Prof Kevin Fong, a consultant anaesthetist and former national clinical adviser in emergency preparedness at NHS England, described treating patients during the Covid-19 pandemic as akin to responding to a daily terror attack.

During an informal visit to one of the hardest-hit intensive care units in December 2020, he recounted staff being in 'total bits' and spoke of nurses discussing patients 'raining from the sky' due to the high mortality rate.

Fong conducted around 40 visits to overwhelmed ICUs to offer support, with details sent to senior managers including England's chief medical officer Prof Sir Chris Whitty.

The inquiry revealed the surge in demand led to substandard care due to resource limitations.

Despite the best efforts, hospitals struggled under unprecedented pressure, often running out of essential supplies.

Both Prof Fong and Sir Chris Whitty emphasized that the UK's pre-pandemic low ICU bed levels, a result of political choices, exacerbated the crisis, necessitating lockdowns to prevent catastrophic healthcare system failures.

Additionally, Sir Chris highlighted initial PPE messaging confusion and called for more research on mask effectiveness in real-world conditions.