'I'm still haunted that he died alone': The last voices of the Covid inquiry
Bereaved families have the final say as the Covid inquiry completes four years of public hearings.
Entity Intersection Graph
No entity connections available yet for this article.
Original Source
'I'm still haunted that he died alone': The last voices of the Covid inquiry 52 minutes ago Share Save Jim Reed Health reporter Share Save Rivka Gottlieb said she still felt "haunted" by the fact that her father, Michael, died alone. He was a fit and active 73-year-old, she said, working part-time in a golf shop and teaching children at his local synagogue. Her story was one of the last to be told at the Covid inquiry, which heard its final evidence this week. In March 2020, Michael and Rivka's mother, Milli, were admitted to different wards of the Royal Free hospital, in north London, with Covid symptoms - just as the first lockdown was announced. It was the last time Rivka would see her father. "We were just expecting him to be given a bit of oxygen and then he'd be sent home," she said. Michael deteriorated in hospital. His cough became so severe he had to send a WhatsApp message to tell her he was being put on a ventilator. Two weeks later, the family was told he would never recover and that doctors were going to reduce his life support. "It was a dark and terrifying time and difficult to get updates from the hospital. I feared the worst every time the phone rang," recalled Rivka. Her mother was discharged after a week, but now rarely leaves the house after suffering from long-term effects, including breathlessness, confusion and stomach pains. In the last week, the inquiry has heard more than eight hours of emotional testimony from bereaved relatives. Since public hearings began in June 2023, the inquiry has taken oral evidence from 381 witnesses in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, and reviewed 600,000 documents from WhatsApp chats to private diary entries. As well as questioning prime ministers, senior officials and scientists, it has heard from individuals directly affected including porters, cleaners, care workers and nurses in Covid wards. The inquiry is already one of the most expensive in UK history. The total cost has risen to £204m so far, with t...
Read full article at source