Lessons to learn from the pandemic

The House of Commons and Science and Technology Committee and Health and Social Care Committee have published their report, Coronavirus: lessons learned to date, examining the initial UK response to the COVID pandemic. The Clinical Services Journal provides an overview of the key findings.  

The UK Government must learn from the mistakes made during the pandemic – the response has often been reactive; decisions tended to lack speed; there was too little learning from the international experience, particularly in relation to non-pharmaceutical interventions and test and trace; and the engagement with relevant sectors (particularly social care) required significant improvement. These were just some of the findings from a recent inquiry into the Government’s handling of COVID-19.

Coronavirus: lessons learned to date, examining the initial UK response to the COVID pandemic¹ is a 150-page report, containing 38 recommendations and drawing on evidence from over 50 witnesses – including Rt Hon Matt Hancock MP, Professor Chris Whitty, Sir Patrick Vallance, Sir Simon Stevens, Dame Kate Bingham, Baroness Harding of Winscombe and Dominic Cummings – as well as over 400 written submissions. The report was agreed unanimously by members of both Select Committees, which consist of 22 MPs from three political parties – Conservative, Labour and SNP.