Health and Social Care
The Secretary of State was asked—
Covid-19: Vaccine Roll-out
(Colne Valley) (Con)
What progress his Department has made on rolling out covid-19
vaccines.
(Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)
What progress his Department has made on rolling out covid-19
vaccines.
(York Outer) (Con)
What progress his Department has made on rolling out covid-19
vaccines.
(Portsmouth South) (Lab)
What recent assessment he has made of the progress of the
covid-19 vaccination programme.
(Milton Keynes North) (Con)
What progress his Department has made on rolling out covid-19
vaccines.
(Scunthorpe) (Con)
What progress his Department has made on rolling out covid-19
vaccines.
(Brigg and
Goole) (Con)
What progress his Department has made on rolling out covid-19
vaccines.
(Keighley) (Con)
What progress his Department has made on rolling out covid-19
vaccines.
(Twickenham) (LD)
What progress his Department has made in rolling out covid-19
vaccinations.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
I am proud that the NHS began vaccinating patients against
covid-19 on 8 December, at the start of the biggest immunisation
programme in British history. I am delighted to tell the House
that more than 2.3 million people in the UK have now received the
first dose of their covid-19 vaccine. Over the coming weeks and
months, the rate of vaccination will increase as more doses
become available and the vaccination programme continues to
expand.
[V]
Thousands of elderly and vulnerable people across Kirklees have
already been vaccinated, but some of my constituents are rightly
worried that they may have to travel to large vaccination centres
in other parts of the country to get their jabs. Will the
Secretary of State please confirm that all my constituents will
be able to get their jabs locally? When will the new vaccination
centre at Huddersfield’s John Smith’s stadium be opening?
Everybody will be able to get a jab locally. We are committed to
ensuring that across England a local vaccination centre will be
available within 10 miles of where everyone lives. For the vast
majority of people—over 95%—this will be a fixed, permanent site.
For some of the most rural parts—more rural than my hon. Friend’s
constituency—there will be mobile units. If people get called to
a mass vaccination centre and they feel it is too far for them to
travel, they will be able to get a vaccine locally through one of
the local GP services. I am delighted that the centre at the John
Smith’s stadium in Huddersfield is going to be opening in the
next couple of weeks.
I very much welcome the great work by my Government colleagues to
secure the vaccine supplies for all parts of the United Kingdom
and the amazing work of NHS staff to ensure that the vaccines are
being delivered into people’s arms as quickly as possible. Will
the Secretary of State tell the House how many vaccines have been
delivered by the UK Government for use in Scotland?
We distribute the vaccine supplies that are available according
to population, so it is based on the Barnett formula. In
Scotland, of course, the Scottish NHS is delivering. A fair
population share of vaccine is available to the Scottish NHS—that
is available right now, so the stocks are there—and then it is
for the NHS in Scotland to do the vital work of making sure that
each and every one of those jabs gets into somebody’s arm and
helps to protect lives.
[V]
The vaccination programme in York is making encouraging progress,
with the first doses of the Oxford vaccine having arrived last
week and Askham Bar and Haxby centres delivering injections in
line with the priority list, which is fantastic news. However,
can the Secretary of State reassure me that every care is being
taken to ensure that smaller GP practices in rural areas are in
no way disadvantaged in scheduling their patients for vaccination
relative to the larger urban practices?
Yes, of course. Small or large, rural or urban, we need GPs to be
vaccinating right across the country, and that is what is
happening. We are organising it through what are called primary
care networks, which are groups of GPs that cover between 30,000
and 50,000 patients. The reason we are doing that is so that each
of a group of GP practices can contribute some staff to the
vaccination team so that they can carry on with the other vital
work that they are doing. The networks are of course larger in
more sparsely populated parts of the country such as North
Yorkshire, but nevertheless we have put in place the commitment
to everybody having a vaccination centre within 10 miles of where
they live, to make sure that we reach all parts.
There is welcome news that St James’ Hospital in my constituency
is to become a vaccination centre, and constituents are eager to
see it up and running. Will the Secretary of State confirm when
the hard-working staff and volunteers on the ground will receive
the doses and equipment that they need to open the centre?
I am really delighted to highlight that news and I am also glad
that, as the hon. Gentleman has just demonstrated, this is a
national effort that we can all play our part in. The cross-party
support that we and the NHS have received for the vaccination
effort is incredibly welcome, and I know that the NHS team on the
ground will really appreciate the hon. Gentleman’s support. The
kit will be delivered on time—over 98% of vaccines have been
delivered on time. Of course, in a very large logistical exercise
there is always the occasional hiccup, but I will get back to the
hon. Gentleman and make sure that the Minister for covid vaccine
deployment, my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon
(), gets back to him with the precise details of when
the kit will arrive at his local hospital.
It is fantastic news that 2.3 million people across the whole of
the UK have already received the first dose of this vaccine.
Businesses and venues across Milton Keynes are queuing up to
offer their support for the vaccination programme, including the
wonderful ECG Training, where I went for a covid test last week—I
passed by the way, Mr Speaker. Can the Secretary of State tell us
what the plan is for accepting these kind offers of help and
support with the vaccination programme?
I am really delighted that ECG Training is involved in hosting
some of the testing centres. We have had amazing offers of
support in the form of places that are now being used as testing
centres and as some of the 1,000-plus vaccination centres across
the country. We have been working since the summer with some
sites to ensure that they were ready to be vaccination centres.
