Covid Inquiry Module 6
The Chair of the Covid Inquiry announced that the Inquiry would be split into modules, with each module investigating a different area of the pandemic, from the Government’s preparedness to their response.
- Module 1 of the Inquiry investigated the Government’s preparedness and resilience for a pandemic.
- Module 2 investigated the Government’s decision-making processes.
- Module 3 looked into the governmental and societal response to Covid as well as dissecting the impact that the pandemic had on healthcare systems, patients and health care workers.
- Module 4 considered a range of issues relating to the development of Covid-19 vaccines and the implementation of the vaccine rollout programme in the UK.
- Module 5 looked at the procurement and distribution of key healthcare related equipment and supplies - including PPE, ventilators and oxygen.
Module 6 opened on 24 October 2023. This module will investigate the impact of the pandemic on the publicly and privately funded adult social care sector across the United Kingdom. It will consider the consequences of government decision-making – including restrictions imposed – on those living and working within the care sector. As well as this, decisions concerning capacity in hospitals and residents in adult care and residential homes will be looked at.
The Inquiry is aiming to hold preliminary hearings for Module 6 in early 2025. Following this, the four weeks of public hearings will run from Monday 30 June – Thursday 31 July 2025.
You can watch the hearings live, subject to a three-minute delay, via YouTube by clicking here. To see all of the public information about the Inquiry, please visit their website here.
Nicola Brook hosts the Covid Inquiry Podcast, which discusses what has happened on a weekly basis in court. You can also listen to all instalments of it on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and Spotify.
Module 6 Scope
This module will examine the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the publicly and privately funded adult social care sector in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
It will consider the consequences of government decision making on those living and working within the Care Sector. This includes adult care and residential homes including care provided in the home and the decisions to free up capacity in hospitals by discharging patients into adult care and residential homes. It will address the steps taken in adult care and residential homes to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and examine the capacity of the adult care sector to respond to the pandemic. Specifically, the module will examine:
- The impact of the pandemic on people’s experience of the Care Sector.
- The structure of the Care Sector and the key bodies involved in the UK and Devolved Administrations at the start of and during the pandemic.
- The key decisions made by the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations relating to the discharge of people from hospitals into adult care and residential homes in the early stages of the pandemic.
- The management of the pandemic in adult care and residential homes.
- The use of Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPRs) and communication with recipients of care and their loved ones.
- The changes to the regulatory inspection regimes within the Care Sector.
- Deaths related to the infection of Covid-19 including deaths of recipients of care and staff.
- Infection prevention and control measures for those providing care in the home, including by unpaid carers.
You can read the full provision scope document here.
Core Participant Status for Module 6
The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group have been awarded Core Participant status in Module 6 of the Covid Inquiry, with Broudie Jackson Canter instructed as their Recognised Legal Representative.
If you are bereaved and aren’t involved in the Inquiry but wish to be, we encourage you to join the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group to make sure you have a voice in this Inquiry.