Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any link between poor air quality in city centres and any increase in (1) COVID-19, and (2) respiratory diseases, in urban areas.
Answered by Lord Bethell
There is currently no clear evidence to suggest that air pollution has a direct link to the spread or severity of COVID-19. Public Health England (PHE) and Government departments are continuously reviewing whether air pollution may influence the health impact of COVID-19.
PHE has made no specific estimation of the impact of air pollution on respiratory disease in urban areas in the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to put all of the NHS Nightingale hospitals into operation so that patients with COVID-19 can be admitted.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Nightingale hospitals support the National Health Service in a number of different ways depending on the need of the local communities, therefore they also operate on different clinical models.
Patients are currently being treated in Nightingale hospitals in Manchester, Exeter, Bristol and Harrogate. With the rise in Covid-19 inpatient numbers, the remaining Nightingale hospitals are being readied to admit patients once again should they be needed.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan (1) to re-equip, and (2) to open, the NHS Nightingale hospital in London so that patients with COVID-19 can be admitted.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Nightingale hospital in London is undergoing preparations to be activated if needed. It will open and treat patients in line with the advice from local clinicians.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential benefits of including blood donors in the priority groups of those to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
Answered by Lord Bethell
In line with the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the vaccine is being rolled out to priority groups including care home residents and staff, people over 80 years old and health and care workers. The vaccine is then being prioritised amongst the rest of the population in order of age and risk, including those who are clinically extremely vulnerable and all individuals aged 16-64 years old with underlying health conditions.
Blood donors range between those aged 17 years old to over 70 years old. While blood donors are not in the priority group to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, some donors are likely to receive a vaccine as part of the national roll-out.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to establish an independent public inquiry into their response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Bethell
As the Government has already made clear there will be opportunities to look back, analyse and reflect on all aspects of COVID-19. The Prime Minister has said that this will include an independent inquiry at the appropriate time. For now, the Government is focused entirely on responding to the pandemic and saving lives. Further details will be set out in due course and announced in the usual way.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the statement of Professor Gabriel Scally on 6 September that the UK Government has 'lost control' of COVID-19.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Prime Minister announced a set of measures on 23 November 2020 as part of the Government’s COVID-19 winter plan, including the introduction of a tiered approach to be adopted from 2 December 2020 in order to control the virus. This included confirmation that we have ordered over 350 million doses of vaccine for the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories and that the National Health Service is preparing a roll-out programme. Further details will follow in due course.
NHS Test and Trace are working with local leaders and communities to curb the spread of the virus and the contact tracing team ensures individuals and their close contacts isolate, preventing others from being infected. In addition, we have announced £3 billion of extra funding to the NHS for the winter and secured personal protective equipment to ensure front-line workers are protected.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the per capita COVID-19 death rate in England relative to other countries; and what assessment they have made of analysis which indicates that England has one of the highest per capita COVID-19 death rates in the world.
Answered by Lord Bethell
To provide a more comprehensive response to a number of outstanding Written Questions, this has been answered by an information factsheet Science of Covid-19 – note for the House of Lords which is attached, due to the size of the data. A copy has also been placed in the Library.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether there is any correlation between the COVID-19 death rate in the UK and spare bed capacity in the NHS.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The National Health Service’s response in ensuring that there has been sufficient capacity in place to manage COVID-19 demand has been exceptional. We ensured that we had as many beds available as possible to care for patients with severe respiratory problems during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The NHS expanded its critical care capacity significantly to cope with the predicted demand from COVID-19 patients. This included an increase in critical care beds, ventilators and provision of oxygen.
All COVID-19 patients who were admitted received the urgent treatment that they needed.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any relationship between spare bed capacity in the NHS and deaths from COVID-19 in care homes and the community.
Answered by Lord Bethell
To date, we have not undertaken an assessment of the relationship between spare bed capacity in the National Health Service and deaths from COVID-19 in care homes and the community. The safety of residents and staff is always a priority and patients should not be discharged unless it is clinically safe to do so.
Asked by: Lord Truscott (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to issue new guidance on the admittance of patients at an earlier stage of showing symptoms of COVID-19 to improve survival rates.
Answered by Lord Bethell
The Government continues to be led by the evidence in our response to COVID-19. Public Health England has published guidance on the investigation and initial clinical management of possible COVID-19 cases, including on admission to hospital, which is kept under review. A copy of the latest guidance COVID-19: investigation and initial clinical management of possible cases is attached.
In addition, a suite of guidance has been published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to ensure the best treatment for people with COVID-19.