We are always open to further offers of support, but I would say
that we have been working on this for some time. It is also
important that, for infection control reasons, testing centres
and vaccine sites that are put in the same place are kept
separate, not least because we want to make sure that when an
octogenarian goes for a vaccine, they are kept safe in the
process of getting that vaccine. The thing to do is raise this
specific offer of support with the Minister responsible for
vaccine deployment, my hon. Friend the Member for
Stratford-on-Avon.
[V]
I thank my right hon. Friend for his help in getting the vaccine
into our Ironstone Centre, Scunthorpe Hospital, and, I am really
pleased to say, some of our care homes, too. Can he tell us how
the new Oxford vaccine will speed up access to the jab for those
still waiting and what that means for towns and villages in my
area, such as Hibaldstow, Scawby, Kirton in Lindsey, and
Messingham? Will they see more local vaccination centres?
It is so important to get the vaccine to care homes. Over a
quarter of care home residents have now received their first dose
of the vaccine, and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is much easier
to get to care homes. We will be doing that by taking the vaccine
to the care home rather than opening new centres, but I want
people in Hibaldstow, Scawby, Kirton in Lindsey, Messingham and
throughout the Scunthorpe constituency to know that they will be
within 10 miles of a vaccination centre, because we know how
important it is that everybody can access this vaccine.
[V]
May I also thank the five GP vaccination centres serving my
constituency in Brigg, Goole, Owston Ferry, Scunthorpe and
Barton? They are doing a cracking job at getting this vaccine
out. As we move from phase 1 into phase 2, the Joint Committee
for Vaccination and Immunisation has advised that we can start
looking at particular occupations. May I ask the Secretary of
State to bear in mind shop workers who have had to work
throughout this pandemic, including at the beginning, without any
protection, and who deal with hundreds of people every day? Can
we make sure that they are prioritised, as we move from phase 1
into phase 2?
Yes, I want to thank shop workers in essential shops who have to
be there for all of us, even in these difficult times when the
virus is widely spread. We will be looking very carefully at
those professions that will need to be prioritised in phase 2 of
the prioritisation programme. We will look at teachers, police
and others, but we will also look at shop workers and will make
those decisions based on the data.
I commend my right hon. Friend for what he is doing in terms of
the vaccine roll-out. Across West Yorkshire, we have four
large-scale vaccination centres planned, but that means that we
have one in the Bradford district. May I put in a plea to have a
large-scale vaccination centre in Keighley? Can we also consider
as vaccination centres smaller-scale offerings that are coming
forward from places such as Ilkley Rugby Club?
I will absolutely look at those two suggestions. I also remind my
hon. Friend, all of his constituents and all those across the
Bradford district that, yes, there are the large-scale
vaccination centres, but there is also the primary care-based
delivery, which is happening right across the country.
[V]
It has been reported that Pinnacle, the IT system being used to
organise the vaccinations, is already struggling to cope with
heavy usage. My local GP vaccination hub, which I visited on
Friday, reported that it was being slow, and there have also been
worrying reports about very elderly people having to queue for a
long time outdoors while staff try to get the IT system working.
Will the Secretary of State please confirm what action the
Department is taking to ensure that the systems work more
efficiently, and will be able to cope as the number of
vaccination sites grows?
Clearly, the IT underpinnings of this project are critical. The
Pinnacle system is working well, but we are constantly monitoring
it to make sure that it supports the roll-out of the vaccine.
(Leicester South) (Lab/Co-op)
Our sense of encouragement at the roll-out of the vaccine is
tempered by our deep alarm at the situation we are in. Over
80,000 people have died. On current trends, we are likely to see
more deaths in this wave than we saw in the first. Millions still
have to go to work and the virus is now more infectious. Those
still going to work of course include NHS staff, and the British
Medical Association says that 46,000 of them are off sick with
covid. Can the Secretary of State go further and faster, and
ensure that frontline NHS staff receive the vaccination in the
next two weeks? Will he provide daily updates on the numbers of
NHS staff who have been vaccinated?
We do now provide daily statistics on the roll-out of the
vaccine, and we will provide more data as the system matures and
the roll-out advances. The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to
raise the challenges that the NHS is facing today. Although the
roll-out of the vaccine is proceeding well and we are on track to
hit the targets that we have set, we must also stress to
everybody the importance of following the rules that are in place
to control this virus and reduce the pressures on the NHS, which
are very considerable at this moment.
We all understand that, until vaccination is rolled out more
generally, we will continue to see hospitalisations. The NHS is
currently in a crisis: beds are filling up; intensive care unit
surge capacity is being maxed out; ambulances are backed up
outside hospitals; and there are warnings about oxygen supplies.
Hospitals were not built for these demands on oxygen, so can the
Secretary of State assure us that there are contingencies in
place, and can he guarantee that no hospital will run out of
oxygen in the coming weeks?
There are very significant pressures on the NHS. On the specific
question about oxygen supplies, the limitation is not the supply
of oxygen itself; it is the ability to get the oxygen through the
physical oxygen supply systems in hospitals. That essentially
becomes a constraint on an individual hospital’s ability to take
more covid patients, because the supply of oxygen is obviously
central to the treatment of people with covid in hospital. As we
have a national health service, if a hospital cannot put more
pressure on its oxygen system, we take people to a different
hospital. I assure the hon. Gentleman that there is no constraint
that we are anywhere near on the national availability of
oxygen—oxygenated beds. As he knows and as we have seen reported,
sometimes patients have to be moved to a different location—as
local as possible, but occasionally across the country—to ensure
that they get the treatment that they need.
