A "catastrophic failure" to adequately prepare for a pandemic has been leveled against the Welsh government.
The Covid Bereaved Families for Justice Wales group testified during the first day of the UK Covid Inquiry, claiming that vulnerable populations in Wales experienced "more severe consequences" as a result.
It also charged Labour ministers with attempting to deflect accountability.
When questioned about it in the Senedd on Tuesday, the first minister repeatedly declined to respond.
He told the Welsh Parliament that the inquiry ought to look into the matter instead of the Welsh Parliament.
After calls for a Wales-specific inquiry were rejected by the Welsh government, Wales' pandemic preparedness will be taken into account as part of the UK-wide Covid inquiry.
To testify before the UK inquiry, First Minister Mark Drakeford and former Health Minister Vaughan Gething are anticipated to be called.
According to the Welsh Families Group, the Welsh government "does not appear to have taken sufficient steps to understand and plan for the risks of a pandemic as they would present in Wales.". ".
Barrister Kirsten Heaven, speaking on behalf of the organization, claimed that this had "led to much more severe consequences from Covid-19 for vulnerable groups and communities" in Wales.
The organization further charged that the Welsh government was attempting to "shift responsibility" for pandemic preparation to the Senedd and the civil service.
The Welsh government had 24 years since devolution to prepare for such a pandemic in a way that would best protect the most marginalized and at-risk members of our society, Ms. Heaven said at the hearing in London.
The Cymru group finds it shocking that those in positions of political authority who are tasked with defending Wales' citizens from a pandemic did not see it as their duty to learn about and assess Wales' level of pandemic preparedness and resilience.
"Instead, there appears to be a clear attempt now to place the oversight of pandemic planning implementation on the shoulders of civil servants, officials, and the Senedd.
This provides the inquiry with information about the Welsh government's approach to pandemic planning in the years prior to COVID-19 and their willingness to take some responsibility for what went wrong. ".
Ms. Heaven claimed that despite UK-wide warnings, the Welsh government had not taken "sufficient steps" to comprehend and prepare for the risks of a pandemic in Wales.
According to her, "Wales and the Welsh government did not have an adequate understanding of the risks posed to Wales's citizens by the pandemic before and during the relevant period, and this resulted in much more severe consequences from Covid-19 for vulnerable groups and communities in Wales.".
For instance, pandemic preparedness "failed to take account of the acute health inequalities in Wales, distinct from the rest of the UK, and that specifically included levels of chronic illness and disability in the older population.". ".
Mark Drakeford repeatedly declined to respond to a question in the Senedd about whether it was appropriate for people to have been sent to nursing homes during the pandemic without being tested for Covid.
The first minister was accused of concealing something, and Mr. Drakeford responded incendiarily to Welsh Conservative Senedd leader Andrew RT Davies.
According to Mr. Davies, discharge to nursing homes was deemed a "major risk and major concern" in 2016 during a pandemic preparedness exercise.
Are you in agreement that sending patients from hospitals to nursing homes without testing was a risky move? he questioned.
While praising the inquiry's first day of full hearings, Mr. Drakeford noted that "issues raised by the leader of the opposition are now matters for the inquiry.".
What is the purpose of the Welsh Parliament, Mr. Davies pressed further, if all of this was suddenly going to be taken off the table?
In reiterating his position, the first minister claimed that it was "disrespectful to the inquiry to try to shift the responsibility that they have into questions to me here.".
Are you hiding from anything, first minister? repeated Mr. Davies' initial remark.
Mr. Drakeford asserted that ministers in Holyrood and Westminster would have the same response and said, "I think the leader of the opposition let himself down.".
"Ministers in his government will be stating this in Westminster, but in my opinion, the independent inquiry that has been established for this purpose is where those questions should be pursued.
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