An independent public inquiry into the UK response to COVID-19 will begin in Spring 2022. A public inquiry will begin in Scotland before the end of this year.
The BMA believes the independent COVID-19 public inquiry should start immediately, while memories are fresh in the minds of those who have worked on the frontline. Therefore, we have launched our own review.
We are beginning a period of engagement with:
- our membership and the wider medical profession
- organisations with a role in representing healthcare staff
- healthcare organisations
- stakeholder groups
- public health
- organisations representing specialist health and care roles
- other bodies or organisations with specialist knowledge and the ability to inform us.
We are launching two surveys to kick off our learning - one for individual doctors and medical students and another for external organisations.
Take part now
We will be engaging with members and external organisations throughout the next few months.
Individual doctors and medical students
If you are a doctor or medical student, you have until Friday 17 December to complete our survey which covers a breadth of issues on the UK’s response to COVID. Our survey asks about:
- the significant impact on doctors and other healthcare staff
- the long-term solutions you want to see to ensure the health system is fit for the future
- what you think a public inquiry’s top priorities must be.
Some questions are brief and some are free text, allowing you to respond in a way relevant to you and your experience. If any question is not applicable to you, then leave it unfilled and progress to the next question.
This survey is now closed.
External organisations and stakeholder groups
Organisations and stakeholder groups can complete our engagement survey in which we ask questions under five themes:
- how well doctors and other healthcare workers were protected from COVID-19
- the impact of the pandemic on doctors and other healthcare workers
- how healthcare was delivered during the pandemic
- the effectiveness of the public health response to the pandemic and its impact on health systems
- the wider impact of the pandemic on population health and health inequalities.
Questions are open-ended and free text, so you can respond in a way which is relevant to your organisation, or the experiences of those you represent. If any question is not applicable to you, then leave it unfilled and progress to the next question.
Using the results to influence
These engagement exercises mark the start of a wider programme of work, through which we will:
- carry out analysis for the impact of COVID-19, identifying learning points
- identify themes for follow-up research
- define and communicate recommendations for change through 'lessons learned' reports
- ensure the BMA submits robust written and oral evidence to public inquiries.
Therefore, your submissions to these surveys will help inform our evidence for the independent public inquiries.
Find out more about the BMA COVID-19 review.