A UNION is calling for a public enquiry over the lack of strategy from the government’s handling of COVID-19.
GMB union for the health and social care sector have called for an ‘immediate public enquiry’ after questions have arisen over the government’s management of the pandemic.
In a seven-hour testimony yesterday ex-chief government Special Adviser Dominic Cummings questioned the UK Governments response to Covid-19, claiming that the PM was ‘unfit for the job’.
Cummings also publicly called out the Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s management of the pandemic – accusing him of lying over fifteen times.
The PM’s former right-hand man said that ‘tens of thousands of people died who didn’t need to die.’
Cummings also placed the blame on others for failings of PPE that he was in charge of.
In parliament this morning, Hancock denied claims that he was unable to manage the job but according to GMB, he failed to provide answers on serious questions around the discharge of Covid patients into care homes.
The union say that it is clear there was no direction or strategy in the government’s response to the crisis and there is a need for questions to be answered around Matt Hancock’s role in protecting the health and social care workers from the virus.
The union have repeatedly raised concerns over PPE for health and social care workers since last year.
Rehana Azam, GMB National Secretary, said: “Over the last two days we have had diametrically opposed accounts of what happened this past year as the government scrambled to get a grip on the crisis. Quite frankly, we don’t believe either of them.
“It’s abundantly clear that there was a lack of strategy and direction, hence why we are now getting so many differing accounts.
She added: “Last year during a PPE shortage, thousands of Care workers and NHS staff were put in the line of fire whilst the government squabbled and lied to each other. They even hid thousands of covid deaths, with just the HSE reporting 111 people have died at work whilst their own statistics, showed more than 5,000 people had died from covid.
“It’s a disgrace and they deserve so much better. It’s time for an immediate public inquiry as needless lives have been lost. We need answers and urgent safeguards put in place to protect workers still putting themselves in harm’s way.”
The Prime Minister has rejected the claims made by Cummings, saying that it “doesn’t bear any relation to reality” and said the pandemic has “been an incredibly difficult series of decisions, none of which we’ve taken lightly.”
Deadline News has approached the UK Government for comment.
