75% of disabled people want next year’s Covid inquiry to investigate their experience, survey finds

More than three quarters of disabled people believe an inquiry into the UK’s response to the coronavirus pandemic should look into their experience during the crisis – a survey commissioned by the disability charity Sense has found.

The poll of 1,012 disabled people also revealed that almost half of respondents (47%) want the public inquiry to take place within the next six months, after bereaved families telling the Mirror in August that they fear the investigation will be “kicked into the long grass” beyond spring 2022.

Richard Kramer, chief executive at Sense, said disabled people’s experiences “must be at the heart” of the inquiry.

“We have to investigate the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on disabled people and the decisions and policies that have led to this outcome.

“Never again should disabled people have to experience the lack of information, support and consideration that they have during this crisis.

“We must learn from the mistakes that have been made and ensure disabled people are no longer and will never again be treated like second class citizens,” he said.

The survey follows data from the Office for National Statistics which revealed that 6 in 10 deaths from COVID-19 between January and November 2020 were of disabled people.

In July, the UK Government was found to have breached the Equality Act on two occasions last year, when they failed to provide a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter for its scientific data briefings on the coronavirus.

They also faced a legal challenge in March over accessible shielding information for blind and visually impaired people, before the Government promised to make changes on the morning the judicial review hearing was due to take place.

Elsewhere, “unacceptable and inappropriate” Do Not Attempt Resuscitation orders placed on those with learning disabilities by healthcare professionals sparked outrage during the crisis. In December, the Care Quality Commission said that such decisions may have caused “potentially avoidable death”.

In addition to expressing support for disability to be a part of the Covid inquiry, 73% of those surveyed said they felt that their needs have been ignored during the crisis, and have not received enough support.

Valerie Pask, 71, from Suffolk, is deafblind and has had to shield during the pandemic due to a rare illness.

She said: “During lockdown I lost my support worker, and my husband and I had to shield, so access to groceries was really difficult. In the first six weeks of lockdown, we could not get a delivery slot and we had to rely on emergency packs.

“I have also really struggled to access doctor’s appointments. I have a hearing impairment and the emphasis on booking and having appointments via the phone has been really difficult and distressing.

“I’m passionate that my experience and that of other disabled people is heard. We are the ones who have suffered the most during the pandemic. In order to protect disabled people in the future I think our voices need to be central to this inquiry.”

Sense went on to add that they want a “key section” of next year’s investigation to focus on the impact of COVID-19 on disabled people and their families, operated in “an accessible way” so that disabled people can engage with it and be open to giving evidence to the panel.

The charity has since set up an online petition which calls for disabled people to be part of the coronavirus inquiry.

Details of the investigation were revealed in a Commons statement by the Prime Minister in May, in which Mr Johnson said that in order to “recover as one Team UK”, then they must “also learn lessons together in the same spirit”.

“So we will consult the devolved administrations before finalising scope and detailed arrangements, so that this Inquiry can consider all key aspects of the UK response,” he told MPs.

In July, the Minister for Disabled People said in an evidence session with the Women and Equalities Committee that disability “clearly needs to be an important, integral part” of the inquiry, and appeared to reject calls for a separate independent investigation into the pandemic’s impact on disabled people.

Justin Tomlinson told the group of MPs: “I have had mixed messages from stakeholders about whether you would want to have a separate path. My instinct is, ‘Why would we separate it out?’

“Disabled people are part of society, the same as everyone else. One in five people in this country has a disability or a long-term health condition. It clearly needs to be an important, integral part.

“It should be embedded into the heart of the main inquiry, not as some sideshow afterthought. That would be my instinct.”

Responding to the findings from Sense’s survey, a Government spokesperson told The Limping Chicken: “As the Prime Minister said, we have committed to holding a full public inquiry which will start in the spring.

“Terms of reference will be set out in good time for the inquiry to begin, and we will consult with bereaved families and others before they are finalised.”

Photo: Sense.

By Liam O’Dell. Liam is a Deaf freelance journalist and campaigner from Bedfordshire. He can be found talking about disability, theatre, politics and more on Twitter and on his website.