A Machynlleth campaigner, whose father died from Covid-19 in an Aberystwyth care home, met with the First Minister last week over a call for a Wales-specific public inquiry into the handling of the pandemic.

Five representatives from the Covid Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru group met with First Minister Mark Drakeford, on Thursday, 7 October, to discuss the need for an independent, Wales only, inquiry into the handling of the pandemic.

One of the representatives, Catherine Griffiths, whose father died from Covid-19 in MHA Hafan y Waun Care Home, said the meeting was “gruelling” but productive: “The women spoke about their lived experiences in various situations, in care homes and hospitals. We told our stories, each of which was intensely personal and, as you can imagine, traumatic to read.

“Our First Minister listened to us and seemed visible moved when we finished.

“We started a chat, our aim was to get him to agree to an independent Wales inquiry, which we would like to be judge led and human rights based, as well as Wales only. He said he recently signed up to a UK wide one, he said why he had done that and that he expected Wales to be an important part of it.

“We believe Wales would possibly be a mere footnote if it was UK wide, we believe Wales would miss out on the in depth scrutiny required to change policy and to step up protocols in pandemic preparation.”

The group will meet with the First Minister once again this year.

Prior to his death in November 2020, Catherine’s father Harry Griffiths was in robust health and with a good quality life, despite suffering from Alzheimer’s. He moved to Hafan y Waun in February 2020 to be close to Catherine.

“He had more than a vague awareness of what was going on in the world. He asked me last summer whether I thought the government was looking after us and if they were dealing with the pandemic well.

“I was outside his window in the icy rain when he died, with my brothers on a three way call from Hong Kong. My dad’s arm reaching out to me is an image that still wakes me at night, sweating and my heart raising.”

In November 2020, the Cambrian News reported more than half of Hafan y Waun residents had been infected with Covid-19.

A spokesperson for MHA said they would “welcome a public inquiry in Wales” and would be keen to talk about their experiences to any public inquiry: “Our own experiences in running 89 care homes, a substantial number of which have had cases of Covid-19, have shown that it is exceptionally difficult to pinpoint exactly how the virus came to be circulating in a home.

“Because of this, we aren’t carrying out any investigations into how Covid-19 entered our homes, including MHA Hafan y Waun.”

The Welsh Government said the First Minister thanked the representatives for “being so open and honest”, adding this “was the start of an ongoing dialogue”.