Public Health England Review: Covid-19 Disparities Debate

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Department: HM Treasury

Public Health England Review: Covid-19 Disparities

Fleur Anderson Excerpts
Thursday 4th June 2020

(3 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Kemi Badenoch Portrait Kemi Badenoch
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That is a very good point, and I thank my hon. Friend for his question. Engaging employers as well as employees will be essential. Professor Kevin Fenton of PHE has already undertaken extensive stakeholder engagement on this issue, and I intend to assist him in continuing that excellent work. I also intend to ensure that this approach continues to cover other factors such as age, sex, geography and deprivation.

Fleur Anderson Portrait Fleur Anderson (Putney) (Lab)
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The Spanish flu epidemic led to huge, widescale social reform, and this report points to the need to do the same. Almost three quarters of health and social care staff who have died as a result of covid-19 are from black and ethnic minorities. Why does the review fail to mention the occupational discrimination faced by BME healthcare staff, which has been highlighted by the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Nursing and needs urgent attention?