Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry|18 Dec 2024

Harrowing testimony from Inclusion Scotland members.

Introduction

This lengthy 2 hour+ session concludes the business and welfare hearings. I could find no mainstream media reports of this testimony.

Appearing to give evidence today is Steve Robertson, Director, People First Scotland and Caroline Kingston, development worker at People for Scotland, present in a supporting role to Mr.Robertson. PFS is the National Disabled People's Organisation of adults with a Learning Disability in Scotland.

Tressa Burke (Chief Executive) and Marianne Scobie of the Glasgow Disability Alliance are testifying remotely. GDA has the largest groundswell of disabled members in Europe.

Learn more about Inclusion Scotland here.

Shocking evidence

A highly disturbing and detailed assessment on the treatment of disabled people during lockdown is noted within the witness statement.

‘‘Emergency legislation and guidance during the pandemic allowed others to move disabled people from one place to another without listening to what they had to say, reduced the amount of support that disabled people received, prevented them from being visited, made it easier for them to be detained (and with fewer doctors or mental health officers involved in those decisions), extended or continued guardianships beyond court decisions (without any scrutiny), and deprived them of their liberty, with no safeguards in place, including giving people medication without their consent - these measures allowed for the withdrawal of safeguards, reduction of checks and balances, and removal of disabled people's rights as human beings.’’

-Paragraph 6(c)

Testimony highlights

The ‘protecting the vulnerable’ mantra shattered.

• Denial of healthcare

• No consent DNRs

• Day centres closed

• Home support cut

‘‘Emergency legislation further discriminated against us…that removes our human rights…many of us experienced EXTREME social isolation.’’

‘‘Some members were so scared that they avoided trying to access healthcare at all…losing access to healthcare was incredibly damaging.’’

‘‘We are also aware people with a learning disablity having a do not resuscitate orders placed on their medical notes sometimes without their knowledge or any discussion about why.’’

Emergency legislation

• No advocacy

• No family visits

• No privacy. Only 1 telephone on wards.

• Enforced isolation

• Blanket policies on disabled people

• No inpsections

• Abuse of human rights

‘‘People with a learning disability are inappropriately detained in hosptials for far too long.’’

‘‘Blanket policies were introduced and applied and that impacted on human rights.’’

‘‘Advocacy which was often the only route to have your voice heard was not allowed into the units…we know from experience this means things go unnoticed or unobserved.’’

‘‘Some people were never allowed out…terrified and alone.’’

‘‘We may never know what people really went through during this time when there was no scrutiny or inspections.’’

‘‘This WAS an abuse of our human rights.’’

Post ‘pandemic’

For disabled people their healthcare situation is now worse than ever.

‘‘Members have experienced a deterioration in their health.’’

‘‘We have sadly seen an increase in members who have passed away.’’

‘‘The ongoing impacts are so wide and numerous that it is fully hard to explain.’’

Healthcare withdrawal

NB: The camera was placed too low for Ms.Burke but was later resolved.

Evidence from Tressa Burke (CEO) and Marianne Scobie from the Glasgow Disability Alliance.

• In Glasgow 1,884 social care packages cut or halted at start of lockdown

• Health appointments cut 70% or more

• 83% had no access to direct health services

• 60% of ‘COVID’ deaths are of disabled people

‘‘The clinical risk that disabled people had that alone doesn’t explain why there were so many deaths of disabled people.’’

-Marianne Scobie

Panic-demic authoritarianism in Scotland

• Seats taken away

• All park benches taped up

• Disabled people unable to go for walks

• Public toilets closed

• Police Scotland refused to accomodate the needs of the disabled

‘‘The impact on disabled people in terms of spaces for people has been quite HORRENDOUS..and still is a huge problem for disabled people.’’

Abuse-DNRs-Mental health-Rights

There has been return to pre ‘pandemic’ levels for those requiring mental health support, services that were already insufficient have been cut further for disabled people. Their human rights were placed in jeopardy.

‘‘This was all happening in the context of disabled people having discovered do not resuscitate files were being put on their notes which they hadn’t agreed to or didn’t understand it just felt like disbaled people being were put to the bottom of the pile and very much a threat to our human rights.’’

‘‘A phrase used to me (during lockdown) was ‘‘the phones are ringing off the hook’’..people couldn’t access the support they needed.’’

‘‘The impact of people’s mental health has been pretty DEVASTATING.’’

‘‘Our current wellbeing service is bursting at the seems…half of the people are experiencing suicidal ideation.’’

Closing remarks

Tressa Burke. See Ms.Burkes prior shocking evidence given at the Scottish inquiry from Nov 2023 here.

‘‘The ongoing impacts for disabled people are SUPER-CHARGED.’’

…People have been experiencing even more inequalities now..it DEFINETELY is leading to sooner DEATHS.’’

‘‘We have lost HUNDREDS and HUNDREDS of members of Glasgow Disability Alliance.’’

As per prior recent evidence from the UK COVID inquiry by Adam Wagner KC for CEV clinically extremely vulnerable families, it is again admitted the ‘COVID vaccines’ have not worked for this group of people.

‘‘The vaccines don’t offer them protection.’’

Statement highlights

‘‘Many people faced new disabilities and developed new illnesses because of COVID-19.’’

-Paragraph 1.5(a)

‘‘People with a learning disability found accessing food during the pandemic incredibly stressful if they had previously had support to shop for food, but suddenly that support was taken away.’’

-Paragraph 2.2(a)

‘‘The online food delivery slots became impossible to secure during the pandemic, and even people on the shielding list were not always guaranteed a slot.’’

-Paragraph 2.2(d)

‘‘People with learning disabilities found it hard in supermarkets because of the changing rules and signs that were not accessible. Asking for support from supermarket staff was also challenging because of physical distancing rules and not being able to see someone's whole face because of face masks.’’

-Paragraph 2.2(e)

‘‘There are still some disabled people who are not sufficiently covered by the vaccine now (because of the nature of their conditions or impairments), and who are still not going out because the COVID-19 pandemic is not over for them - many people who did not take digital support are therefore still extremely isolated.’’

-Paragraph 4.1(d)

‘‘A lot of disabled people had a lot of anxiety (especially during the periods just after the lockdowns), where people still felt extremely vulnerable - some people continue to feel very anxious now.’’

-Paragraph 4.1(e)

‘‘There is a whole group of people continuing to experience extreme isolation and who are not able to come out - this is sometimes, but not always, related to anxiety.’’

-Paragraph 4.1(g)

‘‘Disabled people's already limited access to healthcare was reduced during the pandemic, and a lot of diagnoses and treatments were delayed, making people's conditions worse.’’

-Paragraph 4.3(a)

‘‘An awful lot of the support during the pandemic in communities across Scotland was not accessible to disabled people. Although disabled people died in the highest numbers during the pandemic, the responses were not focused on them.’’

-Paragraph 5.1(c)

‘‘A lot of disabled people's organisations and other third sector organisations had to close down during the pandemic.’’

-Paragraph 8(a)

‘‘Social care support enables people to live a life, and to take that away was catastrophic for so many people. Providing social care is not optional, and it should never be seen as something that can be taken away. It is an essential tool inlife to meet the human rights of disabled people.’’

-Paragraph 15(a)

Thoughts

Remarkably, the group is still puzzled as to how disabled people died at a higher rate compared to non disabled poplulations and continue to promote ‘COVID vaccination’ but presumably they only work when the former (admittedly harmful) lockdown policies are re-instated? Make it make sense.

Thanks for your attention. Please help share information the mainstream and ‘alternative’ media, 99% of popular ‘freedom’ medics, personalites and groups choose to ignore.

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