The Hallett Inquiry - Highlights of Week 5

It’s not Brexit or the phone lines; it’s the missing code and the back-pedalling bike

We started the week with the notification that Boris Johnson failed to hand over his mobile Covid WhatsApp messages before the 4 pm Monday inquiry deadline. We’ve had Brexit and poor lines of communication, but now we have a new excuse to add to the list - Boris can’t switch on his old phone.

First up on Monday was Dr Class Kirchelle, who was “instructed by the Inquiry to address the following matters: the history of public health bodies in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.”

Yet again, the problem with the inquiry is the lack of focus. Instead of asking what public health interventions are evidence-based and not implemented, the inquiry discusses irrelevant topics, such as the increase in laboratories in 1965.  

Medicine has moved on significantly, and the focus on public health misses out that the detection and mangement of respiratory agents is the bread and butter of primary care. Interpretation, therefore, requires an understanding of how the health system works, how med…