Barrister highlights “sobering reality” of limited change in Northern Ireland since pandemic’s start

During her address to the UK Covid Inquiry, a barrister acting on behalf of families who lost loved ones to Covid-19 stated that it is “a sobering reality” how minimal the alterations have been in Northern Ireland nearly five years after the pandemic commenced. Brenda Campbell KC urged Northern Ireland’s leadership “to commit to working with the bereaved and with all affected to ensure lasting change”. This plea was delivered as part of her concluding remarks for module three of the inquiry, which examined the pandemic’s effects on healthcare infrastructures throughout the UK. Ms Campbell further noted that the responsibility for driving change should not rest solely with the bereaved, disabled individuals, or migrant workers, but rather that “the solution has to be homemade”. “The Northern Irish Covid bereaved are unwavering in their commitment to ensuring that the posthumous legacy of those we have lost is a brighter future for those who are still here.” “But they cannot achieve that alone,” she stated. Ms Campbell posed the questions: “is the future brighter for long covid sufferers and importantly if a pandemic hit tomorrow would the outcome for the bereaved be any different?” The barrister informed the inquiry that she anticipated “it was not too presumptuous to predict” that improved communication would be among its recommendations. She mentioned that families grieving Covid-19 losses consistently inquired about lessons learned and sought information on potential improvements. She observed that those in positions of authority were not consistently present during the inquiry. She further remarked that bereaved family members were “reduced to the hope that those who can implement the lessons learned…had at least one ear to the livestream or would cast an eye over the transcript”. Ms Campbell expressed disapproval of the Department of Health’s earlier closing statement, where she noted they concluded that “the evidence was in part wrong or had been misunderstood or required to be refuted,” resulting in a customary instance of “Northern Ireland finger pointing between the Department and the Public Health Agency as to who knew what or should have known what”. However, she stated it was “important to emphasise that this inquiry is not about proportioning blame”. Covid-19 was an “entirely novel and unprecedented virus,” and she acknowledged that individuals were “striving to do their best even if retrospectively it was apparent things could be done better”. Ms Campbell remarked: “At this point, post pandemic, more than everything there must be evidence of reflection and work towards meaningful change and yet the absence of reflection, of lessons learned in the evidence from Northern Ireland is stark.” She clarified that she intended no disrespect to Baroness Hallett, the inquiry’s chair, or her staff, when she determined that there was “little to which this module can help us”. “The issues in the NI healthcare system are too large, pervasive and systemic and the time available and the scope of this module was necessarily limited,” she explained. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.