Friday briefing: What the Covid inquiry reveals about the NHS – and why it should worry us
Good morning. Yesterday lunchtime the UK Covid-19 inquiry published its latest findings – this time on how the NHS, its staff and patients were affected during the pandemic. It delivered a stark verdict: the health service “teetered on the brink of collapse” and only avoided it through the “almost superhuman efforts” of staff. Heather Hallett, the inquiry chair, said healthcare systems “coped, but only just” – and rejected the claim made by Conservative ministers at the time that the NHS had not been overwhelmed. For bereaved families, that language matters. For today’s newsletter, I spoke to Naomi Fulop, a healthcare academic and member of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK, about what the group hoped to hear from the report, what it has been like for bereaved families to take part in the inquiry, and what needs to happen next if the process is to lead to real change. Five big stories Middle East | Iran said it would show “zero restraint” if its energy infrastructure was targeted again as Qatar revealed that almost a fifth of its liquefied natural gas export capacity had been knocked out in an Iranian strike. Health | Meningitis vaccination has been expanded in Kent after cases linked to a Canterbury nightclub rose to 27. Two people have died, and officials say the outbreak is being contained. Politics | Muslim leaders have condemned Nigel Farage’s call to ban public prayer by Muslims in the UK as bigoted and warned of a “growing tide of hate” after Kemi Badenoch questioned whether the events fitted “within the norms of British culture”. EU | EU leaders have pledged to stand behind Cyprus as it seeks “an open and frank discussion” on the future of the British bases on the island, which have become a target after the outbreak of the latest Middle East crisis. Immigration | A 16-year-old schoolgirl is stranded in Denmark after she was not allowed to board a flight to the UK due to new border rules on dual nationals. In depth: ‘Workers were left putting out fires rather than caring for patients’
Heather Hallett was appointed to lead the inquiry in December 2021. This latest report follows earlier findings on the UK’s preparedness for a pandemic and on political decision-making at the top of government. “We campaigned for the inquiry, so it is really important to us that it comes out with what’s needed,” Fulop tells me. “Overall, we were pleased with those first two reports. We felt they vindicated what we’ve been saying for years, and gave a very good diagnosis of what went wrong.” *** What it has been like for bereaved families It matters for bereaved families not just because the inquiry establishes a public record, but because many of them have had to relive intensely painful experiences to help shape it. “I have to say it was one of the most nerve-racking things I’ve ever done,” Fulop says of giving evidence. “Mostly because, as many of our witnesses do, I was speaking on behalf of our organisation, which is UK-wide – we’ve got 7,000 members – and it felt like a huge weight on my shoulders to get it right. I didn’t want to let people down.” She says the group believed it had made a tangible difference to the inquiry by raising issues that might otherwise have received less attention. One of those was the use of do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation orders. “Many of our members’ loved ones were placed under these without proper consultation,” she says. “Some of the stories from our members are just really shocking on that, and it was really important that we raised the issue. It wasn’t on the chair’s radar until we did.” Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK has also backed calls for a Hillsborough law, which campaigners argue would reduce the length and cost of future public inquiries and place a greater duty of candour on public bodies. *** What families hoped the report would say Fulop says the central issue was whether the inquiry would fully confront how exposed the NHS was before Covid arrived. “The underlying issue about the NHS is that it was absolutely unprepared, in the sense that it did not have the capacity required to meet a pandemic,” she says. “Years of austerity had left it without that resilience.” For the group, that point matters as much for the future as for the historical record. “The NHS is probably in a worse state now than it was in 2020 before the pandemic hit,” Fulop says. “So the recommendations from the inquiry need to point to strengthening the capacity and resilience of the NHS in order that it can face another pandemic, which, as we all know, is not a case of if, but when.” She also says the report needed to reject what families see as one of the most misleading claims made by ministers during the pandemic – that the NHS was not overwhelmed. “It