(Central
Ayrshire) (SNP) [V]
Yesterday, the Secretary of State revealed that only a quarter of
care home residents in England had been vaccinated against covid,
despite being the No. 1 priority group. Can he explain why they
were not the first cohort to receive the Pfizer vaccine in
December, as was the case in Scotland?
That is not quite right. I am glad to report that care home
residents have been receiving the Pfizer jab. That is
harder—logistically more difficult. Looking at the total roll-out
of the programme, I am delighted that, as the hon. Lady says,
over a quarter of people who are residents in care homes are now
able to get the jab, and that number is rising sharply.
Mr Speaker
We return to Dr Whitford. [Interruption.] Dr Whitford’s second
question has disappeared, so we will move on.
Covid-19: Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment
(Stockport) (Lab)
What assessment he has made of the effect of the second wave of
covid-19 on cancer (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment delayed during
the covid-19 outbreak.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care ()
First, I am sure the whole House will want to join me in sending
our best wishes to my right hon. Friend the Member for Old Bexley
and Sidcup () and his family for his treatment. We look
forward to seeing him back in this place in due course.
The NHS has been clear since the beginning of the pandemic that
the continuation of urgent cancer treatment must be a priority.
Latest data showed urgent cancer referrals continuing to
increase, with nearly 88% of all patients seeing a specialist
within two weeks of referral and nearly 96% of patients receiving
treatment within 31 days of a decision to treat. However, I must
caveat that by saying that the context for this data was before
the recent rise in coronavirus cases. The NHS is open. It is
hugely important that any person worried about any symptom comes
forward and knows that care is there.
[V]
I would like to associate myself with the comments regarding the
right hon. Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup () and I wish him a speedy recovery.
I also want to thank the hard-working colleagues in the NHS who
are doing everything they can to ensure that cancer care and
treatment can continue. However, unfortunately, due to the
unprecedented demand on ICU capacity caused by the pandemic, an
increasing number of urgent priority 2 cancer surgeries have been
cancelled. Can the Minister assure me that everything is being
done to work with the Treasury to increase capacity available to
the NHS by continuing to commission the independent sector to
ensure that urgent care and treatment can continue so that cancer
does not become the forgotten “c” in this crisis?
I can unreservedly say yes to that. The NHS is under huge
pressure and there have been some instances where, for totally
understandable and unavoidable reasons such as staff ICU capacity
or the safety of patients themselves, treatment has been
rescheduled. Any such decisions are always made as a last resort.
However, we have changed the way we operate, making sure that we
have covid-secure cancer hubs, consolidated surgery and
centralised triage to prioritise those patients whose need is
most urgent. We have utilised the independent sector, and will
continue to do so, to increase capacity. These measures, and, as
the hon. Member said, the tremendous efforts of our NHS cancer
workforce and their teams, are helping to ensure that those who
need treatment can continue without delay.
(Nottingham
North) (Lab/Co-op)
Throughout the pandemic we have been calling for a cancer
recovery plan, so we were glad to see one published in December,
but disappointed that it ran only for a couple of months. Events
have clearly overtaken us since that publication, and the
unprecedented demand on our NHS risks further delays to treatment
and to people entering the system for treatment. These plans must
now go much, much further. Will the Minister make a commitment
today to work with the sector and interested parliamentarians to
develop the recovery plan into one that properly addresses the
backlog and builds improved treatment pathways for the future?
The cancer services recovery plan was worked on by clinicians and
stakeholders, including the charities, to make sure that we had a
robust plan for addressing the challenges that have come about
throughout the pandemic. The levels remain high for referral and
treatment, despite other pressures on the NHS. I assure the hon.
Gentleman that I regularly meet Cally Palmer and Professor Peter
Johnson, who lead for the NHS in this area. We have made it
absolutely clear, since the beginning of the pandemic, that the
continuation of urgent cancer treatment is a priority, as is its
restoration. We are doing what we can to ensure that swift
treatment is there for everybody. I regularly meet all-party
parliamentary groups—indeed, I am meeting one on Thursday of this
week—so I can assure the hon. Gentleman on that front.
Mr Speaker
We are going back to Scotland for the second question from Dr
Whitford, to be answered by the Secretary of State.
Dr Whitford
As the Secretary of State highlighted earlier, primary care
networks will play a major role in rolling out the vaccine in
England, but we have heard previously from MPs that not all areas
are covered by such networks. How does he plan to avoid a
postcode lottery and ensure equitable access, with outreach into
vulnerable ethnic or deprived communities?
Some 99% of GP surgeries are members of primary care networks.
The very small minority that are not are being dealt with to
ensure that we have fair access to vaccines, and they will of
course be covered by invitations to the large vaccination sites
as well.
I agree strongly with the hon. Lady that it is vital that we
reach into and support those communities who may be more distant
and harder to reach both geographically and, in some cases,
culturally. The NHS is very well placed to do that and is one of
the most trusted public services in encouraging those from all
backgrounds to take the jab. Pharmacists, too, will play a vital
role in the outreach programme.
Covid-19: Community Testing
(Rother
Valley) (Con)
What progress his Department has made on rolling out community
testing for covid-19.
(South Derbyshire) (Con)
What progress his Department has made on rolling out community
testing for covid-19.
Karl MᶜCartney (Lincoln) (Con)
What progress his Department has made on rolling out community
testing for covid-19.
