// BBC HEALTH NEWS — SALUTE
'Lessons need learnt' after report into care homes during Covid published
Martina Ferguson said the report has "reopened, wounds for many families here in Northern Ireland"
Lessons need to be learnt after an inquiry found that Government failings in care settings allowed the spread of Covid, a woman whose mother died during the pandemic has said.
The sixth report from the Covid inquiry, which was published on Tuesday, said the care sector appeared to be "something of an afterthought" in the early stages of the pandemic and there was no "protective ring" put around homes as claimed by ministers at the time.
There were more than 43,000 recorded deaths involving Covid in care homes between March 2020 and July 2022.
Martina Ferguson, whose mum Ursula Derry died during the coronavirus pandemic, said "we really do need to learn from what's happened".
She said the report has "reopened, wounds for many families here in Northern Ireland".
"Many families in our bereaved group were prevented from being with loved ones when they were at their most vulnerable, you know, they stood outside windows trying to communicate through a glass.
"I did that for nine months when my mummy was in her care home."
There were more than 43,000 recorded deaths involving Covid in care homes between March 2020 and July 2022
Around 1.5 million adults were either living in care homes or receiving support in their own homes when Covid hit.