absolutely, clearly was,” says Fulop. “Evidence from bereaved families and from NHS staff clearly laid that out.” Alongside questions of staffing, funding and resilience, Fulop says there was also a human and cultural dimension that must not be overlooked: the experience of separation at the end of life. “Many people [were] not able to be with their loved one when they died,” Fulop tells me. “Some people had no communication at all, which is really terrible,” she adds. The report does indeed paint a picture of a system under extreme strain – with patients waiting hours in ambulances, staff stretched far beyond safe ratios, and shortages of critical equipment. As Hallett put it, “staff-to-patient ratios were diluted”, and workers were left “putting out fires rather than caring for the patient”. *** What the report said
The inquiry concluded the NHS entered the pandemic in a “precarious” state, with staff shortages, low bed numbers and high occupancy rates leaving it ill-prepared for a major crisis. Patients did not always receive the care they needed, with some diagnoses and treatments coming too late to save lives. Others avoided seeking help altogether, after the “stay home, protect the NHS, save lives” message deterred people from attending hospital even with life-threatening conditions. Healthcare workers, meanwhile, were pushed to their limits. Four in five said they acted in ways that conflicted with their values, with some describing having to choose which patients received care. Despite that, collapse was narrowly avoided. “Healthcare systems came close to collapse,” Hallett said. “Collapse was only narrowly avoided thanks to the extraordinary efforts of all those working in healthcare across the UK.” The inquiry also highlights the human cost of restrictions, with some patients dying alone. “This was a horrific experience for family members,” Hallett said, describing how loved ones were forced to say goodbye remotely. Outside Dorland House, Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK said the report was “clear and utterly damning” – stating that the decision to leave healthcare workers and the system within it on the edge of breakdown was a “political choice”. *** What comes next Health is devolved, which means England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland often took different approaches during the pandemic. The UK-wide inquiry examined the broader handling of the crisis. Scotland is also conducting its own inquiry, with its next report due later this year. For bereaved families, though, the central question now is less about what the inquiry says than what governments do with it. As my colleague Jessica Murray reports here, Hallett set out 10 recommendations, including increasing NHS capacity, improving infection control guidance and strengthening support for healthcare workers. “We cannot know when, but there will be another pandemic,” she said, urging governments across the UK to implement the changes “as swiftly as possible”. “It does pay in the long term to be prepared for a national crisis,” Fulop tells me. “But it means a government needs to think long term, and many governments are not very good at that.” “The context now is the economy and the public finances, and we understand that,” she said – but added that the cost of not being prepared for another health crisis would be even greater. The inquiry sets out in stark terms what happened when the NHS was pushed to its limits. Whether governments act on those warnings before the next crisis arrives is the question that now matters most. What else we’ve been reading
I’m not a huge Foo Fighters fan, but I was gripped by Dave Grohl’s introspection in his interview this morning, with music editor Ben Beaumont-Thomas. Patrick Greenfield A Queer Inheritance by Michael Hall tells the story of the National Trust’s LGBTQ history. Stephen Smith reviews what sounds like a fascinating set of tales. Martin MP Charlotte Nichols speaks to Helen Pidd about her rape trial and the subsequent acquittal of the man she accused. It is a searingly honest interview about the 1,088-day wait for her day in court and why she chose to speak in parliament about her experience. Patrick Mamoru Hosoda’s Scarlet retells the story of Hamlet with a female lead and melds it into Japanese mythology of the afterlife. Nick Chen interviews the legendary anime director. Martin In Poland this week, former long jump world champion Luvo Manyonga is making an extraordinary return to elite sport after struggling with meth addiction. Read Ben Bloom’s interview about how the South African turned his life around. Patrick Sport
