Week one of the public hearings for Module 3 of the Covid-19 Inquiry

This is the first in a series of weekly updates from the public hearings for Module 3 of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, in which the RCoA, FICM and Association of Anaesthetists are jointly a Core Participant. Our thanks to the Association of Anaesthetists for producing these updates to share with members. 

Over 250 witness statements, 10 expert witness reports, and more than 16,500 documents have contributed to the hearings in Module 3 of the Inquiry, with this week seeing the start of 10 weeks of oral evidence sessions.

As one of 36 core participants, the Association, the RCoA and FICM, have been busy working behind the scenes for many months preparing for evidence sessions to make sure the Inquiry understands the impact that the pandemic had on our members, and the specialities as a whole.

On Tuesday, our legal team delivered an opening statement directly to the Baroness Hallet, the Chair of the Inquiry, which powerfully explained why it’s so important our three organisations are involved in the Inquiry, and what lessons we wanted the Inquiry to learn from the Pandemic.

You can read our opening statement in full and watch the opening statement – along with the rest of the proceedings on the Inquiry’s YouTube channel.

Every Story Matters

Week one of the Inquiry heard powerful evidence from representatives of the various Covid-19 Bereaved Families Associations, detailing how Covid had affected their relatives and the impact this had on them. Infection Prevention and Control and Health and Safety representatives also featured in the first week.

Every Story Matters (ESM) – the part of the Inquiry were individuals are able to share their own pandemic experiences – published its report this week focussing on healthcare. The Association was delighted to be part of this project – thank you to everyone who spoke to the ESM team at our events. Anyone who still wants to give evidence can do this via the Inquiry website.

The Inquiry aims to use the hearings to follow the patients' journey – and anaesthetists and intensivists had a vital role to play in this. Over the next few months, nearly 100 witnesses will be giving oral evidence – and facing questions from the Inquiry’s legal team – look out for future weekly updates to find out how our organisations will be actively involved in this process.