The Minister for Care ()
Community asymptomatic testing is an important tool in the fight
against covid-19. We have delivered more than 5 million lateral
flow tests to the 117 local authorities that have already gone
live with testing their communities, and we are rapidly expanding
the programme to all remaining local authorities in England, as
well as working with devolved Administrations on their plans.
[V]
Ninety-four-year-old Tom Drury-Smith from Todwick was the first
to receive the vaccine in Rother Valley at the Anston medical
centre, thanks to the amazing work of the Rotherham CCG and the
primary care network. Does my hon. Friend agree that the key to
both community testing and vaccine uptake is to ensure that
people do not have to travel far to access centres, especially
those who are older and do not have access to cars? Can she
assure me and others that vaccine centres and community testing
centres will be sited as appropriately as possible, including in
Rother valley areas such as Swallownest and Maltby?
It is great to hear about the work of the Rotherham CCG and my
hon. Friend’s primary care network, which are clearly on the
front foot in this vital work of vaccinating people who are at
high risk in his community. As he may have heard from the
Secretary of State earlier, we are making sure that everybody is
able to access community testing as they need it and has a
vaccination centre within reach.
Mrs Wheeler [V]
Will the Minister join me in welcoming the opening of community
testing centres around Swadlincote in recent weeks, paving the
way for greater testing capability and coverage right across
Derbyshire? Will she also confirm that the rapid lateral flow
tests being used are accurate and reliable and are an important
tool in tackling asymptomatic transmission of the covid virus?
I join my hon. Friend in welcoming the opening of community
testing centres in Swadlincote. Asymptomatic testing enables us
to pick up cases in high prevalence areas that otherwise would go
undetected, which means that we can break chains of transmission.
There has been extensive clinical evaluation from Public Health
England and Oxford University, which shows that lateral flow
tests are appropriate for that use. They identify over two thirds
of all people who have covid-19 but often do not have symptoms
and, importantly, they catch the vast majority with a high viral
load.
Karl MᶜCartney [V]
What can be done to provide schoolteachers in Lincoln and across
the country with readily available rapid lateral flow antigen
tests, to enable them to carry on teaching, schools to stay open
and maybe exams to be taken?
I can assure my hon. Friend that most secondary schools and
colleges have already set up testing sites and have begun weekly
testing, using lateral flow devices for staff currently in
school. Staff could also participate in daily contact testing on
site, and primary schools will shortly be receiving test kits for
weekly staff testing and also for daily contact testing.
(Ellesmere Port and Neston) (Lab)
We can have all the testing in the world, but it will not be
effective if people do not self-isolate after a positive result.
We have repeatedly said that compliance with self-isolation rules
is not good enough; with only one in eight people qualifying for
the self-isolation payment, that is not surprising. Can the
Minister ensure that everyone is properly supported to
self-isolate from now on and explain why those who test positive
after a lateral flow test cannot apply for a payment and do not
even enter the national test and trace system?
We absolutely recognise not only the importance of
self-isolation, which is critical in breaking the chains of
transmission, but that it is not always easy for people to do. We
recognise, for instance, the cost of self-isolation, and that is
why we introduced a payment of £500 for those who are on low
incomes and unable to work from home while isolating. We will
continue to make sure that people have the support they need to
self-isolate.
Covid-19: Innova Lateral Flow Tests
(Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) (SNP)
What the evidential basis is for the use of Innova lateral flow
tests for covid-19 in the asymptomatic population.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
The Innova lateral flow tests for covid-19 identify a substantial
proportion of those who are shedding viral load due to their
covid-19. We of course identify, analyse and publish the
evidential basis for the use of these tests, as with the other
tests that are used in the national testing programme.
[V]
I would like to thank the Secretary of State for that answer, and
I thank him also for his helpful response to my questions in the
Select Committee last week. In that spirit, he will know that I
have been pursuing the use of lateral flow tests since early
November, when concerns were first raised. Unfortunately, some of
those concerns continue to persist—not least when they were
underscored by a communication from his Department as recently as
11 December, which stated:
“We are not currently planning mass asymptomatic testing; swab
testing people with no symptoms is not an accurate way of
screening the general population, as there is a…risk of giving
false reassurance. Widespread asymptomatic testing could
undermine the value of testing, as there is a risk of giving
misleading results.”
Given those ongoing concerns, I would be most grateful if the
Secretary of State committed to a meeting to consider those
concerns in a bit more detail—
Mr Speaker
Order. I think the Secretary of State can take an answer off
that.
Lateral flow tests are incredibly important to be able to find
people who otherwise we would not be able to find. One in three
people has this disease without knowing it, and finding those
positive cases helps us to break the chains of transmission.
Covid-19 Contact Tracing: Effectiveness
(Sheffield South
East) (Lab)
What recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of
covid-19 contact tracing at (a) national and (b) local authority
level.
The Minister for Care ()
I am pleased to report that the strong recent performance of the
contact tracing service has been maintained, even with the
significant growth in cases. The latest weekly data show that the
service made contact with almost 700,000 people: 85% of positive
cases were reached and provided details of their close contacts,
and 92% of those close contacts—that is almost half a million
people—were then reached and told to self-isolate.
Mr Betts [V]
I was asking the director of public health in Sheffield the other
day about the figures for contact tracing. He says that in the
NHS Test and Trace system—not the Public Health England one, but
the NHS one—the current figures are 59%, and the 40% not
contacted are passed on down to the local level, the city
council’s contact tracing service, which is then contacting 75%
of the people the national system could not contact. Why, then,
do the Government not give more resources and more responsibility
to the local council and the director of public health? In that
way, we could contact more people at far less cost than the
national system.
