12. Submissions on Behalf of the Royal College of Nursing by Ms Morris KC

Ms Morris: My Lady, our submissions are brief and so that’s probably a sound choice.

I make submissions on behalf of the Royal College of Nursing. We maintain our written submissions and therefore we don’t repeat them now.

We are encouraged by Counsel to the Inquiry’s summary this morning –

Lady Hallett: The dance of the lecterns, Ms Morris, you should know about that now.

Ms Morris: I’m just trying to be quick.

We are encouraged by Counsel to the Inquiry’s summary of the evidence gleaned from the spotlight hospitals, and the reason for that is that her summary of the content mirrors closely many of the key issues upon which the College itself focuses.

We also welcome the indication as to the impact evidence which the Inquiry will take, and in particular that it will be hearing from some nurses who were on the frontline.

Finally, we support the proposal made by Ms Hannett KC in relation to healthcare workers with Long Covid, because many of our members are in the situation of having Long Covid, and both because of its materiality for what happened at the time but of course for its materiality for the healthcare system going forward. Staff shortages are a problem which has only intensified and there also will be, we say, potentially greater recruitment problems if healthcare workers perceive that they are not going to be protected or looked after if they sustained such an injury in the course of their work.

That concludes my submission, my Lady.

Lady Hallett: Oh, they were brief, thank you very much indeed, Ms Morris. In which case I’m going to go to, who is next, Ms Domingo.