Why we’ve launched the Covid Inquiry Recommendations Tracker
Bereaved families fought hard for the Covid Inquiry, but getting it established was never the end goal. What really matters is whether it leads to changes that prevent the same mistakes being made again.
That is why we have launched our Covid Inquiry Recommendations Tracker.
It is the first tracker of its kind in the UK, providing a comprehensive, independent and human assessment of the Inquiry’s outcomes.
The online tool will monitor the Government’s response to every recommendation made by the Inquiry and assess the action being taken to implement them. It will be continually updated as new reports are published and as reforms are delivered – or fail to materialise.
There is a very good reason for doing this.
Over the last three decades, around 30 public inquiries into healthcare scandals have made more than 1,400 recommendations, but just one in five were ever fully implemented. Once an inquiry has finished and the headlines have moved on, there is often too little pressure on ministers and public bodies to follow through on what was promised. Recommendations can be delayed, watered down or simply forgotten. We cannot allow that to happen with the Covid Inquiry.
Bereaved families have spent years reliving the worst moments of their lives to help establish what went wrong during the pandemic. We have given evidence, shared painful memories and fought to make sure those failures are properly exposed. The recommendations are where all of that work is supposed to lead. They are the opportunity to make sure the country is better prepared next time.
What the tracker does
The tracker looks at each recommendation and the Government’s response to it, and gives it one of four ratings: on track, moderate progress, little progress or rejected. These aren't permanent judgements. The point is to keep watching what happens next.
If the Government makes progress, we will update the rating. If a commitment isn't followed through, we will reflect that too. And where recommendations are rejected, delayed or watered down, we will keep asking why and pushing for action.
So this isn't just a record of what the Government has said in its formal responses to the Inquiry. We will follow recommendations through to the point where they result in actual change. That will mean keeping the tracker going for years, not months.
What we’ve found so far
The Government has so far responded to the first three modules of the Inquiry, covering resilience and preparedness, core decision-making and governance, and the impact on healthcare systems.
Of the first 36 recommendations, we currently judge 11 to be on track, 13 to have made moderate progress and six to have made little progress. Six have been rejected.
There is good progress in some areas. But there are also serious concerns.
The Government has rejected the Inquiry’s proposed leadership structure for civil emergency preparedness and resilience, despite the Inquiry describing the existing model as “fundamentally unsuitable”. A key recommendation around ‘Do Not Attempt CPR’ notices has also been rejected, while we believe much more needs to be done in areas such as hospital surge capacity and the oversight of preparedness for future emergencies.
We will use our current assessments to pressure the Cabinet Office and other departments to make better progress, and update our ratings as further action is taken.
We’re in this for the long haul
There are five Inquiry reports still to be published, followed by Government responses and action plans, and then the much harder job of making sure those promises actually turn into change. We will keep following that process.
Bereaved families shouldn't have to act as a watchdog for public inquiry recommendations, which is why we are supporting calls for a National Oversight Mechanism, which would independently track recommendations from public inquiries and hold public bodies accountable for what happens to them.
But until that system is in place, we will keep doing what we can ourselves. We will recognise progress where it happens, but we will also keep asking questions, challenging delays and putting pressure on ministers and departments when we don't think enough is being done.
The Covid Inquiry cannot just end with a set of reports and recommendations sitting on a shelf. It must bring real changes, so that when the next pandemic or national crisis comes, the country is better prepared and fewer lives are lost.
