Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrea Jenkyns and Matt Hancock

Tuesday 12th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

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, Robin Swann, who is doing a brilliant job in supporting the Province through these very difficult times.

[Andrea Jenkyns (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?

[Matt Hancock]

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.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrea Jenkyns and Matt Hancock

Tuesday 18th June 2019 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising this case. The ministerial team has not seen the details in advance, but if he would like to write, the appropriate Minister will of course meet him.

[Andrea Jenkyns (Morley and Outwood) (Con)]

The inquiry into the contaminated blood scandal, the biggest treatment disaster in the history of the NHS, is currently taking place in Leeds. What is the Department doing to compensate the victims of this scandal and to make sure their voices are heard?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrea Jenkyns and Matt Hancock

Tuesday 26th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

It is astonishing, is it not? My right hon. Friend the Member for Chelsea and Fulham (Greg Hands) has made this case with objective clarity and reasonableness, is supporting his constituents and led to a very positive outcome, keeping the A&Es open but still doing the positive work in the community, and all we continue to get is information that I regard as erroneous from the hon. Gentleman, who has campaigned in the most terrible way on this over many years.

[Andrea Jenkyns (Morley and Outwood) (Con)]

A nine-year-old constituent of mine, Lydia Heptinstall, is a very brave sufferer of hypermobile Elhers-Danlos syndrome. She suffers from joint pain, headaches and numerous other symptoms and cannot do the things that other children can do. Will the Minister meet me to discuss Lydia and what the Government are doing to raise awareness of this condition?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, of course, I would be very happy to meet my hon. Friend and talk about her constituent’s concerns.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrea Jenkyns and Matt Hancock

Tuesday 15th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

I welcome what St George’s is doing, and I welcome all the people from the EU who are working in our NHS—in greater numbers than on the day of the referendum. They are welcome here, and I look forward to their working here long into the future.

[Andrea Jenkyns (Morley and Outwood) (Con)]

Each month I hold my memory cafés for those suffering with memory loss, dementia and Alzheimer’s, and their carers, families and friends. What support are the Government providing for those suffering with such memory loss conditions?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Andrea Jenkyns and Matt Hancock

Tuesday 27th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, of course. We value everybody who works in the NHS. I would love the hon. Lady to take up this individual case with me directly, and I am very happy to look into it.

[Andrea Jenkyns (Morley and Outwood) (Con)]

I have recently been contacted by a constituent who works as a paediatrician in a nearby hospital. Last Friday, tragically, a baby died in their ward. The cause of death is unknown. Owing to the lack of a coroner service at the weekend, the baby had to stay for three nights with breathing tubes fixed in. For the parents, these are the last memories of their child. What steps will the Minister be taking to guarantee that the seven days NHS requirement also applies to coroners and histopathologists?

[Matt Hancock]

My heart goes out to the parents of this child, my hon. Friend’s constituents, as I am sure it does from everybody in this House. Of course I will happily take up this individual case. But she raises the broader point, too. I am meeting the Justice Secretary on this topic to discuss what further we can do. It is technically a matter for the Ministry of Justice, but I understand entirely why we need to work together to make progress.