Health and Social Care ministers were answering questions in the
Commons. Subjects covered included...
To read any of these in greater detail, either click on the link
above or see below.
Cancer Services
(Denton and Reddish) (Lab)
What steps he is taking to tackle regional variations in the
restoration of cancer services after the covid-19 outbreak.
[903679]
(North
Tyneside) (Lab)
What steps his Department is taking to enable the resumption of
cancer treatments delayed as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
[903723]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care ()
Essential and urgent cancer treatment has continued throughout
the pandemic and cancer specialists, as always, are discussing
the best treatment options with their patients. We are working to
ensure that referrals, diagnostics and cancer treatment are back
at pre-pandemic levels across the whole of England as soon as
possible. Due to covid-19, the 21 cancer alliances in England
have established hubs to ensure dedicated cancer care away from
hospitals dealing with the virus. From the end of April, local
systems and cancer alliances have continued to identify
ring-fenced diagnostic and surgical capacity for cancer in line
with issued guidance. Regional cancer senior responsible officers
must now provide assurance that these arrangements are in place
to help minimal regional variation.
[V]
I thank the Minister for that comprehensive reply, but she knows
that people living with cancer are experiencing cancellation and
delays to treatment all over the country, and that is causing
anxiety and distress to many families. In getting people urgently
back into treatment, will she look at the 12-point plan for
restoration, recovery and transformation of cancer services
outlined by Macmillan Cancer Support, Cancer Research UK and 23
other cancer charities, to ensure that cancer does not become the
forgotten C during the coronavirus crisis?
I regularly engage with cancer charities and would be delighted
to look at them to see where we are making good headway and
where, perhaps, we could have discussions about other things that
need to be targeted. While I have the hon. Gentleman on the
screen, I would also like to highlight the fact that the Greater
Manchester cancer alliance has led the way in its response to
this pandemic. It was one of the first to establish a surgical
hub model to ensure that cancer surgery was able to continue and
that the local cancer system as a whole responded well. The
alliance has also been looking to accelerate the rapid diagnostic
centre to help promote diagnostics, so I thank everyone for that.
[V]
As the Minister knows, being diagnosed with cancer is
devastating, and one of the most important things to get patients
through this difficult time is for them to be able to focus on
their treatment. What message does the Minister have to comfort
those people who are worried and stressed because they still
cannot access the treatment they need because of covid-19?
I would say that, as soon as people notice any signs that might
worry them, they should seek help. We have worked at pace to
ensure that services have been resumed and are able to deliver
for patients. Ensuring both early diagnosis and that patients can
access the treatment that they need swiftly is our key ambition.
We know that, following the guidance that has been delivered, we
are achieving that throughout the system. Covid-19 has upended
all our lives, and some decisions have been made to ensure the
safety of patients, but we are now firmly back on track and will
ensure that patients get the care they need.
(Nottingham North) (Lab/Co-op)
Yesterday, the One Cancer Voice network of 25 charities published
plans for restoring vital cancer services. I wrote to the
Minister on 17 April with my own suggestion. Ideas included
advanced radiotherapy, new models of chemotherapy, better cancer
pathways and renewed screening and communication plans. This is
not just about rebuilding what we had, but about making services
better. If the Government are slow to do that, we face a cancer
bubble that risks thousands of lives. Will the Minister commit to
working with those charities and with me and other interested
parliamentarians to form a cancer recovery plan to head off this
looming crisis?
I assure the hon. Gentleman that, just as we have seen from
working closely on the Medicines and Medical Devices Bill that is
going through Parliament, there are lessons to be learned. There
have been improvements in certain areas of radiotherapy in which
it has been determined that fewer treatments actually mean a
quicker and—I would not use the word “gentler”—an easier path for
the patient. I would be happy to continue working both with him
and with the cancer charities to ensure that we can improve that
pathway for patients.
Adult Day Centres: Reopening
(Mid Derbyshire) (Con)
What his timetable is for the reopening of adult day centres for
people with learning difficulties after the covid-19 outbreak.
[903680]
The Minister for Care ()
I know how difficult it has been for people with learning
disabilities and their families during lockdown, particularly
without the back-up of day centres. I want to see those important
services reopening as soon as it is possible and safe to do so,
but that decision will need to be made locally. We are talking to
the Local Government Association and others about what guidance
and support may be needed to get day services up and running
again.
Mrs Latham [V]
I thank the Minister for that answer, and I would like to wish
her a happy birthday. Unlike schools, day centres such as
Whitemoor in my Derbyshire constituency are normally open
throughout the summer to provide desperately needed stimulation
for many adults with special needs. What measures will she
introduce to ensure that staff working at day centres are
adequately supported to function as safely as possible, as soon
as possible?
I thank my hon. Friend for her birthday greetings. She makes a
really important point: as day centres reopen, they need to be
safe for staff and users. Risk assessments will need to be
carried out, and some may need to use personal protective
equipment. Public Health England is developing guidance on the
use of PPE in community settings. Local authority-run services
should have PPE provided by the local authority, and services
provided by other organisations that struggle to get PPE from
wholesalers should be able to access emergency local supplies.
