COVID-19: lessons must be learned
On 9 September 2024, the UK Covid-19 Inquiry begins its public hearings on healthcare during the pandemic, giving us an important opportunity to make sure the experiences of blind and partially sighted people are understood.
To coincide with this phase of the Inquiry, RNIB has made a short film of blind and partially sighted people’s experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.
During the course of the inquiry's public hearings, RNIB will be formally involved as part of a group of nine disability charities: the Business Disability Forum, Leonard Cheshire, Mencap, Mind, NAS, RNIB, RNID, Scope and Sense. We will highlight ways in which disabled people, including people with sight loss, were disproportionately affected, and press for vital lessons to be learnt.
The inquiry is formed of a series of modules, with healthcare being the third. It has been set up to examine the UK's response to and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and learn lessons for the future.
We know that many blind and partially sighted people were disproportionately affected, and we want this to be heard and understood by the Inquiry. It’s essential that policy decisions affecting all aspects of people’s daily lives are never again made without involving people with sight loss and disabled people from the very start.
Our film features blind and partially sighted people describing experiences including:
- Difficulty accessing food and essentials.
- Inaccessible health information and COVID-19 testing.
- Lack of access to eye care services.
- Difficulty with social distancing and navigating local streets.
- Access to education by children and young people.
- Increased isolation and decreased independence.
Please watch and share our film. If you use social media, you can follow and share our posts using the hashtag #UKCovidInquiry.
We also encourage blind and partially sighted people to share their experiences of the pandemic directly with Inquiry which is keen to hear from the public. Find out more on the Every Story Matters section of the inquiry website.