What has the Covid Inquiry has uncovered about the pandemic's effect on Disabled people?
The Covid-19 Inquiry is an ongoing investigation into how the pandemic affected the UK, including certain areas of society and government response to it.
The pandemic affected Disabled people disproportionately:
- Disabled people accounted for approximately 6 out of every 10 deaths related to Covid-19.
- In Wales, the number went up to 7 in 10 between 2 March and 14 July 2020.
- A Public Health England report estimated that people with learning disabilities were 6 times more likely to die compared with the general population.
- The death rate for people aged 18-34 with learning disabilities was 30 times higher than the rate in the same age group without disabilities.
These statistics are just a snapshot of the harm and inequality Disabled people experienced during the pandemic, which wasn’t considered or addressed by the government at the time.
The Covid-19 Inquiry is a chance to do a deep dive into what went wrong and hear detailed accounts of the issues faced by the community, plus create robust plans to do better next time.
Highlights: What have we learned so far?
Module 1 on resilience and preparedness: Once this module was completed the report recommended that the government should have collaborated with disability organisations during the pandemic. This is a big win for the future of Disabled people getting a say in government decision making.
Module 3 on the Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on healthcare systems: This module analysed factors like the effect on patients, health care workers, NHS backlogs, Long Covid diagnosis and support. The Disability Charities Consortium (DCC) were core participants in this module but DPOs weren’t. The DCC highlighted the disproportionate effect the pandemic had on Disabled people, who accounted for 30,000 out of 50,000 deaths (60%) in Jan-Nov 2020.
Module 4 on Vaccines and Therapeutics: This module looks at the vaccine rollout and how the government didn’t invest in alternative treatments. People who can’t get vaccines were left without treatment, messaging around priority groups for vaccines was confusing and some vaccine centres were inaccessible for Disabled people.
Module 6 on the Care Sector: The pandemic highlighted the alarming flaws within the care sector, notably DNACPR (Do not attempt cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) orders being applied to people without their knowledge. This led to Disabled people not being resuscitated where they may have chosen to be given the chance to live.
The Inquiry used an initiative called Every Story Matters to collect the public’s personal stories about the pandemic, to be used as evidence during the investigation. Common experiences included the sudden isolation of those in care, communication challenges for some d/Deaf and Disabled people due to masks, vague and/or conflicting government recommendations and blanket rules being unfairly applied to varied groups.
Module 8 on Children and Young People: Disabled children and young people found their health worsening when allied health services were removed after the closure of school. Many missed out on education entirely because they didn’t have an education, health and care (EHC) plan and as such weren’t allowed to stay in school, and the tech and platforms used for online learning were inaccessible for many.
Module 9 on Economic response: Disabled people are more likely to be on a low income, and many took a worse financial hit during the pandemic. Universal Credit received an uplift but legacy benefits didn’t, which left many Disabled people without enough to live on.
Module 10: Impact on society: The Office for National Statistics published a report in April 2021 which highlighted the massive impact the pandemic had on Disabled people. More Disabled people reported worse mental health (46% for Disabled people vs 29% for non-Disabled people), loneliness (49% vs 37%), stress and anxiety (67% compared with 54%) during the pandemic.
What comes next?
Overall, the Covid-19 Inquiry has highlighted some of the ways Disabled people were disadvantaged by the pandemic and failed by the government and healthcare systems. The Inquiry makes recommendations based on its findings which the government is expected to implement, but more needs to be done to make sure the findings actually lead to change. DPOs are also making their own recommendations to improve the areas the Inquiry investigated, as well as pushing for the government to agree not to make any decisions about Disabled people without consulting DPOs and Disabled people themselves.
If you would like more information on the Covid Inquiry, you can visit our UK COVID-19 Inquiry resource page.