Referral-to-Treatment Waiting Lists
(Brentford and Isleworth)
(Lab)
What recent assessment he has made of trends in the length of
referral-to-treatment waiting lists. [903681]
The Minister for Health ()
The most recent performance data published by NHS England for
April 2020 shows an 8% reduction in the size of the waiting lists
compared with April 2019, from 4,297,571 to 3,942,748. However,
it is important to note that reduced referrals due to covid-19
are likely to be the cause of that, and there are a number of
people waiting longer.
[V]
To address the inevitable increase in waiting times for non-covid
treatments, back in March the Government contracted private
health providers to supply some 8,000 bed spaces at a cost of
millions of pounds to the NHS and taxpayers. It was reported that
a significant proportion of that capacity has been paid for but
underused. The Government are now considering further contracts
with private sector hospitals. How can we be confident that money
will not be wasted again and that those waiting will get the
treatment they so badly need?
I gently say to the hon. Lady that I do not think that
contracting to ensure sufficient capacity in our NHS at all
times, so that it was never overwhelmed, which it has not been,
was a waste of money. In response to her substantive point, we
continue to work with the independent sector and the broader NHS
to get elective surgery and other non-emergency procedures
restarted at pace.
Covid-19: BAME Health
(Westminster North) (Lab)
What assessment he has made of the effect of covid-19 on the
health of people in BAME communities. [903682]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care ()
There was a passionate debate on this issue last Thursday. As I
said then, there is no doubt that covid-19 has upended our lives.
The virus cruelly discriminates by many factors, including age,
gender and ethnicity. There are still gaps in our understanding
of occupational risks and co-morbidity that need attention. My
hon. Friend the Minister for Equalities will be taking forward
important cross-Government work with the Equality Hub, Public
Health England and others.
Ms Buck
We now know the full extent to which covid and other health
inequalities affect black and minority ethnic communities, and
the extent to which that is reflected in regional inequalities,
but does the Minister also understand how much such inequality
prevails within boroughs? In my local authority, there is a
16-year life expectancy gap between the poorest communities and
the wealthiest, which reflects the disparity with black and
minority ethnic communities. Will she ensure that an equalities
review tackles inequality within boroughs as well as between
them, and will there be funding to support that?
We know that health inequalities are stubborn, persistent and
difficult to change—we knew that before covid-19, but that is not
a reason to accept them. We fully agree that more needs to be
done to reduce the disparity in health outcomes within the BAME
community and the broader community. That is why we will ensure
that the work on health inequalities goes on at pace.
Test and Trace
(Hackney South and Shoreditch)
(Lab/Co-op)
What steps his Department is taking to support local authority
covid-19 test and trace services. [903683]
(Nottingham South)
(Lab)
What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the NHS test
and trace service. [903685]
(Vale of Clwyd) (Con)
What progress his Department has made on the establishment of a
test and trace service for covid-19. [903687]
(Washington and Sunderland
West) (Lab)
What his timetable is for the operation of the NHS test and trace
service nationwide. [903696]
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
NHS Test and Trace was introduced on 28 May, working with local
authorities to prevent and contain the spread of covid-19. I am
encouraged by the early results, which show that in the first two
weeks of operation 87,000 people were contacted by NHS Test and
Trace and agreed to self-isolate.
The Secretary of State will recall that I wrote to him a little
while ago suggesting that an approach that was a bit more
Shoreditch and a little less Whitehall might be effective. Given
the lack of success of the app, maybe he could have taken that
advice. I am pleased that Hackney Council is one of the five
areas that is piloting this, working with GPs and other health
professionals in public health and so on, but the critical thing
is that we are not getting the data locally that we need to do
the proper tracing of those who were close to someone who has
tested positive. When will that data arrive? Without it, it is
like working with one arm tied behind our back.
The amount of data flowing to local authorities has increased
substantially over the past few weeks since the start of the
operation at the end of last month, and there will be more coming
very, very soon.
We all want to see lockdown eased, but that reopening will only
be safe if the system to test, trace and isolate is working
effectively. As more people return to work, start to travel on
public transport, and perhaps even go to pubs, cafés and
hairdressers—albeit keeping their distance—the ability to trace
contact people we do not know will become much more important.
The Secretary of State initially said that the app would be
rolled out in mid-May; it is now the end of June. When are we
actually going to see the app in action?
Obviously, as soon as possible. I agree very strongly with the
hon. Lady about the importance of contact tracing—the Test and
Trace programme is one of the largest of its kind—to ensure that,
as we manage to lift national measures, which we can because the
disease is clearly under control and the number of cases is
coming down, we can then respond through local action.
NHS Test and Trace will play an important part in our continued
fight against covid-19, but efficient co-ordination across Great
Britain will be vital to its success. What steps has my right
hon. Friend taken to ensure effective joint working between
England, Wales and Scotland?
That is an incredibly important question. Of course, I would add
Northern Ireland to that group. We have regular meetings. I have
a weekly call with my counterparts in the devolved Governments.
Of course, the devolved Governments have a huge role to play in
this. I will give whatever support I can to help the Welsh
Government to make sure that they can deliver contact tracing,
and indeed the wider testing programme, as well as possible.
Mrs Hodgson [V]
Will the Minister urgently set out a plan to support local
authorities to implement local lockdowns if needed, along with
providing them with all the resources they need to implement
this?
Yes.
Mr Speaker
I call the Select Committee Chair, .
