Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of mental health and other occupational health support for staff employed by the NHS in England.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The health and wellbeing of National Health Service staff is, and has always been, very important to the Government. At the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak we assessed that they would potentially need additional mental health and occupational health support.
We commissioned NHS England and NHS Improvement to develop a comprehensive package of emotional, psychological and practical support for NHS staff - building on the support already in place in local NHS organisations. The support package was launched by NHS England and NHS Improvement on 8 April.
NHS England and NHS Improvement have also launched a new framework, which will enable employers to buy-in additional occupational health support for their staff. This will supplement support already available in NHS organisations.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that travel restrictions do not impede the movement of medical personnel and supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Government has published safer travel guidance for passengers and operators online at GOV.UK. Services might be operating at a reduced rate and passengers are urged to identify alternative routes and options in case of unexpected disruption. It is advised that all other forms of transport should be considered before using public transport and that where possible, people should walk or cycle.
There will be some exemptions to the border control measures, such as to ensure the continued security of United Kingdom supply chains, or journeys within the Common Travel Area. We will set out further detail in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what work is taking place with the devolved institutions in the United Kingdom, as lockdown restrictions are lifted, to keep any changes as simple as possible for the general public to receive and understand, and to avoid any unnecessary confusion.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The United Kingdom Government is working closely with the devolved administrations on decisions and guidance related to the current measures, coordinating and sharing information as appropriate to ensure all four nations can respond to the challenges presented by COVID-19. This includes taking opportunities to adopt common elements, where it makes sense to do so.
Where a matter is devolved, the UK Government’s guidance available online on GOV.UK is clear that measures apply in England only and should be considered alongside local public health requirements, guidance and legislation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk that COVID-19 poses to BAME individuals; and how that compares to other ethnic groups.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Public Health England (PHE) has been asked by the Chief Medical Officer to review the potential that some ethnic minority groups are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. As part of this review, PHE is matching laboratory records of COVID-19 cases to other health records to draw down accurate data on ethnicity, age, sex and geographical region. The first results were published on 2 June.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their latest estimate of the positive effect of social distancing on decreasing the spread of COVID-19; and what estimate they have made of the possible negative effects as restrictions are gradually lifted.
Answered by Lord Bethell
On 26 March 2020 the Government introduced a series of social distancing measures based on scientific advice. These are strict measures, but they are measures that we must take in order to protect the National Health Service, slow the spread of the virus so the NHS would not be overwhelmed, and save lives. Helped by these measures, we have started to reduce the spread of the disease and ensured that the NHS was not overwhelmed.
On 16 April, the First Secretary of State (Rt. Hon. Dominic Raab MP) outlined, in line with scientific advice, five criteria that would be considered as part of assessing the necessity of the measures and whether they could be eased. These consider NHS capacity, death rates, transmission rates, availability of personal protective equipment, and avoidance of a second peak of the virus that overwhelms the NHS.
The Government will continue to review the measures, assessing them to ensure that they continue to be necessary and proportionate based on available scientific evidence.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the best types of materials to be used when making a face mask at home to help combat the spread of COVID-19.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies considered the very limited evidence available on the use of face coverings and advised that there was some positive benefit for reducing the transmission of COVID-19. However, the main ways to reduce the spread of COVID-19 are social distancing and washing hands regularly.
The Government is now advising wearing a face covering in situations where it is difficult to manage social distancing and there may be close contact with people the wearer would not usually meet. Guidance on how to wear and make a cloth face covering was published on 11 May in an online only format on GOV.UK.
This guidance refers to the use of cotton fabric, which is consistent with the limited available scientific literature on the use of face coverings.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Cradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any correlation between nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide levels in the air and COVID-19 (1) infection, and (2) death rates.
Answered by Lord Bethell
Currently, there is no clear evidence to suggest that nitrogen dioxide and/or nitric oxide have a direct link to the infection rate or death rate of COVID-19.
Public Health England and other Government departments are reviewing and considering factors such as air pollution which may influence the health impact of COVID-19. This includes assessing whether there is any evidence of an association between exposure to gaseous pollutants or particulates and COVID-19 mortality in the United Kingdom.