‘So many people were isolated’: Gloucester woman shares anger over how Covid was handled 

  • Watch Rob Murphy's report

The public enquiry into how the UK handled the Covid pandemic has opened this week and hears from people who lost loved ones. 

Jane Smith’s mum Rita was in a care home just a mile away during the pandemic. Video calls between the two of them show Rita crying on the phone, with Jane unable to do anything due to restrictions. 

In May 2021 Rita died. 

Now Jane has spoken up about what she feels the government did wrong during that time, and what should have been different. 

Jane said: “The NHS has guidelines that look at improving quality of life, end of life, and it says you involve the family, you find out what that person wants for that end of life and all of that was avoided it was ignored. 

Woman left bedridden and unable to work due to long Covid

"So many people were isolated and over 176,000 in care homes died of isolation, not of covid. They died of the consequences of the government's choices and the government refuse to mandate visits from family, they left it up to the care homes.” 

This comes as the public inquiry opens with the aim of answering three questions:

  • Was the UK properly prepared?

  • Was the response appropriate?

  • Can lessons be learnt? 

The inquest is expected to take around three years to complete and started in London this week with the judge hearing stories from people who lost loved ones during the pandemic. 

Louise Stockwell, from Stroud, was one of the people to protest outside the inquiry on its first day of evidence. She lost her dad - Jack Stockwell. 

Louise said: “The care home he went to had already had Covid, he was admitted, they had Covid again, and on 1 January I got the dreaded phone call that he had tested positive for Covid during his rehabilitation.

Louise Stockwell was protesting outside the inquiry on its first day of evidence.

“They stopped the rehab and 11 days later I got the even worst phone call to say that he’d passed of Covid.” 

On the inquiry, Jane said: “I’m appalled it had taken so long. The point of an enquiry is that you learn from it, you find out what you did wrong and put it right so when there’s a next pandemic, you don’t repeat the processes

“But the government are sitting on this, other countries have already completed their enquiries.” 

At the start of the proceedings, the Chairwoman Lady Heather Hallett vowed those who suffered will "always be at the heart of the inquiry". The inquiry is ongoing and is expected to finish in 2026.