Six out of ten people who died of Covid were Disabled. Disabled people were abandoned without home care visits, deprioritised for medical attention, not given adequate access to food and vaccines, could not secure Personal Assistants (PAs) or supplies of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as well as there being seriously dubious situations around end of life pathways and the application of do not resuscitate orders (DNRs) during the pandemic.
DR UK, Inclusion Scotland, Disability Wales and Disability Action Northern Ireland have been granted core participant status for Module 2 which is about government decision making? DR UK will use core participant status to ensure the Inquiry has regard to the evidence and stories relating to Disabled people.
DR UK’s Fazilet Hadi said: “The pandemic showed us just how little importance Government placed on our lives. Around 131,000 Disabled people died during the pandemic. It is critical that the Inquiry hears our stories, listens to Disabled experts, puts our experiences on the record, and ensures that such unfathomable, loss never happens to the Disabled community again.”