The Covid-19 pandemic and its impact

In March 2020 it became increasingly apparent that the infection named Covid-19 had spread from China and had arrived in the UK and more locally it had arrived in Shropshire. On 15 March the first death attributed to Covid-19 occurred in Shropshire. On 20 March the prime minister issued the instruction to stay at home if possible. As key workers the Registration Service had to make arrangements for the registration of deaths. Birth and Ceremonies were to continue. On 24 March 2020, the announcement was made that face-to-face services were suspended including death registrations, births and ceremonies and the Coronavirus Act providing emergency powers to a range of public services was passed.

In addition to the above the entire process of registering deaths had to be remodelled, and this included setting up processes with GPs and hospitals for the electronic transmission of medical cause of death certificates, with funeral directors and crematoria for the electronic delivery and return of body disposal paperwork. Additional emergency staff had to be trained in registration and equipment and processes which would allow the registration of deaths over the telephone had to be quickly modelled and introduced.

Public buildings were closed, and in some cases repurposed. This included the libraries, out of which most of our Registration Service operated. It was necessary to invoke business continuity emergency plans for a pandemic situation.  It is now time to see whether the response was adequate and to reflect on learning.

Gathering feedback from those we worked with and people who used our services is really important. Only from learning and reflecting on what happened will we be prepared should the worst happen, and we experience another emergency situation.

Research

Shropshire Council is undertaking research to inform business continuity and pandemic planning, both now and the future.

We will reflect on the period between 24 March 2020 to 31 March 2022 to examine our actions and reactions to situations and to instructions provided by government. We need to look at how we dealt with ceremonies customers and any decisions which we took unilaterally which may have impacted them. Whether on balance these were the correct decisions or whether we should have acted differently.

There are two surveys:

• A survey for members of the public and those who used our services during the pandemic period
• A survey designed for our stakeholders and partners to identify their views on whether the overall response was adequate, whether the best channels were used, or whether things should have been done differently

Please take the time to complete the survey which is relevant to you, which you can access by clicking on the "How to get involved tab" at the top of the page.

We'll analyse the feedback and use the information to inform our future planning activities.

If you'd like a survey in an alternative format please use the email below to request a copy, or call our customer services team on 0345 678 9000 and explain any support you need to allow you to respond.

You can also respond with any comments in writing:

Email: TellUs@shropshire.gov.uk
Post: Feedback and Insight Team, Shropshire Council, Shirehall, Abbey Foregate, Shropshire SY2 6ND.