(South West Surrey) (Con)
NHS Test and Trace is currently tracing the contacts of about 700
people every day who have the virus, but the Office for National
Statistics says that 2,500 new people are being infected every
day, which means that since the programme started, up to a
quarter of a million people have not been asked to isolate who
should have been. It is a big achievement to get the programme
going, but that is also a big gap. What are the Secretary of
State’s plans to close it?
I am not sure I agree with my right hon. Friend’s figures in
terms of the assumptions that underpin them. We have had this
discussion and this exchange before. There are a whole number of
asymptomatic cases. The critical thing about Test and Trace is to
find as many of the asymptomatic cases, and as many of the
positive test result cases, as possible. We need to do that over
time by expanding the programme.
(Central Ayrshire) (SNP)
[V]
While a proximity app would assist in identifying casual
contacts, many people were concerned that a centralised model
would harvest their data. In the trial, this one failed to detect
96% of contacts. So why did the Secretary of State persist so
long with an app that simply did not work on the majority of
phones?
I am afraid the hon. Lady is wrong. The trials in the Isle of
Wight showed that the app worked on Android phones, but was
blocked from working effectively on Apple phones; hence we are
now working with Apple and Google, as we have been over the past
few weeks, to find a system that can be effective. But I will not
sign off on an app where we do not know and have not been told by
some multinational company what it is recommending to people
because, after all, the critical thing that matters in test and
trace is that people isolate to break the chain of transmission.
Dr Whitford
I would gently suggest that iPhones are actually quite common, so
it is important that it does work on iPhones. The boss of Serco
has admitted that its contact tracing system will not be fully
functioning until the autumn, and we find that actually local
public health teams are carrying out the vast majority of contact
tracing, so would Government money not be better spent reversing
five years of budget cuts to public health?
It is very strange taking these questions from the SNP spokesman,
given that I am working with the SNP Government on resolving
exactly these problems in Scotland, and maybe the SNP would do
better to focus there. In response to the second question,
honestly, we have put £300 million of support into local
directors of public health to tackle this pandemic, and I know
that her colleagues in the Scottish Government are working hard
with local authorities in Scotland as well in exactly the same
way.
(Ellesmere Port and Neston)
(Lab)
The Prime Minister promised that 100,000 people a day would be
tested by the end of April, so since that date, on how many
occasions have more than 100,000 people been tested on any single
day?
I have not got those data exactly—[Interruption.] If the
Opposition would care to engage on the substance, rather than not
taking this seriously, yesterday, we delivered the 8 millionth
test in this country. We have delivered more than 100,000 tests
on almost every day since the end of April and at the end of last
week we were delivering 230,000 tests a day. I think what we need
from the Opposition is support for the testing programme, because
that is what people care about.
Infant Mental Health Awareness
(East Worthing and Shoreham)
(Con)
What steps he took to promote Infant Mental Health Awareness
Week. [903684]
The Minister for Patient Safety, Mental Health and Suicide
Prevention ( ) [V]
[Inaudible.]
Mr Speaker
Has the Secretary of State got the back-up, please?
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
I understand that Infant Mental Health Awareness Week was a great
success. There is much to be gained from seeing the world through
a baby’s eyes.
I am grateful to the Secretary of State for that short answer. We
have heard much about the impact of lockdown on school-age
children away from school, but little on the impact on babies and
new parents facing particular challenges on their emotional
wellbeing. Has the Secretary of State or the Minister, if she has
got her voice back, seen the research published during Infant
Mental Health Awareness Week by the First 1001 Days Movement last
week, suggesting that three quarters of parents with children
under two are feeling the detrimental impact of the lockdown,
particularly BAME parents? What are the Government doing to put
this crucial cohort on the radar and provide support before they
grow up and take the problems to school and beyond?
Mr Speaker
Is the Minister available? No. I call the Secretary of State.
My hon. Friend is absolutely right on this. I applaud the work of
the First 1001 Days Movement. It is incredibly important. I
strongly support the work that it has done to highlight the
importance of the early days of life and the time before the
birth of children. I have seen that report. I have discussed it
with the Minister and we are working very hard to put that into
effect.
Social Care Sector
(Ashfield) (Con)
What steps his Department is taking to support the social care
sector during the covid-19 outbreak. [903686]
The Minister for Care ()
Social care is at the frontline of this cruel global pandemic
here in the UK and around the world. We have brought together
support across Government, the NHS, Public Health England, local
health protection teams, the Care Quality Commission and local
authorities, and done our utmost to help care homes and home care
services to look after those in their care. The majority of care
providers have been covid-free. Our support includes access to
testing, PPE, guidance based on evidence from around the world,
improved oversight and funding.
I have received many emails from constituents who are desperate
to see and visit their family members in care homes, after months
of not seeing them. Will my hon. Friend assure me and care
workers in Ashfield and Eastwood that the Government will do
everything they can to ensure that care homes have the right
support and guidance, so that they are prepared to deal with an
influx of friends and family visitors as they begin to open their
doors in a safe way?
My hon. Friend makes an important point. I know that the current
restriction on visiting is hard for residents in care homes and
their families, and has a real impact on health and wellbeing. We
are updating our visitor guidance and intend to publish it soon.
(Leicester West) (Lab)
I, too, wish the Minister a very happy birthday.
