NHS was ‘on brink of collapse’ during pandemic, Covid inquiry finds

The NHS “teetered on the brink of collapse” during the Covid pandemic, and only just coped thanks to the “superhuman” efforts of healthcare workers, an official inquiry has concluded.

In a damning assessment of how the UK’s healthcare systems coped with the pandemic, the Covid-19 inquiry chair, Heather Hallett, said the impact was “devastating” due to the NHS being in a “parlous state” before the outbreak of the virus.

She said Covid patients did not always receive the care they needed, with some diagnoses and treatments coming too late to save lives. “Healthcare systems coped with the pandemic, but only just,” said Lady Hallett, a former court of appeal judge. “On a number of occasions, they teetered on the brink of collapse and only coped thanks to the almost superhuman efforts of healthcare workers and all the staff who support them.

“Workers carried the burden of caring for the sick in unprecedented numbers. They were obliged to work under intolerable pressure for months on end.”

She said politicians, including the former health secretary Matt Hancock, refused to admit the NHS was “overwhelmed” during the pandemic, as they believed this to mean total collapse.

“There was clearly overwhelm,” she said. “Patients could not be admitted to hospital and, in particular, into intensive care units. The pressure was, at times, intolerable. This continued for wave after wave of the virus.”

Other findings of the report included:

• The NHS entered the pandemic with low bed numbers, high numbers of staff vacancies and high bed occupancy, meaning it was already in a “precarious position” and ill-prepared to deal with a pandemic.
• There was not enough PPE at the start of the pandemic, meaning healthcare workers had to put themselves and their families at risk to care for patients.
• Infection control in the early stages of the pandemic was flawed as it assumed Covid-19 was spread by physical contact, rather than being airborne.
• The “stay home, protect the NHS, save lives” public message may have inadvertently led to a decline in hospital attendance of life-threatening emergencies such as heart attacks.
• 80% of healthcare professionals said they acted in a way that conflicted with their values during the pandemic, with some saying they felt they were “playing God” as they were unable to give everyone the treatment they needed.

Read full story

Source: The Guardian, 19 March 2026

Related reading on the hub:

• Presentation by David Osborn to the Safer Healthcare Biosafety Network
• How much of the £100 million spent by Government on evidence to the COVID-19 Inquiry was actually to cover up decisions which led to avoidable death?
• Covid-19 : A risk assessment too far? A blog by David Osborn