Only two Welsh hospitals to be ‘spotlighted’ in UK Covid Inquiry

Emily Price

Fresh calls for a Wales specific Covid inquiry have been made after it was revealed only two Welsh hospitals will be scrutinised – both of which are in the south of the country.

On Wednesday (April 10) the UK Covid Inquiry began its the third preliminary hearing for its investigation into the impact of the pandemic on healthcare systems.

It will look into the governmental and societal response to Covid-19 and also the impact that the pandemic had on patients and healthcare workers across the UK.

The Inquiry told Nation.Cymru it had sent two requests to ‘spotlight’ hospitals in Wales.

Both Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen, run by Hywel Dda University Health Board, and University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, run by Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, will give evidence.

Plaid Cymru has raised concerns that Welsh hospitals, particularly those in north Wales, are not receiving enough focus to properly scrutinise the pandemic in Wales.

Context

Spokesperson for Health and Social Care, Mabon ap Gwynfor MS said: “The UK Covid Inquiry continues to prove how it simply does not have the time to focus on decisions made in Wales during the pandemic which affected every single person living in Wales at the time.

“The latest revelation that only two hospitals in Wales are given spotlight scrutiny – both in south Wales – is a kick in the teeth to all those who lost a loved one during the pandemic. Each hospital would’ve had different responses as well as the added context of local authorities reacting differently and local lockdowns.

“We don’t just need a Wales-specific Covid Inquiry for the sake of it – we need it so that we can truly get answers for loved ones and so we can make better informed decisions next time something of this scale happens. The Labour Welsh Government cannot continue to dodge scrutiny.”

Calls for a Wales specific inquiry intensified last year after Mark Drakeford admitted during a UK inquiry evidence session that Wales was “not as prepared as it could have been” for the pandemic.

Wales’ new First Minister Vaughan Gething was also criticised for telling the UK probe he hadn’t read a key document produced by a cross-government exercise he took part in.

The Wales Covid-19 Inquiry Special Purpose Committee was set up as part of a deal between Welsh Labour and the Welsh Conservatives to identify any gaps in what the UK Inquiry says about Wales.

However, bereaved families say the Committee isn’t fit for purpose.

The Welsh Government declined to comment saying it was entirely a matter for the inquiry.