I am sure the Minister will agree that lessons must be learned
from what has happened so far, because the virus is not over for
social care. With 13,375 deaths from covid-19 in care homes, what
does she think she should have done differently?
The hon. Lady is absolutely right that there will be a time when
we will look back and learn lessons, and I wish that not so many
people had died in social care, but right now we are looking
ahead. We are making sure that we have in place the plans to
support the social care sector through the months ahead, and we
are also pressing ahead with work on social care reform.
Cancer Centres: Radiation Therapy
(Westmorland and Lonsdale)
(LD)
If he will publish the timetable for the NHS England plan to roll
out stereotactic ablative radiotherapy to all cancer centres by
April 2021. [903688]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care ()
I thank the hon. Gentleman and the other members of the all-party
group on radiotherapy and cancer for meeting me and officials
recently. It is expected that each of the 50 NHS trusts that
provide radiotherapy will be able to deliver stereotactic
ablative radiotherapy no later than 31 March 2021. Increased
external quality assurance capacity means that we could complete
the roll-out process for all commissioned indications quicker
than that. I am sure the hon. Gentleman would agree that such a
result would be fantastic.
I very much welcome the Minister’s response and thank her
personally for her excellent attention to this matter and the
progress that she has helped to make possible. Of course, with a
60% drop in the number of cancer referrals and a 20% drop in the
number of people starting cancer treatment, we have late
diagnoses and a backlog that could, tragically, kill more people
than covid. Will the Minister therefore go further and faster and
deploy expanded radiotherapy treatment this summer to clear the
backlog? Will she commit to appointing a radiotherapy tsar and to
a rolling radiotherapy fund, so that we can stop more lives being
unnecessarily lost?
The hon. Gentleman will know which parts of that are still open
for discussion between us, but we are of course driving hard to
make sure that patients get their radiotherapy and treatment as
quickly as they can. The NHS has a “Help Us Help You” campaign:
it is open for business and people should make sure that they
attend any appointment they are called to.
NHS Workers: Mental Health
(Truro and Falmouth)
(Con)
What steps his Department is taking to support the mental health
of NHS workers during the covid-19 outbreak. [903689]
(Wolverhampton North East)
(Con)
What steps his Department is taking to support the mental health
of NHS workers during the covid-19 outbreak. [903697]
(North East Hertfordshire) (Con)
What steps his Department is taking to support the mental health
of NHS workers during the covid-19 outbreak. [903703]
The Minister for Care ()
Our NHS workers—from the doctors, nurses and allied health
professionals to the healthcare assistants, porters and all those
who work behind the scenes—are truly heroes. I wish to say a
special thank you to students: thank you to the medical students
and nursing students who courageously stepped up to work at the
frontline in a global pandemic. I am determined to do all that we
can for our NHS workers. We have set up a round-the-clock mental
health support line, which includes a freephone helpline run by
the Samaritans and an out-of-hours text support service provided
by Shout.
I thank the Minister for her answer and wish her a very happy
birthday.
Due to physical challenges with geography in rural communities,
such as much of my Truro and Falmouth constituency, there can be
higher incidences of mental health issues, loneliness and
isolation, and that has been intensified by the covid-19
pandemic. Will my hon. Friend provide an update on departmental
plans for support for mental health issues in rural communities?
My hon. Friend is absolutely right: we anticipate an increase in
demand for mental health support, including in rural communities,
as a result of the pandemic. We are working with the NHS and a
wide range of stakeholders to understand the need for mental
health support all over the country and to make sure that that
support is in place.
In my regular meetings with the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust,
the issue of staff mental health has been repeatedly raised as a
serious concern, especially among staff who are working with
covid patients. Will the Minister join me in thanking those staff
at New Cross Hospital and reassuring them that mental health
support will be available for all staff who need it?
I would be delighted to join my hon. Friend in thanking the staff
at New Cross Hospital for all that they have been doing in these
incredibly difficult times. Mental health support absolutely
should be, and is, there. There is the mental health support
helpline and the text messaging service. It is also really
important that NHS trusts take steps locally to ensure that their
staff have the support that they need.
When we stood with our neighbours and clapped for the carers, we
showed solidarity across the nation with them and recognised the
strain, stress and anxiety under which many of them were working.
Can the Minister assure me—and say what practical steps can be
taken to ensure—that, as they work through the experiences they
have had, they will get the care and support necessary for them,
and that we care for our carers?
The clap for carers initiative was fantastic because it was a
moment when we showed, as a nation, our support for our health
and social care workers, but my right hon. and learned Friend is
right that clapping is not enough. One thing that I want to do in
the months ahead is bring forward the people plan—work that had
to be paused because of covid—and to ensure that it includes all
possible support for the NHS workforce, so that the NHS can be
the best place to work in the world.
(Tooting) (Lab)
Even before the covid pandemic, our frontline NHS and care staff
were already working in overstretched and under-resourced
settings. It is heartbreaking to see how the virus has taken its
toll on them. They have had to deal with redeployment, not enough
PPE, a fear of losing patients and getting ill themselves. These
are all factors leading to staff burnout and very poor mental
health. After all their sacrifices, our frontline staff deserve
their mental health to be taken seriously. Is the Minister
satisfied with the Government’s current package of support for
frontline NHS and care staff?
