Ensuring proper provision of medical care at large music arenas and venues 'does not seem to have got any further forward' despite the harrowing evidence of the Manchester Arena public inquiry into the bombing and its many recommendations, its chairman has said.
Sir John Saunders has now called for 'urgent action' to be taken 'to rectify a situation that we were told was causing a loss of life'.
The Manchester Evening News reported a month ago the government was being urged to regulate healthcare at big events like concerts and music festivals to prevent 'unsafe care, abuse and deaths'.
Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features.
Joyce Frederick, the Care Quality Commission's director of policy and strategy, revealed at the inquiry it had been lobbying the Department of Health and Social Care to bring the 'unregulated' sector under its sphere, to enable it to take action against poor providers.
Since 2019, the CQC has been proposing to change the rules to remove an exemption and bring healthcare providers at events into its remit, the inquiry heard. Ms Frederick said it was the CQC's 'number one priority'.
A damning second report from the inquiry published last November saw Sir John heap criticism on Arena operator SMG and its contracted medical services provider at the time, Emergency Training UK (ETUK). He said their relationship didn't operate as it should have, adding: "In relation to healthcare, inadequate consideration was given to the welfare of the event-goers."
SMG, the operators of the 21,000-capacity Manchester Arena, 'took an unacceptable approach' to making sure there was adequate healthcare services at the venue, said Sir John in the report.
The findings led the chairman to make a series of key recommendations for all concert and event venues to drive up standards and public safety.
Sir John said he would 'monitor' some of them and over three days last month, senior personnel from organisations and bodies including the emergency services appeared before the inquiry to update him on what progress has been made so far.
But in a statement issued on Tuesday, the chairman blasted 'slow progress' and revealed some recommendations had been 'rejected' - urging the government to 'think again' in one case.
"The important area of ensuring that there is proper provision of medical care at large arenas does not seem to have got any further forward despite the concerns and representations of the Care Quality Commission," said Sir John. "I do not regard this as satisfactory and recommend that urgent action is taken to rectify a situation that we were told was causing loss of life."
One recommendation, he revealed, has been blocked by the government, which he said views it as 'over regulation'.
"Also the recommendation that all CCTV operators should be trained and licensed by the Security Industry Association (SIA), whether they are provided by outside contractors, who are already required to be licensed, or are employed in-house who are not, has not been accepted by the Government," said Sir John.
"That recommendation was supported by the SIA. The government has not implemented it because it is said to be 'over-regulation'. It seems that decision has been made without any consultation with the industry. It is difficult to see why there should be this distinction in training requirements and I would ask the government to think again."
The Department of Health and Social Care, giving evidence at last month's hearings, conceded the sector was unregulated and said it would be 'reviewed'. The department said it recognised that 'not adequate standards were in place' and the 'need for clear standards across the sector'.
It said 'further work' was required to establish if regulation was appropriate and pointed out work with CQC had to be paused because of the pandemic, but was being resumed. A 'post implementation report' was said to be 'imminent' ahead of a decision.
Sir John said on Tuesday he was 'approaching the time' when he would be notifying the Home Secretary that the terms of reference for the public inquiry have been fulfilled, meaning its work will come to a close and the inquiry will formally end. But he said it was 'important' a series of recommendations he made are implemented.
Of last month's monitoring hearings he said: "They revealed that in relation to some recommendations a great deal of work had been done and, in relation to others the work was only getting started. It was apparent that work would not have started at all if we had not had a public hearing to see what was going on.
"The monitoring needs to be continued until the recommendations are fully implemented. While the inquiry may be coming to an end I am determined, as I know many are, that its work will continue."
Salman Abedi, 22, detonated a rucksack bomb in the Arena on May 22, 2017, after an Ariana Grande concert, murdering 22 people.
