Covid-19: Response

Baroness Hussein-Ece Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bethell]

I can reassure the noble Lord, Lord Turnberg, that all people, of all ages, are currently eligible for testing. I accept that communication about this has not got through to everyone, and we are working very hard to communicate the information widely. A very large marketing campaign to make it clear began earlier today—I saw the adverts when I drove in on the M4 this morning.

I can also tell the noble Lord that because the infection and prevalence rates are so low, we have a machine with spare capacity. That is being used for surveillance and to cleanse the social care sector and the NHS sector through asymptomatic testing. The machine is on standby for the winter, and, as we lift lockdown, to protect society from any rise in the infection rate. The turnaround times are already getting much tighter and in many cases are less than 12 hours.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, the Minister said that the review of disparities in Covid had revealed what we already knew: that those most at risk include minority communities, particularly BAME people. We also already knew that the guidelines for people with inequalities replicate existing inequalities. I am sure that public health directors up and down the country have known about these inequalities, and have published reports about them, for many years. The Minister says that it is a great mystery, but really the report just touches on the inequalities.

Does the Minister understand that those from BAME communities, who disproportionately work in front-line services and the jobs he mentioned, are being hit? They are extremely worried, and very angry at this response. I understand that there cannot be a huge raft of recommendations, but there needs to be more guidance on protecting people, not just in the health service but more generally for those who employ people from BAME communities.

I will give an example from my own community. The Turkish and Turkish-Cypriot communities in this country are around only half a million. We have lost somewhere in the region of 250 people; we have all been touched by this, myself and my community. In Germany, there are 3.5 million Turks, and they have had about 50 deaths. The figures are stark.

On 19 May, I asked the Minister whether he would consider meeting campaigners and health professionals to put in place a proper Covid race equality strategy, for now and beyond. Will he please take that back and agree to meet us, and others, who are determined that we will have a proper response to this terrible virus that is disproportionately impacting on our BAME communities?

[Lord Bethell]

The noble Baroness is entirely right. These diseases always hit hardest those who are most vulnerable, and the most vulnerable often include those who are poorest, who have existing morbidities and who are vulnerable in some way. She is right that this is an age-old truth; it is as old as history itself.

I was referring to the scientific links between the disease and the death rate. To clear up the point, if I may, the mystery that we do not understand is the biological explanation of why the disease appears to hit some people harder than others. That mystery is being unravelled, but I cannot pretend that we fully understand it at the moment.

As to the noble Baroness’s invitation to meet groups, I remember it well and would be very glad to take it up. I will ask my private office to be in touch to make those arrangements.

Covid-19: BAME NHS Staff

Baroness Hussein-Ece Excerpts

Tuesday 19th May 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bethell]

I can reassure my noble friend that action is already being taken. Individual trusts are putting in place trials and arrangements to try out different forms of amelioration, including changing staff rotas and taking vulnerable staff out of the front-line wherever possible. We will build on these pilots and trials in order to move as quickly as we can. The causes of the massive difference in the effects of the disease on different ethnic groups are not clear yet, so it is not possible to say for sure which pilots will work. However, we are moving as quickly as we can and we will build on the evidence base in order to put in effective measures.

[Baroness Hussein-Ece (LD)]

My Lords, this pandemic must be a wake-up call for us all. The Government’s review is not sufficient. BAME people make up 72% of NHS and social care staff and are 4.2 times more likely to die. Given all these separate initiatives referred to by the Minister, will he meet key leaders from BAME communities to look at establishing a Covid-19 race equality strategy, to find solutions to the current crisis based on the collective experiences of service and sacrifice from these communities?

[Lord Bethell]

My Lords, I share the noble Baroness’s tribute to BAME staff in the NHS, who, as she rightly points out, are on the front line and putting themselves at risk. We should all, as a nation, be enormously grateful for their contribution. I also salute those in the NHS moving quickly to address the concerns and evidence that the disease itself is discriminatory. I would be glad to meet representatives, but I want to be clear that the processes in place in the NHS are reasonable, proportionate and will, I believe, deliver the needed results.