COVID-19 Inquiry Backtracked on Lockdown Mental Health Probe, Say Charities

Health care groups and charities have accused the chairwoman of the COVID-19 Inquiry of backtracking over the probe’s examination of how lockdowns affected access to mental health services. Mind, Rethink Mental Health, and other organisations have warned that the inquiry “risks failing” millions of people who were turned away from services if Baroness Hallett does not devote more time to examining the wider mental health impact of lockdowns. In an open letter to Baroness Hallett and inquiry staff published on Wednesday, the groups said, “The Covid-19 Inquiry’s refusal to examine the mental health consequences of the pandemic risks failing the people with pre-existing mental health conditions who died at five times the rate of the general population.”...