Scots to get Covid public inquiry by end of the year
A PUBLIC inquiry into the handling of coronavirus in Scotland will begin by the end of the year.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon yesterday pledged a judge-led probe into all devolved aspects of the pandemic, including controversial decisions about care homes.
Families of Covid victims welcomed the announcement and said they hope it provides answers on key issues.
Critics condemned the time it has taken to give a firm commitment a separate inquiry into Scottish issues will go ahead.
The Scottish Government said the inquiry will be established by the end of the year and will investigate any events ‘causing public concern’.
It will then establish facts about the issues, consider what could have been done differently and establish any lessons that need to be learned.
As well as health impacts, it will also look at ‘societal’ issues including education and economic impacts of the pandemic. Scotland’s top prosecutor, Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain, QC, has begun discussions about appointing a judge to lead the probe.
Miss Sturgeon said: ‘The inquiry will look at all matters related to the handling of the pandemic that are within our devolved competence. This will include, of course, the situation in our care homes.’
She said the Scottish Government would
‘Lessons must be learnt for the future’
‘liaise closely’ with the UK Government and other devolved administrations on the likely terms of a UK-wide inquiry and look to avoid ‘duplication and overlap’.
But she added: ‘However, the need for co-operation with other governments is not, in my view, a reason to delay the establishment of our own inquiry.’
At a press conference after the decision was announced, Alan Wightman – who leads the Scottish section of the group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice – said: ‘There are five of us here today who have led this campaign, but there are many others we represent.
‘Many of them have told me their personal stories and I thank them for doing that. We made a pledge – we will deliver, we will deliver for you. We have begun to deliver. Today, we have a commitment, we will continue and we will get the answers that they want.’
Mr Wightman’s mother, Helen, died from coronavirus in her Fife care home.
Robert Kilgour, executive chairman of care homes firm Renaissance Care, has been calling for an inquiry since the end of the first wave of the virus last year.
He said: ‘We have all made mistakes here and lessons must be learnt for the future ASAP. I have been calling for such an inquiry since the end of June 2020.
‘The devil will be in the detail of the final brief for the inquiry but it must be wide-ranging – including care homes.
‘But it must also include NHS Scotland, Scottish local authorities, Public Health Scotland, the Scottish Care Inspectorate and all the Scottish Government decisions related to Covid-19 and care homes too: like hospital discharges without testing and the delay in offering all care home staff weekly testing and asking the question – was the science always followed?’
Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: ‘This needs to be an avenue to accountability and responsibility for what happened in Scotland. For the families of care home residents in particular, who had information about their loved ones deliberately withheld until it was politically convenient for the SNP, this inquiry must lead to timely answers to important questions.’
He added: ‘Last summer, the Scottish Government mismanaged quarantine and the return of students to campus allowing the virus to be re-seeded.
‘Test and Protect was unprepared for the pressure of restrictions easing and tracing collapsed. People were discharged in their thousands from hospitals to care homes without tests or even after testing positive.
Scottish Conservative health spokesman Annie Wells said: ‘It’s a disgrace that they are only getting around to this now, when Nicola Sturgeon promised it would be a priority during the election campaign.
‘This inquiry must uncover what went wrong throughout the pandemic, especially in our care homes. Major errors were made by the SNP Government that left our most vulnerable citizens unprotected.
‘We will be pushing the Government to ensure this inquiry gets the answers that families deserve, and not more of the same SNP spin and secrecy.’
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar criticised the Scottish Government for only now seeking views on setting up the inquiry.
He said: ‘The First Minister must end the dither and delay and act now so that light can be shone on the Scottish Government’s handling of the pandemic. Lessons can be learned and justice can be done.’
He accused the Government of ‘ignoring the pain of the grieving families and sacrifices of thousands of key workers’.