The hon. Member is absolutely right about how hard it has been
for NHS staff stepping up, and we cannot say enough how grateful
we are for what they have done. I also recognise the mental
health burdens on the NHS workforce who have worked in these
really stressful circumstances. It is important not only that the
package of support is there now, but that it is there for some
time to come, because we know that the trauma and effects of
working in these environments may take a while to play through.
Cancer Targets
(Winchester) (Con)
What plans he has to meet the cancer targets in the NHS long-term
plan. [903690]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care ()
As my hon. Friend knows, one of our key commitments was to
diagnose more cancers earlier. Through NHS England and NHS
Improvement, the Government have committed over £1.3 billion to
deliver this, including with an overhaul of screening programmes
and new investment in state-of-the-art technology to transform
the process of diagnosis and to boost research and innovation. I
am sure that he will welcome the fact that 18 rapid diagnostic
centres towards our target of 40 are already up and running, as
well as the introduction of personalised care plans, which he and
I both consider very important.
I do welcome that; I have visited many of the centres. Before the
pandemic, we were battling to meet the cancer targets that I
helped to set and that my hon. Friend now looks after so ably.
Would she confirm that we have not lost sight of the 75% ambition
in the long-term plan, and whether there will be a revision to
the cancer section of the long-term plan in the light of the
backlog of the stuff that we know? Of course, there is also
plenty of stuff that we do not yet know that we know, as a result
of presentations not coming forward through primary care.
There are lessons to be learned; that is essence of my hon.
Friend’s question. I have met both Cally Palmer and Professor
Peter Johnson throughout the crisis, and our focus on cancer has
remained. Ensuring that we deliver on the long-term plan is a key
objective, and I am sure that my hon. Friend will work with me on
that.
Health and Social Care Workers
(Eastleigh) (Con)
What steps his Department is taking to support the health and
social care workforce during the covid-19 outbreak. [903691]
The Minister for Care ()
Our health and social care workforce are at the frontline in
fighting this cruel disease. I would particularly like to talk
about social care workers, who in the past have not had the same
recognition as NHS workers. Let this pandemic be the moment when
that changed and when we, as a society, recognise the skills,
compassion and commitment of our entire care workforce. We have
sought to put in place the same support for social care workers
as there is for NHS workers and funding to local authorities to
pass on to care providers, so that they can pay social care staff
full wages for isolating due to covid-19.
I wish the Minister a happy birthday. The coronavirus pandemic
has highlighted how vital social care workers are to our nation,
and we as a House should thank them for the job that they do.
Unpaid carers in particular have borne a huge weight throughout
this pandemic, so will my hon. Friend tell the House what steps
she has taken to support unpaid carers during this period?
Unpaid carers are vital in our society. Being an unpaid carer is
hard at the best of times, but even harder during this pandemic,
and my hon. Friend is right to draw attention to that. During the
pandemic, we have published guidance specifically for carers. We
provided funding to extend the Carers UK helpline, we made unpaid
carers a priority group for testing, and we are working with
local government to support the reopening of day care services as
soon as it is safe to do so.
Covid-19: Continuing Healthcare
(West Worcestershire) (Con)
What plans he has in place for the provision of continuing
healthcare for people recovering out of hospital from covid-19.
[903692]
The Minister for Care ()
We know that people who have been very ill with covid will take
some time to recover and may need ongoing help after they have
left hospital. At the moment, as part of the covid emergency
measures, continuing healthcare assessments are not required,
which means that people can be properly discharged when they are
well enough and have access to the ongoing healthcare they need.
Happy birthday to the Minister. Our wonderful NHS staff have
helped so many people recover from this terrible disease and
leave hospital, and many of them will have been ventilated for a
long time. Is the Minister planning to set up a specialist
service that helps with those very difficult cases where a lot of
rehabilitation will be needed?
My hon. Friend raises an important point. We are still learning
about the impact of this horrible disease, but we know it may
take people some time to recover and they may need extra help
after they have been discharged from hospital. We are indeed
doing work to ensure that the right support is there for them.
Covid-19: Next Phase
(Edinburgh South West)
(SNP)
What plans he has to ensure that the NHS has the capacity to
tackle the next phase of the covid-19 outbreak. [903693]
(Paisley and Renfrewshire
North) (SNP)
What plans he has to ensure that the NHS has the capacity to
tackle the next phase of the covid-19 outbreak. [903694]
(East Devon) (Con)
What progress his Department has made on ensuring the provision
of adequate critical care capacity in hospitals during the
covid-19 outbreak. [903700]
(Grantham and Stamford)
(Con)
What progress his Department has made on ensuring the provision
of adequate critical care capacity in hospitals during the
covid-19 outbreak. [903701]
(Edinburgh East) (SNP)
What plans he has to ensure that the NHS has the capacity to
tackle the next phase of the covid-19 outbreak. [903705]
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
Thanks to unprecedented action, we have protected the NHS. It was
not overwhelmed during the peak of this crisis, and all covid-19
patients admitted to hospital were able to receive urgent
treatment that they needed. We remain vigilant.
I thank the Minister for his answer, but after the end of the
Brexit transition period, all four health services in the UK and
Northern Ireland will face increased bureaucracy and increased
costs to import drugs from Europe. On top of that, it has been
estimated that a trade deal with the United States of America
could increase the drugs bill from £18 billion to £45 billion.
