Covid-19 Update

Debate between Anne Marie Morris and Sajid Javid

Monday 13th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Sajid Javid]

The UKHSA has removed many so-called providers of PCR tests from the listing on the Government website. It has set a minimum price that must be met to try to avoid misleading prices. Unlike some other countries, we have not chosen to subsidise the cost of private PCR tests, because we have rightly concentrated our resources on the PCR tests that are available for people domestically if they have symptoms.

[Anne Marie Morris (Newton Abbot) (Con)]

The extended vaccine roll-out is welcome to prevent infection, but given that this puts even more pressure on resources, what steps have the Government taken in tandem to increase capacity in the NHS to address the increasing demand from both covid and non-covid patients? I know that the Army is being brought in, but what about Nightingale hospitals? Might they be reinstituted? Will we look again at the pension challenge, which stops senior people staying in the profession? Will we look at accelerating the training programmes for our health professionals, as other countries have? Will we create new health professionals with shorter training programmes? Action is needed now to deal with the capacity issue.

[Sajid Javid]

My hon. Friend is right to talk about the importance of increasing capacity. The pandemic has brought that acutely to the front of our minds. There has been significant investment since the pandemic started, particularly in certain types of capacity, such as intensive care units, PPE and oxygen, as well as personnel, with some 10,000 nurses and 3,000 doctors added over the last year. As a result of the omicron emergency, we are revisiting the issue of how we can further increase the temporary capacity.