THE daughter of a man who died in a Gwent hospital during the coronavirus pandemic said some of the evidence at the UK Covid inquiry this week was "beyond our worst fears".

Anna-Louise Marsh-Rees, from the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Cymru campaign group, was speaking after Wales' chief medical officer, Sir Frank Atherton, gave evidence before the inquiry on Monday.

There, Sir Frank said that while at the time of the pandemic he gave his advice "freely and impartially" there were times this was not followed "diligently".

He also told the inquiry that work to plan for potential future health emergencies had all but stopped by 2019 due to Operation Yellowhammer, which diverted resources to preparing for a possible no-deal Brexit.

Hugo Keith KC, counsel to the inquiry, described as "labyrinthine" and "remarkably complex" a chart illustrating the array of groups and bodies in place to look at various aspects of pandemic response in Wales.

And the inquiry also heard that despite concerns being raised about the need to update pandemic-related documents, such guidance and policies had not been substantially changed since 2011.

Away from the inquiry, and following the day's evidence, Ms Marsh-Rees - whose father Ian died in Abergavenny's Nevill Hall Hospital in the early months of the pandemic - said: "All I can say is, our loved ones did not stand a chance. We thought it was going to be bad [on Monday], but the lack of preparation is just beyond our worst fears.

"The structures for emergency healthcare planning was a complex labyrinth. There were unclear responsibilities and duplication gaps.

"We had numerous organisations that couldn’t do anything or were waiting for the UK to do something. What was the point of them all?

"We’ve got 20 years’ worth of reports and recommendations on infection control. They weren’t updated. They were ignored."

She described Sir Frank’s responses as "fluffy, casual, and indecisive" and said there was "zero accountability and zero responsibility".

"Frank also said that the NHS Wales couldn’t cope with two cases of monkeypox. So there was absolutely no chance when something like coronavirus came along.

"They should really just hang their heads in shame and, as I say again, my dad did not stand a chance."

Additional reporting by Bronwen Weatherby, PA