How will the Secretary of State prevent these extra costs from
hampering NHS capacity?
First, there is no reason at all why the exit from the transition
period should have the impact that the hon. and learned Lady
describes. We have put in place a huge amount of work to ensure
that Brexit works positively for our life sciences industry and
indeed, as we do now, that we can buy pharmaceutical products
from around the world, not just from within the European Union.
As for the idea that somehow a trade deal will increase prices of
drugs, that is flat wrong.
[V]
With the need for additional infection control measures, how can
the Secretary of State ensure sufficient staff to support parents
to spend time with their babies in special care baby units, when
covid-19 is creating additional barriers to parents being with
their baby as much as they want and need to be? Moreover, will he
look at an emergency form of neonatal leave and pay, or a
subsistence fund similar to Scotland’s, to allow parents affected
by covid-19 to have the time they need with their baby?
We are putting in a huge amount of support for maternity services
and other services across the NHS in England. Of course, when it
comes to the hon. Gentleman’s constituents in Glasgow, he will
have to ask the SNP Government.
Local construction firms are working around the clock to build
the NHS Nightingale hospital in Exeter, based in my constituency
of East Devon. I am sure the Secretary of State will agree that
we all hope it will never have to be used. Can he assure my
constituents that the Nightingale will help the Royal Devon and
Exeter Hospital, our community hospitals and our health and
wellbeing hub to continue to focus efforts on delivering the
superb services that they are well known for across East Devon?
Absolutely. My hon. Friend is a great advocate for Devon, and for
East Devon in particular. The Nightingale Hospital in Exeter will
have more flexible uses than the previous Nightingales, so, for
instance, it will be usable should there be extra winter
pressures. This is all part of protecting our NHS. At the heart
of our response to this dreadful disease, we protected the NHS,
making sure it was always there for everyone. That has been down
to, and is a testament to, the work of so many people, who
delivered on that requirement.
Yesterday, our local NHS trust, the United Lincolnshire Hospitals
NHS Trust, temporarily downgraded and closed emergency admissions
at Grantham and District Hospital, in response to covid-19. After
many years of uncertainty, there is understandable scepticism
about this latest move by the trust. Will the Secretary of State
join me in calling on the trust to ensure that these changes are
indeed temporary and that covid is not used as cover to make them
permanent?
Thanks to my hon. Friend’s assiduous work on behalf of his
constituents in Grantham, and at his suggestion, I discussed this
issue directly with NHS officials. Grantham’s unit will be open,
24/7, as an urgent treatment centre; this is part of plans to
ensure that covid and non-covid services are kept as separate as
possible. In addition, thanks to his intervention, we will ensure
that that position will be reviewed quarterly.
[V]
The NHS in England had more than 40,000 nursing vacancies at the
start of the covid pandemic, but student nurses stepped forward
to contribute to the response. So why are many of their contracts
now being terminated, given that they may well be needed this
autumn? Would a better approach not be to increase nursing
bursaries to £10,000, as they are in Scotland, where nursing
vacancies are half those of England?
We have increased by about 10,000 the number of nurses in the NHS
in the past year, and during the crisis that number increased
further. We also set out at the start how we are paying student
nurses, as they stepped up to the mark, as the hon. Gentleman
rightly said. I am delighted that so many of them did, and we are
sticking to the agreements that we set out with the student
nurses at the start of the crisis.
Covid-19: Testing Kits for Care Homes
(Southend West) (Con)
What progress his Department has made on delivering covid-19
testing kits to care homes. [903695]
The Minister for Care ()
We are doing all we can to help care homes control and prevent
covid outbreaks, and the majority of care homes have not had
outbreaks. Testing is an important part of that. On 11 May, we
launched a programme of testing all staff and residents in care
homes, starting with older people and those with dementia, based
on public health guidance. We met our target of offering tests to
all these care homes by 6 June, which involved sending more than
1 million test kits to 9,000 care homes. We are now getting tests
out to all the other Care Quality Commission-registered care
homes for adults that ordered them on the testing portal.
Further to what my hon. Friend has said, will she confirm that
there is a rolling programme to test for covid-19 in our care
homes? Recently, a care home in my constituency had a whole-home
test and found that someone was positive. When it then asked for
another test for everyone, it was told by NHS England that it was
not eligible, and that cannot be right.
I will say two things on that. First, when a care home has a new
outbreak, either for the first time or after having recovered
from a previous outbreak, it should contact its local health
protection team to arrange for initial testing of symptomatic
residents, in order to confirm the outbreak. The local health
protection team or the director of public health can then refer
the care home to the national testing team so that it can be
prioritised for whole-home testing.
Mesh Treatment
(Clacton) (Con)
What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of NHS
services for the treatment of mesh complications. [903698]
The Minister for Patient Safety, Mental Health and Suicide
Prevention ( ) [V]
Departmental officials have been working with NHS England and NHS
Improvement to establish means of specialist support for those
women requiring it. NHS England is in the process of
commissioning a number of mesh removal centres, which it hopes to
be operational later this year. We urge anyone who has concerns
about their treatment to speak to a clinician.
