Inquiry Must Look At The Non-covid Deaths Like Mum's

“We have not seen: ‘Number of deaths of people whose death certificate mentioned lockdown as one of the causes’. But we should

- David Maddox

LAST week my mum was laid to rest at a crematorium near Norwich. Like thousands of deaths in 2020, Mum’s passing was a tragedy for those gathered to mourn her but just another statistic in a grim year.

In the weeks since I found Mum dead in her bed, I have had plenty of time to shed tears and reflect on what killed her.

Mum did not die of coronavirus or contract it but there is a direct link between her untimely end and what happened this year.

During the first lock down she started suffering severe neck pains. Like every other GP surgery, the doors to the one in Norwich were shut. She had to make a telephone call. The doctor suggested she might have mumps and prescribed antibiotics, but the pain continued. Her neck swelled up, there were more calls with frustrating waits on their queueing system, different antibiotics, things got worse. At no point was she referred for urgent hospital tests.

Eventually, my stepfather took Mum to A&E. They took one look, found her a bed and organised tests. They found a rare and aggressive thyroid cancer. But it was too late. All they could do was give her radiotherapy to buy more time.

The small window of opportunity to remove the thyroid and save her life had been lost in the middle of lockdown when she could not see a doctor properly.