Scottish Care welcomes the publication of the latest findings of the Covid Inquiry Module 2 report which covered political decision making during the pandemic.
Prof Donald Macaskill, who gave evidence during this Module commented:
“The publication of the Covid Inquiry’s Module 2 report into political decision making during the pandemic has found that the government did ‘too little, too late’.
We note that it indicated that there was a lack of coordination between the different UK administrations and that this harmed the overall response and risked mistrust amongst the population.
Of considerable concern is its assertion that older people and disabled people were not adequately considered in pandemic planning or decision making.
We note that the Report found that there was a disturbing lack of understanding about the reality of social care provision amongst those who are taking critical decisions.
We further agree with the Report that in the future it is fundamental that those who are delivering social care services at the frontline should be intimately involved in decision-making. Regretfully as far as we can see this has still not become reality in any current planning and preparedness.
Whilst we look forward to the findings of Module Six which are specific to social care, we note that this report highlights the lack of both appreciation of and sensitivity to the particular needs of care home residents and those who were living with conditions such as dementia.
We very much appreciate and recognise the Report’s recommendations that the wider non-physiological impacts of protective measures should be better understood not least as they impact on particular populations such as those living with dementia. We concur with the Report’s assessment that this lack of awareness and sensitivity introduced measures into Guidance which meant that the lives of older people in particular were so negatively impacted.”
