Although the Learn Not Blame started gathering momentum in January 2018 due to the High Court judgment in the case of Hadiza Bawa-Garba, the campaign was formally launched by DAUK in the House of Commons in November 2018.
[6] An inquiry was granted by the Health Select Committee into patient safety and gross negligence manslaughter in October 2018 for which DAUK gave written evidence.
[9] The group subsequently gave evidence to the Williams review into gross negligence manslaughter and their recommendation that the GMC be stripped of their power to appeal MPTS verdicts was upheld.
[10] DAUK has continued to campaign for a just culture in healthcare giving evidence to the GMC commissioned independent review of gross negligence manslaughter and culpable homicide.
[27] DAUK have continued to campaign and lobby for fairness for International Medical Graduates and have been successful in gaining an exemption from the Immigration Health Surcharge for dependents of healthcare workers.
[36] On 24 March DAUK President Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden expressed her support for the Government's decision to enter lockdown however raised the group's concern on BBC Newsnight that this might be too late to prevent a surge.
[38] The group also called on Dominic Cummings to resign or be sacked claiming that the Prime Minister's advisor had diluted the public health message to stay at home as well as eroding healthcare professionals' trust in the Government.
On 22 March DAUK co-ordinated an open letter signed by 3963 frontline NHS staff published on the front page of The Sunday Times pleading with Boris Johnson to 'protect the lives of the life-savers' calling the ongoing shortage of PPE 'unacceptable.
[42] On 23 March the group raised concerns that doctors had reported being forced to source their own PPE from DIY stores, claiming that staff had had to buy their own masks from Screwfix.
[46] The group also reported a lack of access to scrubs on the same day a problem that continued through to at least June that year when DAUK reported that six out of ten doctors were facing a shortage of scrubs[47][48] On 29 March DAUK raised concern about a lack of PPE for care home staff reiterating that staff may feel forced to resign due to concern regarding personal safety.
On 1 April the group claimed to have heard from frontline doctors who has been forced improvise their own PPE including out of snorkels, whilst others had had to reach out to school and laboratories for protective glasses.
[54] On 13 April the group criticised missed opportunities to join the EU scheme for emergency PPE as well as reports of consignments of 100,000 gowns from China that were found to be sub-standard.
[58] The app which allowed doctors to report PPE shortages in real time from the frontline revealed that healthcare workers were being asked to 'hold their breath' in place of a mask.
[68] By 15 March the group claimed to have received reports of doctors being recalled early from self-isolation despite being symptomatic of COVID-19, expressing concern that this would put clinicians and their patients at risk.
[72] After a second NHS doctor GP Dr Habib Zaidi died secondary to COVID-19 DAUK reiterated its concern calling on the Government to make PPE its top priority to prevent further healthcare worker deaths.
Following a lack of positive response from the Government the group took legal action alongside the Good Law Project filing for a judicial review into healthcare worker deaths and PPE shortages.
[80][81][82] On 14 April DAUK raised concerns once again regarding a lack of fit-testing for staff needing to use FFP3 masks in the wake of at least 40 deaths of frontline NHS healthcare workers asserting that hospitals were 'playing Russian roulette with doctors' lives.
[83] On 19 April DAUK rang the alarm bells after receiving reports from frontline staff that gowns and visors were being rationed and expressed concern that the reuse of disposable PPE would put patients at risk.
[91] On 13 March Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden DAUK President called on the government to consider cancelling non-urgent operations to prepare for a surge in Coronavirus cases.
The group claimed that years of short-staffing had left the NHS much less equipped to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic whilst continuing to provide care for non-COVID related illness of injury.
[99] DAUK raised concerns on Sky News about the numbers of frontline NHS doctors who had become symptomatic of COVID-19 or who were isolating due to contact with somebody in their household who had symptoms.