4.45pm – 6pm BST, 1 July 2026 ‐ 1 hour 15 mins
Stream 2
A second lively debate session where experts take opposing sides on statements like:
Co-chairs: Hugh Montgomery and Alicia Waite

Professor of Intensive Care Medicine, University College London

Professor of Intensive Care Medicine, University of Cambridge


Professor of Critical Care and Intensive Care Consultant, Imperial College London

Professor of Intensive Care Medicine, University College London
Prof Hugh Montgomery obtained a first-class degree in cardiorespiratory physiology/neuropharmacology before graduating from the Middlesex Hospital Medical school in 1987. He has since gained accreditation in general internal medicine, cardiology and intensive care medicine, and practices as a consultant in intensive care at the Whittington hospital in North London.
Professor of Intensive Care Medicine, University of Cambridge
Charlotte graduated in both Biomedical Sciences and Medicine from the University of Southampton, and later undertook a PhD at the University of Cambridge investigating the role of inflammation on the pulmonary transit kinetics of human neutrophils, alongside specialist clinical training in Respiratory (East of England) and Intensive Care Medicine (London). She was subsequently appointed as the UK’s first NIHR Clinical Lecturer in Intensive Care Medicine, and went on to be awarded a Fulbright All-disciplines Scholar Award and a Wellcome Trust Fellowship for Postdoctoral Clinician Scientists. Charlotte joined the University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine in 2015 from University of California, San Francisco.
Consultant in Critical Care, King's College Hospital
Dr Victoria Metaxa is a full-time Critical Care and Major Trauma Consultant, at King’s College Hospital in London. She is a King's College London Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer, and has a PhD in neurosciences and an MA in Medical Ethics and Palliative Care from Keele University. Her clinical interests include bioethics, end-of-life care, critical care outreach and the management of patients with haematological malignancies. Dr Metaxa is a member of the European Society of Intensive Care (ESICM) Ethics section, and the representative of the section in the e-learning committee. She is the UK National Outreach Forum board Secretary and a member of the Legal and Ethical Advisory Group of the UK Intensive Care Society (ICS).
Professor of Critical Care and Intensive Care Consultant, Imperial College London
Professor Stephen Brett is Professor of Critical Care at Imperial College London and a consultant in intensive care medicine at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, looking after patients at Hammersmith Hospital. He is also a previous president of the Intensive Care Society; he chaired the original NICE guideline development group for "Rehabilitation after Critical Illness", and was a member of SPI-M-O during the COVID pandemic. His research interests are wide, ranging from clinical trials and outcomes research through organisational and decision-making to the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning for event prediction.