The Module 1 report of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry examines the UK’s central structures and procedures for emergency preparedness, resilience and response in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The report, to which the UK Faculty of Public Health gave both written and oral evidence, recognises that decisions as to the allocation of resources to prepare for a whole-system civil emergency fall exclusively to elected politicians, and that had the UK been better prepared and resilient to the pandemic, significant human and financial cost may have been avoided.
Correctly recognising that the UK will again face the threat of pandemics and other major health emergencies, the report makes a number of important recommendations which must be considered by the new Government in consultation with a diverse range of stakeholders, including public health professionals working at local, regional, national, and international level.
Notable amongst the recommendations, and central to the Faculty of Public Health’s evidence submitted to the inquiry, is that emergency planning policy failed to account sufficiently for pre-existing health and social inequalities in society, leading to stark disparities in outcomes from Covid-19 amongst ethnic minority and other vulnerable groups.
Other themes from the Faculty of Health’s evidence to the inquiry including the critical need for increased capacity across the public health system and recommendations to update and rationalise national emergency planning and preparedness strategies, are also reflected in the report.
The Faculty of Public Health will work with our partners to fully consider the findings of the Module 1 report, and will continue to engage with the Inquiry as it moves through future stages.
Read the full report: https://covid19.public-inquiry.uk/reports/