I thank my hon. Friend for her answer, but I understand from
constituents that many women have to travel miles for their
operations in great discomfort, and that when they get there,
they are told they are not eligible. As the Minister said, the
mesh recovery centres have not yet been opened. I have met women
who are going through utter pain and torment as a result of
surgical mesh surgery. There are concerns that English and Welsh
patients do not get the same monetary help as their Scottish
counterparts. What is the Minister doing to address these issues?
Ms Dorries
On access to services, NHS England advises that it is aware of
the negative impact that covid-19 is having on patients during
what is a very challenging period. As a result of my hon.
Friend’s question, I will ask officials to look into why women
may or may not be eligible for services during this time. As
healthcare is devolved, the Scottish element of his question is a
matter for the Scottish Government. I would advise anyone who
intends to make a claim for compensation or is having difficulty
seeking services to seek independent advice or see a clinician.
It is important to reiterate that NHS England is currently in the
process of commissioning those specialist services for mesh
removal, which it hopes will be operational later this year.
Covid-19: Vaccine
(Montgomeryshire) (Con)
What steps his Department is taking to support the development of
a vaccine for covid-19. [903699]
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
Vaccine development is progressing well, with human clinical
trials underway by both the University of Oxford and Imperial
College London. We are also exploring how other vaccines, both
from the UK and internationally, can be deployed here should they
show promise.
Can my right hon. Friend reassure me, the House and my Welsh
constituents in Montgomeryshire that if and when a vaccine for
covid-19 is developed, it will be rolled out in a UK-wide
partnership? Will he work with the devolved healthcare systems
but ensure that the vaccine is UK-accessed?
Yes, of course. That is an incredibly important question for
anybody living in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, like my
hon. Friend’s constituents. The vaccine programme is being taken
forward on a UK-wide basis. Of course people living in the
devolved nations should have access to vaccines according to a
prioritisation that is clinical and not based on where people
live. We will absolutely work with the devolved authorities on
the delivery and deployment of that vaccine. Of course, we want
the whole country to get the vaccines, if they become available,
according to clinical priority.
Topical Questions
(Eddisbury) (Con)
[903649]If he will make a statement on his departmental
responsibilities.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
Yesterday, clinicians set out our advice for those who are
shielding because they are clinically extremely vulnerable. The
whole House will want to pay tribute to the enormous sacrifice of
that group, who are among the most vulnerable to covid-19. Very
shortly, the Prime Minister will set out to the House the next
steps to get the country back on her feet.
There is no doubt that lockdown has taken its toll on the mental
health and wellbeing of many children of all ages, whether by way
of social isolation, physical inactivity or a sense of loss. I
know that my right hon. Friend is very exercised by that, so, as
we understand more about the impact, will he look again at the
long-term NHS plan to establish whether it is really able to meet
what will be a more acute challenge in the future?
That is a very important question on supporting children’s mental
health. We absolutely reiterate the long-term plan ambitions for
service transformation and expansion. Indeed, one of the things
we have learned during coronavirus is that when it comes to
paediatric mental health, telemedicine can actually have a better
and more effective impact than face to face. That is a good thing
to have learned and will help the roll-out further.
(Leicester South)
(Lab/Co-op)
On the app, the Secretary of State told us it was crucial and
would be ready by mid-May. Experts warned him it would not work.
He spent three months, wasted £12 million and has got nothing to
show for it. It is a good job he is a tech-savvy expert on apps;
otherwise, this would be a right shambles now, wouldn’t it?
On the contrary, ensuring that we use technology to its best
possible effects is incredibly important. I would have thought
that the shadow Secretary of State would want to side with and
support the efforts of all those, including in the NHS, who are
doing the work to ensure that we can get this up and running as
quickly as possible.
In the past few days, I have been listening to the Secretary of
State’s excuses. He is like the Eric Morecambe of the Commons: he
has been playing all the right notes, just not necessarily in the
right order. On test and trace, local areas such as Leicester,
which has had a spike, still do not have local data; GPs still
cannot refer people for testing; and NHS staff are still not
tested regularly. He has spent £100 million on a Serco and Sitel
call centre where the tracers are saying they have nothing to do.
This is not a “world-beating” system; it is more like a wing and
a prayer. When are we going to get a functional test, trace and
isolate strategy?
The shadow Secretary of State is far better when he supports the
Government than when he pretends to oppose them. We have all seen
him explaining why the steps that the Government are taking are
the sensible ones, why it is important to move from a national
lockdown as much as is safely possible to local outbreak control,
and why test and trace is important. When he gets on to saying
that the money we have spent to protect the NHS and put in place
the actions needed to get us out of the lockdown is wasted, I
think that that is opposition for opposition’s sake.
(Witney) (Con)
Maintaining safe and healthy food standards is essential for
public health. As we leave the European Union and sign trade
deals around the world, what are Ministers doing to ensure that
the system maintains public confidence? [903653]
As we sign trade deals around the world, we will have enhanced
animal and food standards in this country, and of course the Food
Standards Agency plays a vital role in ensuring that those
standards are upheld.
(Gordon) (SNP)
On 21 May, the Prime Minister bowed to pressure and agreed to
abolish the immigration health surcharge for NHS workers.
