Covid-19 Update

Debate between Matt Hancock and Andy Slaughter

Monday 14th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes. Stoke-on-Trent has had a tough time recently, but the work by Stoke-on-Trent City Council and the community testing that is going on in Stoke-on-Trent is very impressive. All of us, as MPs, can lean into that and help to support the councils, the military and others in delivering testing in our communities. We have set out details of how we can all do that today so that every single one of us can play our part.

[Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab)]

Can I return to the vaccination of those with terminal illnesses? The wife of one of my constituents, aged 70, who has stage 4 bowel cancer and is receiving palliative care, contacted me at the weekend. If his only priority is being 70 and extremely vulnerable, he is in the fourth cohort for vaccination. The terminally ill should be in the first group. Will the Secretary of State make that change, and will he give a timescale for each of the nine priority groups for receiving the vaccine?

[Matt Hancock]

The hon. Member asks a very sensitive and reasonable question. Of course it is right that we should follow the clinical guidance in terms of the order of priority, and that does include those who are clinically extremely vulnerable to this disease. On the timescales, I am afraid that the answer is the same to him as to my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury (Laura Farris), which is that we do not know because it depends on the speed at which the manufacturers can produce the vaccine.

Coronavirus Regulations: Assisted Deaths Abroad

Debate between Matt Hancock and Andy Slaughter

Thursday 5th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

My hon. Friend makes another important contribution to this debate. There is inevitably a discussion within the medical profession about this important question. That should be taken into account, alongside the views, as the hon. Member for Leicester South (Jonathan Ashworth) said, of faith leaders, the public and those who face terminal disease, as Parliament debates this subject.

[Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab)]

Terminally ill people are travelling prematurely and alone to end their lives abroad for a number of reasons, including covid. Another is that they wish to save relatives from the risk of prosecution. Will the Secretary of State liaise with his Home Office colleagues and the police, who themselves find these cases difficult, to ensure that any response is sensitive and proportionate?

[Matt Hancock]

That incredibly important and sensitive matter needs to be considered as part of the overall approach. These questions should all be brought out in a debate on this subject. That is Parliament’s role, given that this is an area of conscience on which the Government do not take a view.

Covid-19

Debate between Matt Hancock and Andy Slaughter

Monday 16th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

That is an incredibly important point. Public Health England is addressing the order of prioritisation, and we are also trying to drive up the number of tests available, as we have discussed many times earlier.

[Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab)]

Schools are closing. London Oratory School in Fulham, which had 1,300 pupils, closed today. One effect of that is that other schools in the vicinity then come under pressure to do likewise from the school community. That is no criticism of anyone, but can the Secretary of State review and clarify the policy on schools and what happens if they have to downsize or if the policy changes?

[Matt Hancock]

We are of course reviewing all those points, and there are some measures in the Bill tomorrow to enable them to be addressed directly.

Coronavirus

Debate between Matt Hancock and Andy Slaughter

Wednesday 11th March 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

This is really important and quite difficult. Our general approach is that people who become ill should stay where they are and be treated in the country in which they find themselves. This comes back to the previous question, because the first two victims of coronavirus in the UK were not British citizens, but they were treated brilliantly by the hospital in Newcastle. The treatment they received was fantastic, and rightly so. Of course there are cases and examples where we have to support people to come back to the UK. For instance, this afternoon a flight from California landed, bringing people from the cruise ship that had been off California. But the general principle should be that people are supported and treated where they are.

[Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab)]

Will the Secretary of State review the criteria for testing? A constituent of mine has returned from the United States with symptoms of the virus but has been refused testing because she has not come into contact with a known case. Will he also say what the policy is on NHS staff wearing masks when on duty, primarily to avoid to the risk of the virus being spread by undiagnosed medical staff?

[Matt Hancock]

I am grateful for the constructive tone in which the hon. Gentleman asked the questions. This is an example of the House working well, because he and I have sometimes had cross words across this Chamber, but he has asked these two questions quite rightly. The advice given on 111 has to be dependent on the circumstances presented to the clinician giving that advice on the other end of the phone. It is really important that I do not fetter their discretion, but if he comes to me with details of the individual case and wants me to double-check that his constituent got the right advice, I am happy to do so.

On the second point, the deputy chief medical officer had a discussion with the Prime Minister today that was videoed and put on Facebook, and in that she was clear on this question about masks. There is not an advantage in wearing a mask if you are healthy—that is the advice from the medics here—but there is an advantage in respect of keeping others safe if someone who is ill wears a mask. There are also examples of when medical staff will need to wear the right type of mask to keep them safe. But the general advice is: don’t wear a mask unless you are advised to by PHE; or if you are ill, it is perfectly reasonable to wear a mask to stop infecting others—that is an act of generosity.