The hon. Member has described, in fact, what is a really
important partnership working between the national NHS Test and
Trace system and local partners such as local authorities, as
indeed is happening in his own area of Sheffield, where it is
that combined working that enables us to contact the maximum
number of people and therefore to get more people to self-isolate
and break these chains of transmission.
Terminally Ill People: End of Life Options
(Sutton
Coldfield) (Con)
What plans he has to improve the evidence base for future debates
on the options available for terminally ill people at the end of
their life.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
Care at the end of life is a crucial part of our health and care
system, and we are committed to improving the quality of care for
those at the end of life. Current practice is informed by a range
of evidence, including guidelines issued by the National
Institute for Health and Care Excellence. The Government are open
to gathering data on the experiences of terminally ill people in
order to inform the debate.
Mr Mitchell
May I also express my gratitude to the NHS in all its many forms
in the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield for their hard work over
Christmas and new year, including giving me a new knee?
I thank the Secretary of State for managing to take an interest
in this important subject when he is so stretched on so many
other fronts. Nearly 10% of suicides are by people who are
terminally ill, and the all-party group that I have the privilege
of co-chairing will hear from a mother this afternoon whose
terminally ill son took his own life by throwing himself under an
HGV on the north circular.
To add to knowledge, information and understanding, will the
Secretary of State and his Department make a point of working
with coroners and the Office for National Statistics from across
the country, so that we can understand the true extent of these
tragedies?
I am very happy to look at the suggestion that my right hon.
Friend makes on this very sensitive subject. We want to see the
highest possible standards of patient safety and, of course, to
reduce the number of suicides, and it is important in pursuing
that to have as much information and evidence as possible.
Feilding Palmer Hospital
(South Leicestershire) (Con)
If he will take steps to ensure that Feilding Palmer Community
Hospital in Lutterworth is reopened as a covid-19 vaccination
centre.
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy
and Industrial Strategy ()
Across the United Kingdom we have more than 2,700 vaccination
sites up and running, with seven vaccination centres opening this
week and more to come next week and the week after. Regarding the
question about Feilding Palmer hospital that my hon. Friend has
raised, I can confirm that this site is now being actively
considered as a vaccination hub.
[V]
I thank the Minister and his team for the help that they gave me
and my team in cajoling, pushing and encouraging the clinical
commissioning group to reopen the Feilding Palmer hospital in
Lutterworth as a vaccination centre; that is excellent news for
the people of Lutterworth and the surrounding villages.
Will the Minister also confirm that the remaining parts of south
Leicestershire, from Broughton Astley to Braunstone, from Thorpe
Astley to Arnesby, will also be able to access vaccination
centres locally?
I am grateful to my hon. Friend not just for his characteristic
support and encouragement, but for his championing of his
constituents. I can confirm, as the Secretary of State has said,
that all his constituents will be no more than 10 miles away from
a vaccination centre, and I am pleased that the Sturdee Road
health and wellbeing centre, which is a little over 10 miles away
from Lutterworth, is administering vaccines now.
Covid-19: Scientific Evidence Base for Government Response
(Isle of Wight) (Con)
What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the
scientific evidence base underpinning the Government’s response
to the covid-19 outbreak.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
The Government’s response to the pandemic has been informed by a
considerable range of expert scientific and medical advice, and
we have seen an increasing understanding of coronavirus globally.
The UK has produced new scientific evidence throughout the
pandemic. When we take decisions, they are based on and guided by
the best possible science, but of course policy decisions are for
Ministers.
[V]
Regarding the stats and science on the island, our vaccine hub at
the Riverside centre is expected to be ready on 15 July. We may
not receive sign-off and vaccines for that centre until 25 July
or later. Given rising infections on the island, our demographic
profile and our isolation, I am concerned we are not high enough
on the vaccine supply list, despite the great work being done by
the Isle of Wight-Hampshire team. I have written to the Secretary
of State and the vaccine Minister, my hon. Friend the Member for
Stratford-on-Avon (), about this. What can be done to improve the
situation, and what reassurance can the Secretary of State give
me about the focus on the Isle of Wight?
We will absolutely have vaccines being delivered on the Isle of
Wight before 15 July—indeed, we will have them there before 15
February. We are committed to offering a vaccine to all those in
the four highest priority cohorts, which includes all over-70s,
and there are a lot of over-70s on the Isle of Wight.
Furthermore, we will make sure that there are vaccination centres
within 10 miles of where everyone lives. Vaccinations are
happening on the Isle of Wight right now. My hon. Friend is a
great champion of the Island, and we will make sure that that
delivery continues apace.
Covid-19: Vaccine Roll-out and Relaxation of Restrictions
(Wycombe) (Con)
What progress his Department has made on establishing the extent
of roll-out of the covid-19 vaccine required to enable relaxation
of covid-19 restrictions; and if he will make a statement. [R]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social
Care ()
The vaccines are without a doubt the biggest breakthrough since
the pandemic began—a huge step forward in our fight against
coronavirus—and, testament to the Secretary of State’s laser-like
focus on vaccines, we are here today with 2.4 million doses
administered and rising. However, the full impact of covid-19
vaccinations on infection rates will not be clear until a larger
number of people have been vaccinated.
