in Wales.  

In their final submissions to Module 2B, counsel instructed by Leigh Day said should there ever be another pandemic, core decision making should put those needing care and those providing care, including older and disabled people, right at its heart.  

On behalf of John’s Campaign and Care Rights UK, Adam Straw KC said those needing care, their families and carers represented by John’s Campaign and Care Rights UK suffered severely as a result of the pandemic and the response to the pandemic and should therefore have had a central place in decision making. But they did not, were often overlooked, or when considered, were treated as ‘dispensable’ (as recognised by the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales).  

The Leigh Day team representing John’s Campaign, Care Rights UK and the Patients Association in Module 6 is human rights partners Tessa Gregory and Emma Jones and solicitors Carolin Ott and Beatrice Morgan.  

Helen Wildbore of Care Rights UK said:  
 
“People relying on care services were some of the worst affected by the Government’s mismanagement of the pandemic. They were subject to one of the most sustained attacks on their human rights we have ever seen. The Inquiry’s spotlight will, finally, be on social care and the questions families have been asking for four years will have to be answered.” 

Emma Jones said:  

“Individuals needing care are among the most vulnerable in our society. As a nation we can be judged by how we treat our older population, however it is clear how badly this group was failed during the pandemic. We hope the Inquiry will complete a full and effective investigation and make recommendations to ensure that, if a similar situation occurs, these individuals will be protected.” 

Carolin Ott said:   

“Our clients are asking the Inquiry not to repeat the mistakes made by government during the pandemic and to consider properly the indirect harm caused by infection control measures to people living in care homes and supported living facilities. In many ways indirect harm was considerably worse than the harm caused by Covid-19. Indirect harm included the huge number of excess deaths from causes other than Covid-19; the nine-fold increase in people waiting for medical treatment including for serious conditions such as cancer; the severe deteriorations in physical or mental health; the number of people who died alone, and the ongoing distress and trauma this caused to bereaved loved ones.”