Responding to the publication of the UK Covid Inquiry Module 1 Report, the chair of BMA council, Professor Philip Banfield said:
“This report reveals in all its true horror how appallingly under-prepared the governments were for the pandemic, that processes failed us as citizens, and that lives could have been saved.
“We knew that when the pandemic began our healthcare services were already struggling to cope and ‘running hot’ because of years of neglect and under investment by the Conservative Government.
“This report lays bare how, time and time again, ministers were told that we simply did not have enough staff or resources to cope with the predictable huge surge in demand for healthcare that a pandemic would bring. It shows just how many times governments ignored key findings.
“Thirteen out of 14 simulation exercises, spanning 15 years to 2018, identified a lack in staffing, appropriate PPE – including the right level of respiratory protection - and the ability to cope with a surge in demand, as key concerns. The report concludes that there ‘was a failure to learn from past civil emergency exercise and outbreaks of disease’. That failure led to an excess loss of life and to thousands of doctors and other healthcare staff being put at unimaginable risk on a daily basis for two years.
“Many intensive care beds were occupied by the most vulnerable among us – those already navigating long-term illnesses, or those more at risk due to their ethnicity. As the report makes clear, we already had a relatively unhealthy population and widening health inequalities when the pandemic struck, which meant they were the hardest hit.
“This unhealthy population was exacerbated by years of disinvestment and disinterest in public health by the Government. The report shows how that disinterest continued, even during the pandemic, when ministers failed to engage with public health specialists and utilise their expertise – particularly on test and trace options.
“A key recommendation in the report is a call for fundamental reform of the way the UK prepares for civil emergencies on the scale of the Covid pandemic and whilst the BMA acknowledges this is the first of many reports and recommendations to come, we hope that change comes soon.
“The BMA finds that the UK is still poorly equipped, understaffed and underprepared to manage a future pandemic when it comes. Today’s report makes clear the urgency of improving the UK’s preparedness. That is a monumental and wide-ranging task for the new Government, that Baroness Hallet specifically states will need significant funding. A small but significant step in the right direction would be to see proper investment in health and social care staffing and rebuilding our public health services. We still have a population which is nowhere near as healthy as it should be, with huge health inequalities, too few public heath doctors and fragmented public health services.
“In our submission to this Module of the Inquiry, we said the scientific expertise of occupational health and independent frontline public health practitioners should have been used far more by government in both policymaking and day-to-day decision-making during the pandemic. We are pleased the report recognises the importance of public health expertise in its recommendation for the creation of a UK-wide independent statutory body for civil emergency preparedness. One which consults with directors of public health before providing independent strategic advice to Government.
“Baroness Hallet’s report says the UK government and devolved administrations and civil services ‘failed their citizens.’ This cannot be allowed to happen again. There are several more reports to come in this inquiry, but change needs to start now.”
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Notes to editors
The BMA is a professional association and trade union representing and negotiating on behalf of all doctors in the UK. A leading voice advocating for outstanding health care and a healthy population. An association providing members with excellent individual services and support throughout their lives.