The pandemic divided time - but did we learn anything from it?

The time before Covid.

- Dr Ali A Smith

The time after. Like many other people, I think of the word divided. There has been no other event in my life that was so dramatic and so divisive. That which went after was not the same as before.It's a time that affected healthcare more than anything else. We remember it and the terrors it brought. I remember wanting there to be lessons drawn as a consequence of our experiences. That view was widely held and as a consequence the then government announced a review and that is now hearing and, after a significant gap, is reporting.

The review is the Covid 19 Inquiry.

The latest publication from the Covid 19 Inquiry was published a week or so ago. It is Module 3. It addresses the impact of the pandemic on healthcare systems in the UK. The report is rightly critical. It tells us that healthcare was poorly prepared. There were no serious plans for such a pandemic and the majority of Public Health had been disbanded. The NHS is run on the edge of collapse on a good day. The report makes it clear that these were not good days. The NHS would have collapsed but for the dedication of the NHS staff who went above and beyond their duties and the rules of their employment.