Covid-19: Personal Protective Equipment

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 23rd April 2020 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering]

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many United Kingdom manufacturers are in place to ensure that an adequate supply of personal protective equipment is made available to (1) the National Health Service, and (2) carers, to all regions of the United Kingdom; and what direct contact they have had with such manufacturers based in the North of England.

The Question was considered in a Virtual Proceeding via video call.

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[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, will my noble friend congratulate the company Industrial Textiles & Plastics, which makes the much-needed impermeable material for gowns, and Barbour and Burberry, which are manufacturing these gowns—all, in this case, free of charge and distributed through a Thirsk-based volunteer organisation organised by local NHS trusts? Will the Government agree to use this model for the manufacture and distribution of gowns through local manufacturers and local distributors to disperse to NHS trusts?

[Lord Bethell]

My Lords, I share the noble Baroness’s endorsement of the tremendous response from British manufacturing. Some 176 firms have applied to the scheme and we are processing their suggestions. My noble friend Lord Deighton is a powerful advocate for the Make programme. I thank in particular Don & Low, Ineos and Survitec, which have already made a considerable contribution to production.

Covid-19

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 23rd April 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bethell]

The noble Lord, Lord Scriven, is not correct to say that the Government decided to stop track and trace; there are still PHE track and traces, but when the disease reaches a certain level of prevalence, it simply is not arithmetically possible to track down every new incidence of the disease. Nor is it true that anyone in the Government said that we would have only 1,000 tracers in our call centres. Plans which I have seen are being drafted at the moment which are wildly more ambitious than that. It is our plan to put together a system that is proportionate to the challenge.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, I declare an interest: I work with the Dispensing Doctors’ Association. It is emerging that all gowns are made to one size, which is posing a problem particularly for larger men and all women. I realise that this matter is being addressed. Can the Minister update us on it today?

I warmly congratulate my noble friend and the Government on introducing the new measures on testing and tracing. It strikes me that, if we could do this as locally as possible and perhaps look to training environmental health officers to be able to do some of the tracking and tracing, it would be a good use of their time.

When it comes to ending the lockdown, I urge the Government to follow the Swedish example of maintaining self-isolation but allowing hospitals, bars, pubs and cafés to open in a regulated and controlled manner.

[Lord Bethell]

My noble friend Lady McIntosh is quite right that we should look at several different workstreams for our track and trace model. As the noble Lord, Lord Scriven, implied, one of the most important things to consider is having surge capacity. Track and trace is very important when you have an outbreak or second epidemic. We need to have in place that additional capacity to track down and isolate those who bring in new infection.

Covid-19: Helplines

Baroness McIntosh of Pickering Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bethell]

The noble Baroness, Lady Watkins, reflects the feeling of all the House in her comments on the Lord Speaker, and I entirely endorse her comment that we must all respect the guidance and advice given to us by the Government. I pay tribute to the Lord Speaker for his comments on that subject.

In terms of 111, she is entirely right that the NHS is under acute pressure, which is particularly felt on the front line in the interaction with concerned people who are understandably phoning 111. The 111 system is recruiting a large number of new handlers. In addition, we have put a letter through the GMC, NMC and other professional bodies and there will be a registration page on the front page of those bodies’ websites—it will be going up very shortly, either tomorrow or very soon afterwards, I believe—for recently retired professionals to register their interest in rejoining their local NHS health authorities in some way. Those applications will then be passed on to the local authorities and triaged, and the applicants will be allocated suitable responsibilities. I pay tribute to all those who are thinking of returning or have returned to active service, often putting themselves in danger and taking risks in the service of the NHS to look after patients. The skills of the recently retired may range from those who are younger and active and can be on the wards through to older people who may have desk-based tasks, but it is up to the local authorities to decide where best they can conduct their services.

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, will my noble friend join me in congratulating the Lord Speaker on the leadership he has given? I declare my interest, as in the register: I work with the Dispensing Doctors’ Association. Can my noble friend address the question of professional indemnity for those wishing to return to practise as recently retired nurses, doctors or other medical professionals? Can he also address the question that I have written to him about regarding the severe shortage on the front line of PPE, which is apparently in warehouses? It really needs to get to the front line.