[V]
I am very pleased to welcome the announcement of a vaccination
site at Adams Park in Wycombe, with further sites to be announced
shortly. My hon. Friend has told us that when the top four JCVI
groups have been vaccinated, that will account for 88% of
potential fatalities, so can he not very soon give people a sure
and not-too-distant hope that their freedoms will be returned as
the vaccination programme rolls forward?
I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s continued support, not least
in making sure that he examines the data very carefully, which I
know he is passionate about. He is absolutely right that 88% of
mortality effectively comes from the top four most vulnerable
cohorts in the JCVI’s list of nine, and 99% comes from those top
nine most vulnerable cohorts.
On that point in time—that point of inflection between community
spread and vaccination—I will quote the deputy chief medical
officer, Jonathan Van-Tam, who said, “Ask me in a few weeks’ or a
few months’ time if it does obviously impact on spread.” The
scientists are hopeful, as are we, and as is the Prime
Minister—not least because he wants to see the back of these
non-pharmaceutical interventions in the economy.
Covid-19: NHS Bed Capacity
(Ealing
Central and Acton) (Lab)
What recent assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19
outbreak on bed capacity throughout the NHS.
(Lewisham West and Penge) (Lab)
What recent assessment he has made of the effect of the covid-19
outbreak on bed capacity throughout the NHS.
The Minister for Health ()
Covid, and particularly the new strain of covid, has had a
significant impact on NHS bed capacity. As of 10 January, 30,758
beds across the NHS were occupied by covid patients. In just the
past day, that has risen to around 32,000, which is over a third
of all available beds. The latest bed occupancy data shows that
just shy of 80,000 of the NHS’s roughly 90,000 total general and
acute beds were occupied.
Dr Huq [V]
It is great that the NHS, as I have heard locally, is working
hard to stop intensive care beds from running out after a decade
of no expansion, now that a major incident has been declared in
London. However, can the Minister guarantee that this will not
just be a bureaucratic exercise? Will we take a population-based
approach, listen to clinicians in apportioning capacity and allow
hospitals in high-need mixed ethnicity areas, such as Ealing
Hospital, which is currently on a black alert, their fair share,
rather than the powerful players—the central London teaching
hospitals—always getting all the extra allocation?
I can reassure the hon. Lady that beds and increased capacity,
where we put them in place, are allocated on the basis of where
they are needed. She is right to highlight the pressure that her
local hospital trust, London North West University Healthcare NHS
Trust, is under. The team there, as across the NHS, are doing an
amazing job, but the critical care bed occupancy rate in her
trust was 98.7% on the latest figures I have. That is extremely
significant pressure, but I can give her the reassurance that we
look to ensure that all areas receive the resources they need.
[V]
London has declared a state of emergency and the stark reality is
that at this rate we will run out of beds for patients in the
next couple of weeks. At least two NHS hospitals in the capital
have already postponed urgent cancer surgery and figures show
that treatment levels are failing to keep pace with demand. Will
the Minister therefore commit to fully opening the London
Nightingale hospital, secure the use of London’s private
hospitals for cancer treatment, and invest in the number of beds
in our NHS for the long term?
The hon. Lady is absolutely right to highlight the pressure that
the NHS and critical care are under in London and, indeed, more
broadly. I pay tribute again to all those who are working in the
NHS, including my shadow, who I suspect has been on the frontline
in recent days—I pay tribute to her, too. The best way we can
thank them is by following the advice to stay at home and to
follow the rules. In respect of her specific point, yes, we are
involving independent sector capacity, Nightingale capacity and
increasing NHS capacity—all those, alongside other measures—to
ensure our NHS continues to be able to treat those who need this
care at this time.
(Tooting) (Lab)
Last night, I finished a shift in a busy east London hospital,
sharing difficult news with hopeful families. The resilience of
staff on the frontline can never be matched, but across the
country morale is on a cliff edge. A decade of cuts to beds,
services and staff, combined with pay freezes, has left NHS
workers undermined and undervalued. Without our incredible staff,
a hospital bed is just that —a bed. So does the Health Minister
regret how the Government have made frontline workers feel and
can he promise to change that?
I reiterate, as I did earlier, my thanks to the hon. Lady and all
her colleagues in the NHS for everything they are doing. I
reassure her, as I do and as my right hon. Friend the Secretary
of State does at every opportunity, just how valued and supported
our NHS is. We have put in place just over 1,000 additional
critical care bed capacity at this time—the right thing to do. In
addition, in respect of supporting staff, we are investing about
£15 million—just one example—for mental health hubs and mental
health support for staff. I saw, from the hospital that she works
in, or has worked in, in her constituency, a number of staff—it
was on the BBC recently—setting out just how flat out they are.
The best way we can thank them, alongside what we are doing—I
make no apologies for reiterating it, Mr Speaker—is by all
following the rules to stay at home to help to ease the pressure
on those phenomenally hard-working and valued staff in our NHS
hospitals.
Topical Questions
(York Central) (Lab/Co-op)
If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care ()
Yesterday, we launched our UK vaccines delivery plan, which sets
out how we will vaccinate hundreds of thousands of people every
day, starting with the most vulnerable and staff in the NHS and
social care. I am delighted that across the UK 2.3 million people
have already been vaccinated. We are on track to deliver our
commitment to offer a first dose to everyone in the most
vulnerable groups by 15 February. At the same time, I add my
voice to all those who are passing on their very best wishes to
my right hon. Friend the Member for Old Bexley and Sidcup
(), who is undergoing further treatment on the NHS.
