Covid-19 Update Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department of Health and Social Care
Angela Richardson
Main Page: Angela Richardson (Conservative - Guildford)Department Debates - View all Angela Richardson's debates with the Department of Health and Social Care
(4 years, 5 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Matt Hancock
I will certainly look at it; it seems like a very interesting idea. I think that clap for our carers was an absolutely brilliant initiative. I love the fact that it was essentially a social initiative. It did not come from Government. We embraced it enthusiastically and all went out clapping, as did everybody, and a way to mark that permanently is something that I am absolutely open to.
Angela Richardson (Guildford) (Con)
On Monday morning, I will attend the opening of the brand new Guildford ward at the Royal Surrey: a 20-room, fully equipped with CPAP—continuous positive airway pressure—isolation ward built in just four months. Will my right hon. Friend join me in congratulating the local council on the pragmatism shown and the hospital on its forward planning? Does he agree that in the event of a localised spike in cases requiring hospitalisation, the Royal Surrey will be well placed to deal with it effectively?
Matt Hancock
Yes. My hon. Friend is a great champion of the Royal Surrey at Guildford. The hospital has done a brilliant thing by, in short order, expanding its capabilities in this crisis, as have many other hospitals around the country. One of the positive things that has come out of it has been the dynamism and flexibility of parts of the NHS and their collaboration with local authorities. Both of those have risen to heights never previously seen, and I hope that we can bottle that best practice and make sure that we keep a dynamic, flexible NHS that works collaboratively with local authorities long into the future.