Covid inquiry confirms doctors were ‘failed throughout’ pandemic, says BMA

The second report from the official Covid-19 inquiry has confirmed that doctors were ‘failed throughout’ the pandemic, the BMA has said.

The report revealed a series of Government failings at the early stages, including that implementing the national lockdown just one week earlier could have saved 23,000 lives in England.

It also said ministers ignored warnings from scientists and NHS staff: including underestimating airborne transmission; under-resourcing test and trace; and failings to secure sufficient PPE. It also highlighted the risks to ethnic minority staff working in the NHS.

BMA chair Dr Tom Dolphin said, in an update to members over the weekend, that the report ‘gives us, as medical professionals, rightful recognition that we and our patients were failed’ by the Government.

‘Tragically, we were not only failed in the early months of 2020 but we continued to be failed throughout the pandemic as all four of the UK’s Governments failed to learn from the first wave,’ he added.

‘While that recognition won’t heal the moral injury we experienced, won’t give those of you who have contracted Long Covid your health or your livelihoods back, and won’t bring back any of our patients or colleagues who suffered what could have been preventable deaths, it does provide a measure of accountability for the leaders who made reckless decisions in a national crisis.’

Dr Dolphin also welcomed the report’s findings that the Government underestimated airborne transmission.

‘It is good to see the report recognise that, despite the growing body of evidence, policymakers gave airborne transmission insufficient attention, instead focusing for too long on handwashing instead of ventilation. We knew that we were inadequately protected from airborne transmission and the BMA repeatedly raised this issue during the pandemic,’ he said.

‘The fact the report recognises Covid’s airborne spread is a key win for us and we hope lays the groundwork to stronger recommendations in the inquiry’s module 3 report expected next year, on Infection Prevention and Control guidance and access to FFP2 and 3 masks when faced with an airborne virus.’

The BMA also welcomed the report’s emphasis on the need for future pandemic preparedness.

‘Public health systems must be restored and properly resourced to help avoid failure on this scale again,’ Dr Dolphin said, whilst the experience of doctors in the pandemic – including those still living with long Covid, ‘must not be ignored’ in future strategies.

‘Healthcare staff were treated as a resource, not as individuals, during the pandemic. Human beings working in extreme conditions were described by the Government as “elastic”. They were happy to stretch us to breaking point and in many cases beyond. 

‘More than 50 doctors in the UK died caring for Covid patients, and that must never be forgotten or overlooked in the historical record of the Government’s response to the pandemic. Such a tragic loss of life must never be repeated,’ said Dr Dolphin.

In March 2022, the BMA held a memorial service for colleagues who died during the pandemic, including 16 GPs.

They were Dr Zishan Haider, Dr Habib Zaidi, Dr Fayez Ayache, Dr Yusuf Patel, Dr Krishan Arora, Dr Craig Wakeham, Dr Kamlesh Kumar Masson, Dr Saad Al-Dubbaisi, Dr Karamat Ullah Mirza, Dr Poornima Nair, Dr Mohinder Singh Dhatt, Dr Abdorreza Sedghi, Dr David Wood MBE, Dr Krishna Korlipara, Dr Augustine Obaro and Dr Abdul-Razaq Abdullah.