Internal Assessments of What Went Wrong During Coronavirus Pandemic

The request was refused by Department of Health and Social Care.

Louise McGettrick

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

I previously made a request in 2021 that was denied due to the demands the ongoing pandemic was placing on you. I would like to resubmit that request now, especially in light of the repeated mantra from conservative politicians that "We Got The Big Calls Right" -

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/p...

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/202...

I understand via the media that you have conducted internal assessments of what went wrong [during the coronavirus pandemic] to improve best practice - link here: https://apple.news/AdhL4q1fKRCGztUWVfQv7_Q

I believe that such information belongs in the public domain, and I request that you make the assessments publicly accessible. This pandemic is ongoing, and isn’t some abstract event but a tragedy experienced at a community level, measured in personal bereavements and ongoing ill health. If conclusions have been drawn people deserve the ability to understand how policies or decisions might have impacted them, and to be reassured that the conclusions made are being put into practice.

Yours faithfully,

Louise McGettrick

Yours faithfully,

Louise McGettrick

Department of Health and Social Care

This is an acknowledgement - please do not reply to this email.

Thank you for contacting the Department of Health and Social Care. 

We are currently experiencing very high volumes of enquiries and we are
focusing our resources on the Coronavirus (COVID-19) response.

If your enquiry is in relation to the pandemic, the Government has
launched a COVID-19 ‘hub’, which can be found
at [1]www.gov.uk/coronavirus and is regularly updated. 

The answers to many other questions can be found on [2]GOV.UK,
the [3]Department of Health and Social Care website or by visiting
the [4]NHS website. We may not respond to you if the answer to your
enquiry can be found on either of these websites. Where a reply is
appropriate, we aim to send a response within 20 working days.
 
Please note that the department cannot arrange vaccinations. [5]This
webpage gives information on vaccination. You can also contact your GP,
clinical commissioning group or call 119.

 

If you have symptoms of COVID-19 you must get tested as soon as possible.
The swab test takes less than a minute and is pain-free. Results from test
sites are generally received within 24 hours of the test being
administered. Further information, including what symptoms to look out
for, can be found [6]here.
 
If your business is interested in helping the Government increase
COVID-19 testing capacity, please visit [7]this webpage. Please note that
the service that was set up for businesses to offer other COVID-19 support
has closed. If you have a product to sell to the NHS, please visit
[8]https://www.supplychain.nhs.uk/.   
  
Since 15 February 2021, anyone travelling to the UK from a red-list
country has been required to quarantine in a managed quarantine facility
for a period of ten days. There will be periods where no countries are
listed, but the red list remains ready to be stood up should the global
epidemiological situation change. In these circumstances, there is
guidance available on a range of queries.

To find out how to apply for a medical or compassionate exemption, please
visit
[9]www.gov.uk/guidance/exemptions-from-managed-quarantine-for-compassionate-reasons.

If you have been in quarantine and have a complaint about the hotel,
please raise your concerns with the hotel itself in the first instance. If
your complaint is unresolved, please email the complaints team at
[10][email address].
 
If you are writing in connection with an NHS or social care service please
note that the department does not manage health and social services
directly, nor does it process complaints. It also cannot give clinical
advice or intervene in matters concerning patient care or social services.
If you wish to make a complaint about a healthcare professional, an NHS
organisation or a social care provider, please visit [11]this link.

 
If you would like to raise your concerns about a COVID-19 testing
provider, or have any other NHS Test and Trace enquiries, you can
contact [12]NHS Test and Trace enquiries, feedback and complaints. 

Our [13]Personal information charter and [14]privacy notice explain how we
treat your personal information.

 

This e-mail and any attachments is intended only for the attention of the
addressee(s). Its unauthorised use, disclosure, storage or copying is not
permitted. If you are not the intended recipient, please destroy all
copies and inform the sender by return e-mail. Any views expressed in this
message are not necessarily those of the Department of Health and Social
Care. Please note: Incoming and outgoing email messages are routinely
monitored for compliance with our policy on the use of electronic
communications.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
2. https://www.gov.uk/
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
4. https://www.nhs.uk/
5. https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlo...
6. https://www.gov.uk/getting-tested-for-co...
7. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/help-the-gov...
8. https://www.supplychain.nhs.uk/
9. https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlo...
10. mailto:[email address]
11. https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-t...
12. https://enquiries.test-and-trace.nhs.uk/...
13. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
14. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...

Department of Health and Social Care

1 Attachment

Dear Ms McGettrick,

Please find attached the Department of Health and Social Care's response
to your FOI request (our ref: FOI-1406114) and we apologise for the delay
in replying.

Yours sincerely, 

Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health and Social Care

show quoted sections

Louise McGettrick

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Department of Health and Social Care's handling of my FOI request 'Internal Assessments of What Went Wrong During Coronavirus Pandemic'.

