Enquiry needed into care deaths
Huge sacrifices have been made by our health and care workers in their heroic fight against Covid19, and we paid our tribute as we applauded them every week.
Yet in trying to save the lives of others, so many have lost their own lives on the way – both a bitter tragedy and bitterly ironic. Shockingly, statistics from Amnesty, the international human rights organisation, show the UK has one of the highest numbers of coronavirus health worker deaths in the world. At least 540 health and care workers in England and Wales have died from Covid-19, out of a global healthcare death toll of 3,000. Even worse, these alarming figures are likely to be a significant under-estimate and, of course, the pandemic continues. We owe it to our health and care workers and their families and colleagues to unearth the truth about what led to this terrible outcome and discover whether any of these deaths were avoidable.
That’s why we urgently need an independent and transparent enquiry, with statutory powers, into the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Lessons must be learnt if we want to prevent similar tragic deaths now, and in the future.
Linda Hamilton
Chair of Amnesty International UK Maidstone & Swale Local Group so far they have managed to be wanting in some of their advice. We have had infections in the past where at least at the time we became aware of them there was no magic cure, no vaccine and little was known about them. As then, with TB, Legionnaires’ Disease and others, Covid-19 still has unknown characteristics and in the absence of a cure we must employ as many reasonable preventative measures as possible with so many being of a practical nature. There is now a legal requirement to wear face masks/ coverings in certain premises and when using public transport. I agree with these moves which have been used in a lot of other countries for at least decades going back into the last millennium but they offer limited protection and are mainly worn to protect others rather than the wearer.
A lot of TB was spread by spitting. Benenden Hospital was originally a sanatorium for postal workers as so many of them were succumbing to TB from handling postal sacks contaminated by infected saliva when dragged across station platforms.