UK COVID-19 Inquiry wants ‘overlooked’ nurses to share their experiences
Posted 03 March 2023 - 12:07
Give your views to the inquiry, alongside nurse leaders who have vowed to highlight inadequate guidance and protection for community nurses during the pandemic
Jill Kirk and Karen Colbeck-Rowe consoling each other after a gruelling 12-hour shift on a COVID critical care unit. Picture: Holly Beacroft
Nursing leaders have pledged to stand up for ‘overlooked’ healthcare workers at the UK COVID-19 Inquiry and raise concerns about inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE) and a lack of regard for the protection of staff.
The promise comes as the inquiry launched preliminary hearings on 28 February looking at the impact of the UK’s preparedness and response to the pandemic on the NHS. The preliminary hearings will look at legal issues and any supporting documentation before public hearings begin.
Focus on pandemic’s impact on community nurses
The Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) and the RCN will be representing nurses and have vowed to ensure the voices of staff are heard.
The QNI – part of the COVID-19 Airborne Transmission Alliance (CATA), which has been granted core participant status at the inquiry – said it intends to highlight the government’s failure to consider the impact of the virus on community nurses.
In particular it will focus on failures to support nurses in care homes who were looking after people discharged with COVID-19, failures to manage infection control, and the limited PPE available to front-line nurses in the community.
Initial hearing will examine UK’s preparedness to deal with virus
The RCN has previously said it intends to outline the devastating, and sometimes fatal, consequences of inadequate guidance and testing, and poor PPE provision.
QNI chief executive Crystal Oldman said: ‘So often during the pandemic it was the community nurses – working on the front line in care homes, GP surgeries, community adult and children’s nursing services – who continued to deliver complex nursing care in non-clinical environments 24 hours a day, but who were often overlooked by the UK government at the time.’
The inquiry, chaired by former Court of Appeal judge Baroness Heather Hallett, will begin by hearing evidence on the preparedness of the UK to deal with the virus. Public hearings, due to start in May, will look at the impact on the health service.
For nurses, the inquiry ‘feels like the final hurdle to being heard’
Nurses can submit their concerns about the response to the pandemic through the inquiry's website, including how COVID-19 impacted their work, health and life as a whole. All experiences shared will help inform the outcome of the inquiry.
CATA vice chair Kamini Gadhok said the group was looking forward to ‘making its case for change’ and protecting front-line workers in the future.
‘We have fought for so long for the safety of others, and this feels like the final hurdle to being heard,’ she added.
The RCN has been contacted for comment.
Submit your views to the inquiry
UK COVID-19 Inquiry: Share your experience
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