COVID inquiry: Bereaved families feel their grief will only be made more bearable when important questions are answered
Kanan Patel still wears a golden wedding band. I can see it as she holds her mobile to read out a text message from her husband Jayesh.
“Things not improving on O2. Need to try something different.”
She texted back: “I’ve spoken to the Dr. Jayesh keep fighting, don’t let this virus defeat you. We all love you and need you.”
The last messages between Kanan and Jayesh
This was the last time Kanan swapped messages with Jayesh. When he sent it he was lying in a hospital bed fighting to breathe. Days later he was intubated, but the doctors could not save him from COVID.
“He was the youngest on the ward,” Kanan tells me.
At just 52 Jayesh was not in the most at-risk groups. But as a community pharmacist working in spring 2020 as the pandemic was beginning to sweep across the world, Jayesh was left exposed and vulnerable without any protection.
I first came to see Kanan in July 2020, three months after her husband’s death. She and her two young daughters, Ria and Kira, were offering prayers during a solemn Hindu ceremony in their kitchen.
She described then, choking back tears, the last time she saw Jayesh: “He walked towards the ambulance in his slippers, I didn’t know he was never going to come back.”
And with those words Kanan broke down.
The National COVID Memorial on the River Thames near Waterloo
Grief internalised as COVID-19 Inquiry resumes
There are no tears today. Kanan’s grief is internalised. She struggles, as do her daughters, on special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries.
Today, Valentine’s Day, is especially hard. It is also the day when the COVID-19 Inquiry resumes. Kanan is watching online but the stream is experiencing technical issues.
Kanan feels the public inquiry into the pandemic might be the only chance of the government being held to account. She blames it for failing to protect her husband, that and its “chaotic” messaging.
Kanan Patel lost her husband Jayesh to COVID
“All the errors and, you know, all the mistakes which delayed providing the PPE and giving clear guidance to people. There’s a lot, there’s a long list. It all came in dribs and drabs, one guideline today and then tomorrow you hear that it’s something else,” she says.
Lobby believes his father would still be alive if guidance reflected all Britons, not just white ones
Kanan’s frustration is shared by Lobby Akinnola.
I arranged to meet him at the National COVID Memorial on the River Thames near Waterloo, just across the water from the Houses of Parliament.
As we walk along the wall looking at the fresh roses and cards left by bereaved family members he stops and points to a blank heart on the wall.
“This is my dad’s heart, it’s faded now,” he says.
The letters may be fading but Lobby’s pain is not.
Lobby Akinnola lost his father Olufemi
His father Olufemi was found dead on the floor of the family’s home in April 2020. Lobby believes his father would still be alive if NHS 111 guidance had reflected all Britons, not just white ones.
‘Race played a part in the death of my father’
“I personally believe race played a part in the death of my father, there’s always the lingering question of ‘if he were white would he be here’ – and it’s things like when trying to diagnose the symptoms of COVID, asking questions like ‘are your lips blue,’ that’s a red flag, immediate, ambulance 999, blue light your way there, but that question doesn’t apply to people like me and my dad,” Lobby says describing his conversation with a 111 call handler.
“So could his life have been saved if we’d thought ahead, and had the forethought and preparedness to consider how these symptoms are going to show up on black skin.”
A woman leaves flowers and a note at the National COVID Memorial on the River Thames near Waterloo
Lobby is clear about his demands from the inquiry: “I want justice and change. There are many decisions that were made in that building across from us now, that resulted in all of these hearts we see on this wall.”
Sky News has contacted NHS England for comment. In a previous statement regarding the 111 service, they said: “GPs, nurses, paramedics and other health service staff working in the 111 phone and online service have played a key role in helping millions of people get the right care and advice – whether for coronavirus or any other urgent medical needs.”
Bereaved families struggling to be heard
Today’s online preliminary hearings suffered some technical problems resulting in a loss of audio.
Bereaved families say they are struggling to be heard too, they can only share their stories via an online form leaving people like Lobby and Kanan feeling sidelined.
As we walk back along the wall, more flowers and Valentine’s cards are being left. It’s clear that the loss of a loved one to COVID was felt more acutely today.
This grief will only be made more bearable when so many important questions are finally answered.
UK drivers are “confused” by the country’s electric car transition, ministers are being warned.
Although most drivers are not hostile towards electric vehicles (EVs), many are confused about what changes are coming and when, according to new research from the AA.
In a survey of more than 14,000 AA members, 7% thought the government was banning the sale of used petrol and diesel cars.
Around a third thought manual EVs exist, despite them all being automatic.
More than one in five said they would never buy an EV.
The government’s plan for increasing the number of electric vehicles being driven in the UK focuses heavily on increasing the supply of the vehicles.
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What you can do to reach net zero
In 2024, at least 22% of new cars and 10% of new vans sold by each manufacturer in the UK had to be zero-emission, which generally means pure electric.
Each year, those percentages will rise, reaching 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans in 2030.
Manufacturers will face fines of £15,000 per vehicle if electric vehicle sales fall short of 28% of total production this year.
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By 2035, all new cars and vans will be required to be fully zero emission, according to the Department for Transport.
Second-hand diesel and petrol cars will still be allowed to be sold after this date, and their fuel will still be available.
There are more EVs – but will people buy them?
In February, 25% of new cars were powered purely by battery and in January, they made up 21% of all new cars registered in the UK.
But despite the growth of electric sales, manufacturers continue to warn that the market will not support the growth required to hit government EV targets, and called for consumer incentives and the extension of tax breaks.
The AA suggested the government’s plan focuses on “supply but does little to encourage demand for EVs”.
It called on ministers to co-ordinate a public awareness campaign alongside the motoring industry which directly targets drivers who doubt the viability of EVs.
“Our message to government is more needs to be done to make EVs accessible for everyone,” said Jakob Pfaudler, AA chief executive.
Which? head of consumer rights Sue Davis said: “When it comes to making sustainable choices such as switching to an electric car, our research shows that people are often held back by high costs, complex choices or uncertainty.
“The government needs to provide the right information on electric vehicles and other sustainable choices so that people have the confidence to switch.”
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “We’re investing over £2.3bn to help industry and consumers make a supported switch to EVs.
“This includes installing a public charge point every 28 minutes, keeping EV incentives in the company car tax regime to 2030, and extending 100% first-year allowances for zero-emission cars for another year.
“Second-hand EVs are also becoming cheaper than ever, with one in three available under £20,000 and 21 brand new models available for less than £30,000.
“We’re seeing growing consumer confidence as a result.”
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