The decision to discharge elderly residents from hospitals into care homes without testing them for COVID-19 was criticized as “reckless” by Commissioner for Older People Eddie Lynch during the second day of the public hearings of the COVID-19 inquiry in Belfast. He stated that care home providers and his office were concerned about such patients being placed without testing. The policy of discharging people without testing into those settings was potentially disastrous, Mr. Lynch added. He also said that the consequences of moving individuals into care homes should be examined.
The inquiry has also uncovered documents that reveal how political dysfunction and a legacy of mistrust at Stormont hampered preparedness for the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the minutes of Executive meetings, arguments between ministers resulted in delays in forming and implementing policy. Northern Ireland’s chief medical officer Prof Sir Michael McBride cautioned in an October 2020 meeting that the health service would be overwhelmed in 10 days if the Executive did not decide to extend the lockdown.
Naomi Long, Justice Minister, called the use of cross-community voting a “sectarianisation” of the situation, while the economy minister at the time, Diane Dodds, argued that lockdowns do not function. Conor Murphy, who served as the finance minister, accused health minister Robin Swann of not providing clear recommendations or advice to the Executive. Staff in the Civil Contingencies Policy Branch had been reduced in number as a result of austerity cutbacks, while civil contingency arrangements for Northern Ireland had not been reviewed in over 20 years, according to other documents.
The COVID-19 inquiry has published over 200 documents, including meeting minutes, briefings, and guidance, as well as emails and messages exchanged by senior officials. Sir David Sterling, who was the head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, wrote that ministers had not demonstrated strong leadership during the pandemic, even during a crisis. He went on to claim that they were keener on scoring points off each other than helping citizens
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