Football | Nottingham Forest beat Midtjylland 3-0 on penalties to book a Europa League quarter-final against Porto. Aston Villa ensured there would be two Premier League sides in the last eight after they beat Lille 2-0 at Villa Park. Rugby | Premiership Rugby emerges from the shadow of the Six Nations this weekend, with the race for the top four hotting up. Chess | Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has invested in a new world chess championship tour that will star his compatriot, Magnus Carlsen. Something for the weekend Our critics’ roundup of the best things to watch, read, play and listen to right now
Film Midwinter Break | ★★★★★ Gerry and Stella, played by Ciarán Hinds and Lesley Manville, are a late middle-aged couple from Northern Ireland who left for Scotland in the 1970s, traumatised by the Troubles, and are taking a restorative midwinter break in Amsterdam. Movies about ageing empty-nesters going on a bittersweet holiday and unexpectedly having to confront something about their relationship are common enough. There is often something soft and fuzzy and depressing in the wrong way about these films’ lenient sunset sentimentalism – but not so with Polly Findlay’s fiercely sad, spiky and wonderfully acted film, based on a novel by Bernard MacLaverty (the author of Cal). Peter Bradshaw TV Last One Laughing UK | ★★★★★ It could easily have been a fluke. That such a simple, even lame-sounding format was responsible for three hours of the most transcendentally funny television of 2025 might well have been down to an alchemical accident. Spoiler: it wasn’t. Ten successful comedians spend six hours in a huge room trying not to laugh or smile. One lapse gets you a yellow card; another gets you ejected. Now you must commentate on the action in separate viewing quarters with the host, Jimmy Carr, and his sidekick Roisin Conaty. This series leaves me helpless with laughter at least once an episode. Rachel Aroesti Music Underscores: U | ★★★★☆ April Grey is a US bedroom producer beloved of an impressive range of other artists – experimental pop duo 100 Gecs are fans, so is rapper Danny Brown and Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker – but thus far it’s been hard to accurately pin her down. U sounds substantially less hair-raising than her previous work, perhaps as a result of a distinct musical shift. The album’s musical north star seems to be late 90s/early 00s R&B, the fertile, experimental period dominated by Timbaland, the Neptunes and Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins. You can pick out echoes of the era everywhere. U is certainly a more interesting, accomplished and better-written pop album than most major pop artists have dished up of late. Alexis Petridis Dance Royal Ballet: Giselle | Royal Opera House, London | ★★★★☆ A dancer’s debut in one of ballet’s great leading roles is always an event, but it’s particularly notable when that dancer is a first artist – three ranks below principal in ballet’s hierarchy. Twenty-five-year-old Ukrainian Marianna Tsembenhoi is clearly being tipped as a future star and the Royal Ballet’s faith in her looks well placed on the basis of her first outing as tragic peasant girl Giselle. From her first entrance, buoyant across the stage, she impresses with her elevation, as if her weight is barely touching the ground. Lyndsey Winship The front pages
The Guardian leads with “New threat from Iran as fears grow of energy crisis”. The Times quotes Israel’s prime minister with “Netanyahu: Iran’s regime won’t be toppled from air”. The Telegraph reports “Saudis threaten strikes on Iran”. The Financial Times has “Markets tumble as investors price in ‘protracted energy shock’ from war”. The Mail says “Iran war unleashes mortgage shock for millions”. The i reports “World energy shock hits UK - with bill rises set to last for years”, while the Sun simply goes with “Hell’s bills”. The Mirror looks at the Covid inquiry, under the headline “They saved us and NHS”. Today in Focus
Why Ireland is giving a basic income to artist Rory Carroll reports on the Irish government’s initiative, as a musician and a writer relay their experiences on the scheme. Cartoon of the day | Ben Jennings
The Upside A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad
As the light finally returns across the northern hemisphere after a long, cold winter, the natural world is awakening from its slumber. Many readers planning a weekend in the garden will want to make space for wildlife, and Emma Beddington has been looking at how we can help British species thrive. This week, she has written about how to encourage gatekeeper butterflies, an orange- and brown-winged insect that is frequently seen in urban areas. “It’s all about caterpillars,” says Dr Richard Fox, Butterfly Conservation’s head of science, explaining that leaving long grass is vital early in the season. The series also details how readers can create hedgehog havens – and improve the fortunes of Britain’s endangered toads. Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday Bored at work? And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword Wordiply