I personally thank all those in the NHS who are looking after him
and all the other patients in their care.
[V]
The NHS is overwhelmed, and critical clinical choices are having
to be made due to the limitations of estate and staffing. So I
ask the Secretary of State if he will do two things: first, bring
all independent hospitals under the NHS to provide a response to
the national crisis and, in particular, provide cancer care
capacity; and secondly, call all former health professionals to
return to practice and re-register even if they are beyond the
three years out of practice limit, so they can work with an
element of supervision and no one is denied the clinical need
they have.
Of course, all these things are being looked at. The pressures on
the NHS are very significant. I also want to say to people who
have a healthcare condition that is not covid-related that they
should come forward to the NHS. The promise of the NHS, of always
treating people according to their clinical need and not ability
to pay, is crucial. It is just as crucial in these pressured
times as it is at any other time. If you find a lump or a bump,
if you have a problem with your heart, or if there is a condition
for which you need to come forward for urgent treatment, then the
NHS is open and you must help us to help you. So, yes, we
absolutely will do everything we possibly can to address the
pressures, including looking at the measures the hon. Lady set
out, but also let the message go out that, if you need the NHS
for other conditions, please do come forward.
(South West Surrey) (Con) [V]
I congratulate my right hon. Friend on the speed of the vaccine
roll-out and, in particular, his foresight in setting up the
Vaccine Taskforce as far back as last April, which has made that
possible. Personal thanks from my mum, who is getting her vaccine
tomorrow at Epsom racecourse. Understandably, however, the
public’s expectations about how quickly they will get their
vaccine are now running well ahead of the system’s ability to
deliver, causing floods of calls to GPs’ surgeries, which are
already very busy. What can we do to set expectations among the
public that getting to population-level immunity will be a
marathon, not a sprint?
That is right. The Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee
is wise to say that this will be a marathon, not a sprint. As of
the early hours of this morning, we have vaccinated 39.9% of
over-80-year-olds in England. We will reach all over-80-year-olds
and ensure that they have the offer a vaccine in the coming
weeks, and we will reach all of the top four priority groups by
15 February. We are on track and I am confident that we will
deliver that. The other message that my right hon. Friend will
perhaps help all of us to pass on to all his constituents,
including his mum, is that the NHS will get in contact with them
and offer them an appointment. That is the best and fairest way
in which we can get the roll-out happening.
(Leicester West) (Lab)
The Secretary of State will know that we cannot protect the NHS
unless we also protect social care, yet there are worrying signs
that the Government risk losing control of the virus there too.
Infection rates in care homes have tripled in a month; homes are
reporting staff absence of up to 40%; and the latest weekly care
home deaths are the highest since May. So can the Secretary of
State set out what immediate extra support he can provide so that
the sector can cope, and will he commit to publishing daily
vaccination rates for care home residents and staff, so that we
know whether the Government are on track to completing all those
vaccinations in less than three weeks’ time?
We have made that commitment and it is incredibly important that
vaccinations are offered to everybody in care homes. The NHS is
working hard to deliver on that with its colleagues in social
care. Across the board, colleagues are working hard to deliver
this life-saving vaccine. Of course, we are always open to
further support for social care and it is something that we are
working on right now to ensure that we can get the right support
for testing, in particular to support the workforce, who are
absolutely central to making this happen.
(Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con) [V]
In Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke, we are excited to
be the planned home of a mass vaccination centre. Stoke-on-Trent
City Council is working around the clock, as it has done
throughout the pandemic, to ensure that everything is ready from
its end. Can my right hon. Friend give his assurances that the
necessary equipment and staff will be ready to go on 25 January
so that we can get more jabs into arms?
I am delighted that there is going to be a mass vaccination
centre. I can give that assurance—we are working as hard as we
possibly can to ensure that all the equipment is there. Everybody
thinks about the vaccine—that is very important—but it is also
about all the other things that are needed, such as the
specialist syringes. The vaccine is so valuable that inside the
syringe is a plunger that goes into the needle to squeeze the
extra bit of liquid that would otherwise be left in the needle
into someone’s arm to make sure that every last drop of vaccine
is used. A whole series of other equipment is needed alongside
the actual liquid of the vaccine. I will ensure that my hon.
Friend the vaccine deployment Minister makes sure that the
Stoke-on-Trent mass vaccination centre is up and running and
ready for 25 January.
(Stockton North) (Lab) [V]
The covid-19 pandemic has further exposed and widened the
tremendous health inequalities in Stockton, where healthy life
expectancy is among the lowest in the country. It also has by far
the highest number of covid cases on Teesside—now well in excess
of 10,000. Secretary of State, when can we have a new hospital
for Stockton to help to tackle those inequalities?
The importance of tackling health inequalities and levelling up
parts of the country that have so much opportunity, such as
Stockton, but need further support to unleash that opportunity is
an incredibly important part of this agenda. On the hon.
Gentleman’s precise question, we have discussed that issue
before. As he knows, we have the largest hospital building
programme in the modern history of this country. I look forward
to continuing to discuss with him the extra infrastructure needed
in Stockton.
Craig Whittaker (Calder Valley) (Con) [V]
First, I congratulate my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State
and the whole ministerial team on the excellent start to the
vaccination programme. However, my question is on schools. I know
that the Government worked hard to keep schools open for as long
as they possibly could, but unfortunately, under alert level 5,
schools sadly had to close. Will he outline what costs schools
are expected to cover—whether state schools or public schools—to
roll out coronavirus testing in their schools once they reopen?
