Dates and location
The Inquiry is holding its first public hearings in September 2024.
The hearings will take place at the Chelmsford Civic Centre from Monday 9 September until Wednesday 25 September 2024 (excluding Fridays, when the Inquiry will not be sitting).
The hearing days will begin at 10am and finish by 4:30pm. There will be breaks mid-morning, for lunch and mid-afternoon.
Further details about the venue, including how to get there, can be found here.
Watching or Attending the hearings
The hearings will be held in public and will be live streamed online. It will be possible to participate or watch the hearings either in person or remotely.
Members of the public are invited to express an interest in attending the hearings in person using the form below. The hearings will also be live-streamed for anyone who wishes to attend remotely and no registration is required for this.
Priority for seating in the venue will be given to Core Participants and witnesses but additional capacity will be made available for members of the public to attend on each sitting day. Confirmation of attendance will sent by email on the week commencing 2nd September.
SUBMIT YOUR INTEREST IN ATTENDING HERE.
The above form is for members of the public only, if you are a –
- legally represented Core Participant with questions about attendance, please contact your legal representative
- unrepresented Core Participant or witness with questions about attendance, please contact the Inquiry at contact@lampardinquiry.org.uk
- member of the press wishing to attend, please contact the Inquiry at press@crestadvisory.com. A press pack will be circulated to media outlets ahead of the hearing.
Confirmation of attendance will be sent out by email the week commencing 2nd September. Information submitted via this form will be processed in line with the Inquiry’s Privacy Information Notice and Safeguarding statement.
Purpose of the hearings
The Chair, Baroness Lampard, wants the experiences of family and friends of those who have died, along with experiences of former patients, to be at the centre of the Inquiry’s work from the start.
The hearings in September will therefore include:
- opening statements to the Inquiry, which are usually made by the Chair, Counsel to the Inquiry and Counsel for Core Participants; and
- impact evidence from families and friends of patients who died, or evidence from former patients of the impact on their lives. The Inquiry is in the process of writing to people, inviting them to provide impact evidence. If you have not received a letter but consider that you have experiences that are relevant, please contact the Inquiry.
Information pack
Accessibility at the venue
The venue has disabled access and facilities for those whose hearing is impaired. We will ask about accessibility requests and adjustments during the booking process.
November hearings
Further hearings will take place from Monday 25 November 2024. These hearings may include additional impact evidence.
The November hearings will be held remotely, with everyone participating and watching online.
For a summary of past and upcoming hearings, please visit our Hearings page for more information.
There is more detail on the September hearings in the Protocol for September Opening Hearings.
