UK COVID-19 Inquiry 29 Oct 2024

Profound evidence by Julia Jones. Co-founder of John's Campaign.

NB: Contains harrowing details.

Introduction

Julia Jones is co-founder of John’s Campaign. She founded JC together with Nicci Gerrard in 2014 after the observed deterioration and death of Dr John Gerrard, a man living with dementia…as a direct result of infection control measures when he was separated from his family support and taken in hospital. The group has core participation status at the inquiry. Ms.Jones is testifying on on behalf of John’s Campaign, Care Rights UK and the Patients Association.

Initial thoughts

Unfortunately, what was admitted at the inquiry in comparison to what is within the written statement the oral evidence was greatly lacking many important details that the public should know about. (eg paragraph 121).

‘‘Many testimonies demonstrated how disabled people and people requiring medical care were particularly harmed by repeated applications of the 14-day isolation rule. For example, one contributor explained that her 99 year old grandma was currently isolating for 14 days for the 5th time, after repeated trips to hospital, resulting in a significant decline in her grandma's mental health and wellbeing.’’

-Paragraph 66 of statement

‘‘One helpline client in August 2021 told us that their relative's medication was changed without consultation with them and they were placed on medication they had previously had a bad reaction to.’’

- Paragraph 134 of statement

Testimony highlights

A reality that has been admitted in Scotland has now been made apparent in England that the LOCKDOWN policies, in particular ISOLATION were more harmful to those with Dementia than ‘COVID.’

‘‘If the main method of infection control is separation and isoaltion the damage and the danger is far greater. Dementia in incurable..you can survive COVID you can’t survive Dementia.’’

‘‘The prevention can be worse than the disease for some people.’’

‘‘Separation and isolation WILL BE worse a risk than COVID and that has proved to be true.’’

Families were powerless as institutions were in full control. A medical dictatorship was in place.

‘‘The experience of the pandemic changed us enormously we used to believe that you could get things done by relying on people’s goodness and wish to do the right thing…but we now feel the power imbalance between patients and their families and the institutions of health and social care is so great.’’

Lockdown impacts

• Increases in depression and anxiety

• Disabled and elderly left behind

• People with heart problems and cancer were sent OUT of hospital earlier than normal with inadequate follow up

• Millions of families left isolated as carers

‘‘They were HURRIED out of hopsital.’’

‘‘4-5 MILLION people found themselves needing to become carers and that means carers for health.’’

‘‘Those people (requiring care) add upto 13.8 MILLION people and the CQC highlighted the STRAIN on the health of those people.’’

‘‘As the ambulance service has said people were left at home sicker, for longer.’’

DNACPR-Unanswered calls

Having a DNR effectively meant one would receive no treatment if falling unwell.

’’I’m afraid it was a true feeling that DNACPR coud segway into DO NOT TREAT.’’

Worried family calls were frequently going unanswered.

‘‘I lost count of the number of times people said i’ve been ringing all day and i got no answer…a man spent a whole weekend ringing the hospital to discover if his wife is still alive.’’

Questions

• John’s Campaign, Care rights, Patient Assocaition

This one quote perfectly sums up the reality of ‘COVID.’

‘‘I think if you designed a system to make Dementia worse you would have pretty well done what happened in the pandemic.’’

• Harms from hospital protocols

• Harms from masks

• Emotional distress for Dementia patients

The case of Claire

Despite being an experienced healthcare worker fully ‘vaccianted’ against ‘COVID’ and having caught ‘COVID’ and recovered Claire was STILL not allowed to be with her father when hospitilised.

‘‘When she was able to care for Bruce, he was recovering.’’

Due to Parkinsons Bruce had a fall and was admitted to hospital who abracadabra found him ‘positive for COVID’. Bruce was then isolated from family, deteriorated in hospital and after his admission soon after died.

‘‘By the time he was allowed out again..it was too late for him..his Parkinsons treatment stopped..his body weight had dropped…he deconditioned..he came out to die.’’

End of life-No visits permitted

Once again the harms from the anti-human ‘COVID’ public health policies is made clear where existing legal visiting rights were trashed.

‘‘I think it’s the single most HORRIFYING and DISTRESSING aspect of the pandemic.’’

‘‘The legacy of grief, guilt, anger and mistrust is MASSIVE.’’

No human rights

Human Rights solicitor Carolin Ott who together with Emma Jones represents the John’s Campaign Core Participant group said:

"The voices of those who needed healthcare, their loved ones and carers must be central to the Covid Inquiry’s examination of the pandemic’s impact on healthcare provision and decision-making. The exclusion of family carers during the pandemic was not only devastating but also a breach of fundamental human rights.’’

Shocking 84 page witness statement

Much of this was omitted during the oral testimony.

‘‘a member of the SAGE Group attending a Working Group meeting on 24 March 2022 who admitted that there was an `evidential black hole' around the impact of isolation, but that the harm was ‘‘overwhelming’'.

28- ‘We published stories and testimonials on our website to highlight the harmful impact of restrictions, including:’

42. ‘‘The Alzheimer's Society report entitled 'Lockdown isolation causes shocking levels of decline for people with dementia, who are rapidly losing memory, speech, and ability to dress and feed themselves', is known to irreversibly worsen an individual's condition and precipitate decline.’’

NP GPs to care homes

Remarkably, no GPs or healthcare professionals would visit care homes and no respiratory support would be administered.

62- ‘‘Our helpline heard of the damage caused by isolation periods on the mental and physical health of peopleliving in care. This included distress, anxiety, depression, and deterioration in mobility and speech.’’

‘‘Another helpline client told us about a care home resident who after becoming withdrawn when isolating in her room, took to her bed, seeing no reason to get up. She described it as being like a prison.’’

Shocking survey results

• More than 1 in 5 reported that the person in care was prevented from receiving treatment in hospital during the pandemic, for reasons including a cancelled routine appointment or being denied an ambulance

• 55% of respondents whose loved one was denied access to hospital felt

  that they were prevented from receiving treatment in a hospital because of

  their age or a disability.

• 69% of respondents to our survey reported that the person in care was

  unable to arrange face-to-face appointments with healthcare professionals

  including GPs, dentists, opticians, district nurses, physiotherapists, and

  chiropodists.

• 88% of respondents felt that the healthcare their loved ones received was

  made worse by restricted access to healthcare professionals during the

  pandemic

COVID-19 wrongly certified as cause of death

‘‘There are also concerns that people had coronavirus listed as their cause of death inappropriately in circumstances where they in fact died of other causes but due to lack of testing and the prevalence of certain symptoms COVID-19 was recorded as the cause of death. This was particularly problematic in circumstances where this meant there was no referral to a Coroner to consider the cause of death.’’

-Paragraph 120 of statement

Closing statement remarks

Thanks for reading.

Please help share this information.

End

Links:

Video-Youtube- UK Covid-19 Inquiry - Module 3 Hearing - 29 October 2024 AM

Full statement- https://covid19.public-inquiry.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/29165535/INQ000283957.pdf

https://johnscampaign.org.uk/

https://www.patients-association.org.uk/news/covid-inquiry-to-hear-harrowing-tales-of-peoples-experiences-of-healthcare-during-pandemic