UK COVID-19 Public Inquiry - Third Witness Statement - Professor Philip Banfield

Sep 2, 2026

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Third witness statement from Professor Philip Banfield to the UK COVID-19 Public Inquiry under Rule 9 (03 May 2023), addressing Module 3. The statement explains his roles within the British Medical Association (BMA)—including leadership positions in UK Council and Welsh committees—his involvement since 2012, and how he coordinated inputs across BMA regions and policy teams. It then outlines BMA’s role and aims in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, conditions in healthcare systems pre-pandemic, liaison and communication with UK governments, and key themes including guidance failures, staffing shortages, impacts on BMA members, and infection prevention and control and PPE deficiencies, plus broader healthcare provision and treatment.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages187

Reading Time7 h 51 min

AccessFree to download

Table of Contents

A. The British Medical Association's role, function and aims and its role in response to the COVID-19 pandemic

B. The pre-pandemic state of healthcare systems across the UK

C. Liaison and communication with the UK Government and Devolved Administrations

D. Guidance issued by governments in the UK

E. Staffing

F. The impact of the pandemic on the BMA's members

G. Infection prevention and control (IPC) and personal protective equipment (PPE)

H. Healthcare provision and treatmen

# UK COVID-19 PUBLIC INQUIRY Third Witness Statement of Professor Philip Banfield I,Professor Philip Banfield,of the British Medical Association (the BMA or the Association),willsay as follows:lam the chair of the BMA's UK council,chair of the BMA's board of directorsand a member of the chief officer team of the BMA.I am a Consultant Obstetrician andGynaecologist based in North Wales and an honorary professor in the Cardiff UniversitySchool of Medicine.Before being appointed as chair of council,I spent several years as arepresentative of BMA Cymru Wales,as chair of both Welsh council and the Welshconsultants committee.I have sat on the UK council since 2012. 1.I provide this statement in response to a request for evidence made on 03 May 2023 bythe UK COVID-19 Public Inquiry (the Inquiry)under Rule 9 of the Inquiry Rules 2006 inconnection with Module 3 of the Inquiry. 2.I provided earlier witness statements to the Inquiry in connection with Module 1 of theInquiry dated 12 April 2023,Module 2(including submodules 2A,2B and 2C)of theInquiry dated 21 July 2023,and Module 2B of the Inquiry dated 01 February 2024. 3.Itook on the role of chair of UK council of the BMA in July 2022,after the period identifiedby the Inquiry as having particular relevance to the Rule 9 request (namely,01 March2020 to 28 June 2022).During the relevant period covered by this Rule 9 Request I wasChair of BMA Welsh Consultants Committee and I have been a member of BMA UKCouncil since 2012.In providing this corporate statement to the Inquiry,I have soughtinput and assistance from colleagues in BMA Northern Ireland,BMA Scotland and BMACymru Wales,as well as from relevant UK policy and communications teams across theAssociation.The information contained within this statement is true to the best of myknowledge and belief. Table of Contents 1 3 A. The British Medical Association's role, function and aims and its role in response to the COVID-19 pandemic……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………7 Senior elected leadership……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………7 Senior staff leadership team………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………8 Governance………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………9 The BMA's role,function and aim………………………………………………………………………………………………………………11 The BMA's role across the UK in response to the COVID-19 pandemic………………………………13 B. The pre-pandemic state of healthcare systems across the UK………………………………………14 The BMA and its members have been concerned about the state of the UK's healthcare systems for years…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………15 The UK's health systems faced a decade of underinvestment before the pandemic…………17 C.Liaison and communication with the UK Government and Devolved Administrations ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………34 Working relationships at the UK level…………………………………………………………………………………………………………34 Working relationships with Devolved Governments………………………………………………………………………………50 D.Guidance issued by governments in the UK………………………………………………………………………………57 There was a failure to issue guidance on decision making when demand outstripped already limited resources…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………58 E. Staffing…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………62 The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated pre-existing staffing shortage………………………………………63 Low staffing levels impacted on the capacity of health services to treat patient. ………………72 Low staffing levels impacted on the quality of care provided…………………………………………………………73 Low staffing levels impacted the physical and mental wellbeing of healthcare staff…………74 Some of this impact could have been avoided………………………………………………………………………………………7 Pre-pandemic staff shortages meant schemes to increase the number of registered medical practitioners were essential, but they were not without challenges………………………………………………7

FAQs

Who is Professor Philip Banfield in relation to the British Medical Association (BMA)?

He serves as chair of the BMA’s UK Council, chair of the BMA board of directors, and is part of the BMA chief officer team. He is also an honorary professor at Cardiff University School of Medicine and a consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist based in North Wales.

What is the purpose of this statement and when was it requested?

The statement is provided in response to a request for evidence made by the UK COVID-19 Public Inquiry on 03 May 2023 under Rule 9, connected to Module 3 of the Inquiry.

Which major topics does the statement cover about the pandemic response?

It covers the BMA’s role across the UK, pre-pandemic healthcare conditions, government guidance and communication, staffing shortages and their effects, impacts on BMA members, and infection prevention and control including PPE inadequacies and related compliance issues.

Sep 2, 2026

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