However, NHS workers applying to renew their visas are being told
by the Home Office that this policy is still being applied and is
still in place. Why is this immoral and mean-spirited policy
still being applied, in light of the Prime Minister’s clear
promise? [903650]
We are putting this policy into action and it will be
retrospective to the date of the announcement by the Prime
Minister.
(Ludlow) (Con) [V]
Yesterday’s announcement on easing restrictions for those like me
who are among the 2.2 million people who have been shielding for
months is very welcome. What reassurance can my right hon. Friend
give on the scientific evidence that supported the decision to
ease restrictions for shielders from 6 July and to finish them on
31 July? [903654]
I am absolutely delighted that my right hon. Friend will be able
to follow guidance and take more steps out after 6 July. The
decisions on shielding were all based on the best clinical
advice. Dr Jenny Harries, the deputy chief medical officer, has
led the medical advice on this programme with great élan and
wisdom. The reason that we are able to make these changes and
recommend these steps to my right hon. Friend and the 2.2 million
others in his situation is that we have protected the NHS and got
the virus right under control.
(Stockton North) (Lab)
My constituent Jonathan e-mailed me to say: “Today for the first
time my partner will see our baby and hear their tiny heartbeat.
However, I’m writing to you from the car outside as she attends
our 12 week scan. I’m banned from attending due to government
guidelines.”Jonathan says he is being robbed of enjoying these
special moments with Emma, yet they can shop together, travel on
public transport and even visit the beach. What does the
Secretary of State have to say to expectant fathers like him?
[903651]
Of course it has been necessary to have tight controls over
visitors in hospitals during this crisis, because people picking
up nosocomial infections in hospital has been one part of the
epidemic that we need to get under control. My heart goes out to
those many people who have made sacrifices, including the hon.
Member’s constituent, and of course we always keep this under
review.
(Newbury) (Con)
As we return to normality, we inevitably run a risk of a second
wave of the virus. What infection threshold would my right hon.
Friend consider sufficient to warrant further lockdown, and what
criteria would be applied to determine the geographical ambit of
any future lockdown? [903655]
My hon. Friend makes an important point. She may have seen this
morning that in Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia has been put back
into lockdown because of a local outbreak. So far, the local
outbreaks we have seen have essentially been clusters in very
small areas, and we have been able to bust those clusters and
tackle them. We do, of course, hold the powers to have wider
local lockdowns. Those will be based on judgments based on the
epidemiological advice and advised by the joint biosecurity
centre, working with all the relevant agencies.
(Twickenham) (LD)
The Secretary of State rightly says that black lives matter. The
time for action is now, yet latest figures show that black
African and black Caribbean people are four times more likely to
be detained under the Mental Health Act. When will he bring
forward the White Paper on the mental health Bill? Will he please
ensure that that legislation enshrines the four principles laid
out in the Wessely review, including treating the patient as an
individual, so that we can start to tackle racial disparities in
mental health treatment? [903652]
We will bring forward that White Paper. The work has been ongoing
even while we have been dealing with coronavirus. As far as I am
concerned, the Wessely review is one of the finest pieces of work
on the treatment of mental ill health that has been done anywhere
in the world.
(Clwyd South) (Con)
We have just marked Loneliness Awareness Week. Does the Secretary
of State agree that combating loneliness is vital in ensuring the
health and wellbeing of elderly people? I have seen excellent
work at the Rainbow Centre in Penley in my constituency and by
the charity I helped to set up, the Concertina Charitable Trust,
which provides live music in care homes and day centres. [903657]
Absolutely. When we set up the loneliness strategy in 2018, when
I was the Culture Secretary, I had no idea that covid-19 would
make it so vital. I very much hope that, in England at least, the
measures the Prime Minister is due to set out very shortly might
help in that regard. Covid has underlined the importance of
loneliness as an issue that we must directly and actively tackle.
(Bristol South) (Lab)
At the start of the crisis, as a former emergency planner for the
NHS, I thought the Government would trust the local
well-established emergency planning systems that were in place
and they had my support. However, they have wasted time and
money. My hon. Friend the Member for Leicester South () is quite right to
criticise the Government, because that has led to excess deaths
and time lost. It is welcome that we are now supporting the
local, but will the Secretary of State tell me why, when his
friends at Deloitte have been set up to do the testing at Bristol
airport, the complaints process is run through an NHS trust?
[903659]
Because this is a big team effort by a combination of public and
private sector partners. I pay tribute to Deloitte, without which
the testing programme would not be possible. I pay tribute to all
the pharmaceutical companies and I pay tribute to Amazon, which
has delivered the home testing with remarkable success. Instead
of trying to divide, we should unite and bring people together.
(Birmingham, Northfield)
(Con)
Dr David Rosser and his team at the University Hospitals
Birmingham NHS foundation trust have done amazing work during the
pandemic to make sure that people in Birmingham are safe and
cared for. Will the Secretary of State give them all the
flexibility and support they need to ensure that services at
hospitals like Queen Elizabeth can go back to normal as quickly
and as safely as possible? [903662]
Yes. David Rosser is a great leader of a very, very impressive
trust. I was speaking to him only last week. There is an
important lesson from covid, which is that many of the NHS
central rules and much of the bureaucracy was lifted to allow
local systems to respond as a health system. That has worked
well. We need to learn from that. We need to not only make that
permanent, but see where we can go further in that sort of system
working.