Extra funding is available through the NHS Test and Trace budget
for state schools for the testing programme. We are working with
independent schools to make sure that they can reopen as soon as
safely possible to reopen schools across the country.
Rachel Hopkins (Luton South) (Lab) [V]
Will the Secretary of State set out what additional measures are
being put in place to support areas with diverse communities,
such as Luton, where English not being a person’s first language
could be a barrier to ensuring the equitable roll-out of
vaccinations across all our communities?
I answered a similar question from the hon. Member for Central
Ayrshire (Dr Whitford). This is an incredibly important point,
and we are working hard with councils, pharmacists, GPs and those
who are trusted in the community to get out the message of the
importance of vaccination to all communities across the country.
This subject will be increasingly important, and I look forward
to working with the hon. Member for Luton South (), the Minister for the vaccine roll-out, my hon.
Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon (), and with colleagues all across this House to get out
the message of positivity around the vaccine.
The good news is that, over the last month, the proportion of
people who are enthusiastic about taking the vaccine has risen
significantly, and the proportion of people who are hesitant has
fallen; I think people can see the enthusiasm that others have
for taking the vaccine. However, we have to make sure that that
message of hope reaches all parts of and all communities in the
UK.
Antony Higginbotham (Burnley) (Con)
In Burnley and Padiham, a large number of people cannot work from
home; they work in areas such as manufacturing and construction.
The deployment of the Army in our largest employers to do mass
testing has been really welcome, but we have to go further if we
are to break that chain of transmission. Will my right hon.
Friend set out what my constituents need to do if they have to
keep going into work but need access to some of these tests?
I hope that by working through the Burnley and Lancashire
councils, and by working with the national testing programme, we
can get asymptomatic testing available for those who have to go
to work. Key workers need to go to work, even through this most
difficult of times. I will make sure that the testing Minister
picks up with my hon. Friend straight after this, and that we
work together to make sure that everybody across Burnley who has
to go to work has access, if they want it, to a testing regime,
to help ensure that they can be safe in work.
(Upper Bann) (DUP) [V]
The Secretary of State will know the unprecedented physical and
emotional strain our frontline nurses and medics are facing in
the fight against covid-19. This is exacerbated by staff
shortages, with increasing demand for care falling on our already
worn-out staff. Would he agree that to encourage more people into
nursing, and to retain our healthcare heroes in the NHS, we must
look at increasing pay to a level that recognises the skills,
responsibility and commitment that the nursing and healthcare
professions require?
I am really pleased that over the past few years in the English
health service that I am responsible for, we have increased the
pay of nursing staff. I am also pleased that when the new
Northern Ireland Administration were set up about a year ago, one
of the first things they did was to resolve the challenges in
terms of nurses’ pay. This is a very important subject. It is one
that is devolved, but I look forward to working with my
counterpart in Northern Ireland, , who is doing a
brilliant job in supporting the Province through these very
difficult times.
(Morley and Outwood) (Con) [V]
I have been contacted by a number of my constituents who have
concerns about vaccine distribution. They are old and vulnerable,
some are shielding, and some have no cars and have difficulty
using public transport to get their vaccine. There is also a
concern that some local GP surgeries are vaccinating only people
over 80 with surnames from A to H. What is the Department’s plan
to facilitate local distribution, especially in places that do
not have good transport links, and to increase the roll-out to
other groups?
Among the over-80s we have not put in place a more specific
prioritisation, because we need to ensure that the programme can
get to all the over-80s as fast and efficiently as possible.
Access is incredibly important, hence the commitment to ensure
that there is a vaccination centre within 10 miles. I think that
that is true across the whole of Morley and Outwood, and 96% of
the population of England is now is now within 10 miles of a
vaccination centre, including, I think, the whole of my hon.
Friend’s constituency. This has to be done fast but it also has
to be done fairly, and she is quite right to raise that point.
(Newcastle
upon Tyne Central) (Lab) [V]
As a proud Unison member, I ask the Secretary of State to join me
in congratulating Christina McAnea on being elected the first
female leader of the country’s biggest union. Many of Unison’s
members effectively work for the Secretary of State, including
care assistants, hospital porters, nurses and cleaners, and they
are now under huge stress and facing mental and physical
challenges that we, fortunately, cannot imagine. Does he agree
with another recently elected leader, Joe Biden, who said to
health workers:“It’s not enough to praise you. We have to protect
you, we have to pay you.”
I want to add my congratulations to Christina McAnea. It is
another sign of progress in this country to see the first female
leader of Unison, and I look forward to talking to her very soon
and to working with her, as she represents a significant number
of people who work for the NHS and are valued members of the NHS
and social care teams. The importance not only of valuing our NHS
and social care workforce but of demonstrating that value is
vital, and improving all the elements and conditions under which
people work is important. Of course pay is one part of that, and
the hon. Lady will know that the NHS was exempt from the pay
freeze set out by the Chancellor, but it is also about ensuring
that everybody’s contribution is valued and that everybody is
encouraged to give their very best contribution. In a pandemic
situation like this, when the pressures on the NHS and social
care are very great, that is more important than ever, and it is
important that we value all of our team all the time and that
everybody plays a part in improving the health of the nation and
improving and saving lives. I want to say a huge thank you to
everybody who works in the NHS and in social care, and I want to
work with them on improving working conditions and making sure
that everybody feels that they can give their very best so that
the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I am very
grateful to the hon. Lady for raising this question.