This government has stated, in press releases and in parliament, that they "got the big calls right" on Covid. To then deny public access to reports that assess any negative impacts of any calls they made leaves the public unable to ascertain the veracity of these claims. I cannot see how it is a tenable position to publicly claim success while suppressing any evidence of fault.

To deny the public access to these reports also denies the public the ability to know whether necessary changes have been made to the public health policy or infrastructure for future outbreaks. This is increasingly important in light of simultaneous outbreaks of polio and monkeypox within the UK, and the circulation of other zoonotic diseases such as bird flu.

At the time of writing, there have been 186,000 UK deaths attributed to Covid. It is overwhelmingly in the public interest to understand how these deaths occurred, how they may have been prevented, and to be able to recognise what steps have, or have not, been taken in response to analysis of the pandemic.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/i...

Yours faithfully,

Louise McGettrick

Department of Health and Social Care

This is an acknowledgement - please do not reply to this email.

Thank you for contacting the Department of Health and Social Care. 

If your enquiry is in relation to the pandemic, the Government has
launched a COVID-19 ‘hub’, which can be found
at [1]www.gov.uk/coronavirus and is regularly updated. 

The answers to many other questions can be found on [2]GOV.UK,
the [3]Department of Health and Social Care website or by visiting
the [4]NHS website. We may not respond to you if the answer to your
enquiry can be found on either of these websites. Where a reply is
appropriate, we aim to send a response within 20 working days.
 
Please note that the department cannot arrange vaccinations. [5]This
webpage gives information on vaccination. You can also contact your GP,
clinical commissioning group or call 119.

 

If you have symptoms of COVID-19 you must get tested as soon as possible.
The swab test takes less than a minute and is pain-free. Results from test
sites are generally received within 24 hours of the test being
administered. Further information, including what symptoms to look out
for, can be found [6]here.
 
If your business is interested in helping the Government increase
COVID-19 testing capacity, please visit [7]this webpage. Please note that
the service that was set up for businesses to offer other COVID-19 support
has closed. If you have a product to sell to the NHS, please visit
[8]https://www.supplychain.nhs.uk/.   
  
Since 15 February 2021, anyone travelling to the UK from a red-list
country has been required to quarantine in a managed quarantine facility
for a period of ten days. There will be periods where no countries are
listed, but the red list remains ready to be stood up should the global
epidemiological situation change. In these circumstances, there is
guidance available on a range of queries.

To find out how to apply for a medical or compassionate exemption, please
visit
[9]www.gov.uk/guidance/exemptions-from-managed-quarantine-for-compassionate-reasons.

If you have been in quarantine and have a complaint about the hotel,
please raise your concerns with the hotel itself in the first instance. If
your complaint is unresolved, please email the complaints team at
[10][email address].
 
If you are writing in connection with an NHS or social care service please
note that the department does not manage health and social services
directly, nor does it process complaints. It also cannot give clinical
advice or intervene in matters concerning patient care or social services.
If you wish to make a complaint about a healthcare professional, an NHS
organisation or a social care provider, please visit [11]this link.

 
If you would like to raise your concerns about a COVID-19 testing
provider, or have any other NHS Test and Trace enquiries, you can
contact [12]NHS Test and Trace enquiries, feedback and complaints. 

Our [13]Personal information charter and [14]privacy notice explain how we
treat your personal information.

 

This e-mail and any attachments is intended only for the attention of the
addressee(s). Its unauthorised use, disclosure, storage or copying is not
permitted. If you are not the intended recipient, please destroy all
copies and inform the sender by return e-mail. Any views expressed in this
message are not necessarily those of the Department of Health and Social
Care. Please note: Incoming and outgoing email messages are routinely
monitored for compliance with our policy on the use of electronic
communications.

References

Visible links
1. https://www.gov.uk/coronavirus
2. https://www.gov.uk/
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
4. https://www.nhs.uk/
5. https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlo...
6. https://www.gov.uk/getting-tested-for-co...
7. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/help-the-gov...
8. https://www.supplychain.nhs.uk/
9. https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlo...
10. mailto:[email address]
11. https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-t...
12. https://enquiries.test-and-trace.nhs.uk/...
13. https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati...
14. https://www.gov.uk/government/publicatio...

Dear Department of Health and Social Care,

Please can you acknowledge my request for an internal review (dated August 12th), and let me know when I should expect a response.

Yours faithfully,

Louise McGettrick

FreedomofInformation, Department of Health and Social Care

Hi Ms McGettrick

Thank you for your email. I can confirm that your request for an Internal Review of FOI-1406114 is being processed (our ref: IR-1415350) and we will respond as soon as we can.

Your sincerely
FOI team

show quoted sections

Department of Health and Social Care

1 Attachment

Dear Ms McGettrick,

Your requested internal review of FOI-1406114 is now complete. Please see
the attached letter for the outcome.

Yours sincerely,

FOI Internal Reviews
Department of Health and Social Care

show quoted sections