Covid-19 Update

Debate between Matt Hancock and Holly Mumby-Croft

Monday 7th June 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

I am, of course, part of a family who have also lost a loved one who lived in a care home, so of course I take this very seriously. We followed the clinical advice when the world knew far less about this virus, and it was a challenge. The clinical advice and data since have shown that, in fact, community transmission was the major source of the incursion of the virus into care homes. I am delighted that, through the enormous efforts to increase testing, including the 100,000 testing target, we were then able to introduce the very significant staff testing that we have today, which is the main reason that there has been a fall in the second peak and much lower incidence in care homes. It is vital that we learn the lessons—it is vital that we learn the right lessons—and I am glad to say that, over the summer, we were able to put in stronger protections based on the updated clinical advice.

[Holly Mumby-Croft (Scunthorpe) (Con)]

The case rate in north Lincolnshire is 19 per 100,000 and we have seen incredibly low levels of hospitalisation since the middle of May. That is due, I am sure, to the vaccination effort and all those people who have had their jab. People in Scunthorpe have done everything they have been asked to do, so does my right hon. Friend agree that unless we meet an incredibly high bar of evidence, we will proceed with the opening on 21 June?

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Matt Hancock and Holly Mumby-Croft

Monday 17th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

I pay tribute to the team who have put together the managed quarantine service, which has run remarkably smoothly for such a complicated operation. They are always very happy to hear feedback, and are constantly improving the system. I work very closely with the Home Secretary and the Transport Secretary on this. There have been remarkably few complaints about a system that has had to be put in place for significant numbers of people.

[Holly Mumby-Croft (Scunthorpe) (Con) [V]]

I thank the Health Secretary for his constant support in ensuring continuous vaccine supplies to the Baths Hall. We have, of course, been following the Prime Minister’s announcements closely in Scunthorpe. Will my right hon. Friend set out more detail on how the move toward some second doses after eight weeks will be implemented, especially for those who have already booked their 12-week appointment?

[Matt Hancock]

I am delighted that we managed to sort out the wrinkle that we had with the supplies of vaccine to Scunthorpe. It was a really good example of how this should work: my hon. Friend spoke up for Scunthorpe, and then the Minister got it fixed. I am very glad that we managed to sort that, and if there are any further problems, please do let me know.

We are inviting people who are over 50 and have a second jab booked 12 weeks after their first to rebook their vaccination from eight weeks after—not before eight weeks, because the effectiveness of the second jab strengthens for those first eight weeks. They can do that on the national booking system or through calling 119. We are texting those whose numbers we have to communicate with them. There is a whole process in place to get people rebooked wherever possible.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Matt Hancock and Holly Mumby-Croft

Monday 19th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

This is obviously a matter for powers greater than the Health Department. It is something that the Prime Minister has clearly set out his views on, and that is what I will stick by.

[Holly Mumby-Croft (Scunthorpe) (Con)]

Along with the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on brain tumours, my hon. Friend the Member for St Ives (Derek Thomas), I have previously raised the issue of residents who travel abroad for medical treatment having to pay hundreds of pounds for covid tests to travel out and to return. This is affecting my constituent, David Hopkins, and others across the country. Will the Health Secretary work with the Secretary of State for Transport urgently to find a way to allow patients such as David to use free NHS tests for medical travel purposes?

[Matt Hancock]

My hon. Friend raises an important point, and I am happy to look into it. I am also pleased that the cost of the tests that are needed for travel is coming down, and an important piece of work is under way to see how we can get that down further. Nevertheless, my hon. Friend makes a strong case for her constituent.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matt Hancock and Holly Mumby-Croft

Tuesday 13th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Matt Hancock)]

In our election manifesto, we committed to building 40 new hospitals by 2030 and upgrading another 20 hospitals. We are delivering on that commitment and now have plans to build 48 new hospitals this decade. We will open a competition for the eight further new hospitals shortly.

[Holly Mumby-Croft]

I thank my right hon. Friend for the investment that we have seen in Scunthorpe General Hospital over the last year. Residents are seeing those changes and it will certainly help us in the medium term. Looking to the future, will he continue to work with me on the plans for a new hospital for Scunthorpe?

[Matt Hancock]

I thank everybody who is working at Scunthorpe General Hospital for their incredible effort over the last year. My hon. Friend has been an assiduous campaigner for Scunthorpe hospital and the upgrades that we have already been able to put money into, and now there are eight slots for further new hospitals. Forty have been announced and we will build eight more over this decade. We will shortly announce how we are going to make that decision. There will be an open process and I look forward to working with her, her colleagues and colleagues across the NHS in Lincolnshire to make sure that they can put together the best possible application.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matt Hancock and Holly Mumby-Croft

Tuesday 12th January 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

I am really delighted that ECG Training is involved in hosting some of the testing centres. We have had amazing offers of support in the form of places that are now being used as testing centres and as some of the 1,000-plus vaccination centres across the country. We have been working since the summer with some sites to ensure that they were ready to be vaccination centres. We are always open to further offers of support, but I would say that we have been working on this for some time. It is also important that, for infection control reasons, testing centres and vaccine sites that are put in the same place are kept separate, not least because we want to make sure that when an octogenarian goes for a vaccine, they are kept safe in the process of getting that vaccine. The thing to do is raise this specific offer of support with the Minister responsible for vaccine deployment, my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon.

[Holly Mumby-Croft [V]]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his help in getting the vaccine into our Ironstone Centre, Scunthorpe Hospital, and, I am really pleased to say, some of our care homes, too. Can he tell us how the new Oxford vaccine will speed up access to the jab for those still waiting and what that means for towns and villages in my area, such as Hibaldstow, Scawby, Kirton in Lindsey, and Messingham? Will they see more local vaccination centres?

[Matt Hancock]

It is so important to get the vaccine to care homes. Over a quarter of care home residents have now received their first dose of the vaccine, and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is much easier to get to care homes. We will be doing that by taking the vaccine to the care home rather than opening new centres, but I want people in Hibaldstow, Scawby, Kirton in Lindsey, Messingham and throughout the Scunthorpe constituency to know that they will be within 10 miles of a vaccination centre, because we know how important it is that everybody can access this vaccine.

Covid-19 Vaccine Roll-out

Debate between Matt Hancock and Holly Mumby-Croft

Tuesday 8th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

It is only with a vaccine that we can finally defeat this virus and get life back to normal. This UK project has made huge strides forward, and I am very, very grateful to NHS Scotland for the work that it is doing right now in making sure that the vaccine can reach people across Scotland, as the NHS is doing in Wales, Northern Ireland and England. It is a big team effort, and it is because the UK vaccines taskforce was the first out of the blocks on buying the vaccine, along with the smart approach taken by the MHRA, that we have been able to get to this point before any other country.

The hon. Gentleman asked about fairness in access. Absolutely—fairness is critical, hence we will follow the clinical advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on priority, again, right across the UK. Finally, I agree strongly with him—the hon. Member for Leicester South (Jonathan Ashworth) also raised this, and I did not respond to it, so I shall now—that countering disinformation is incredibly important. That is best done with positive information and explaining objectively why and how the vaccine is safe. Something that we can all do in the House is talk positively about the benefits of the vaccine for keeping people safe and keeping their community safe. I pay tribute to all those who have been willing to come forward and talk in public, and I thank those who have already had the vaccine—since 6.30 this morning—and have been willing to tell their story publicly to help others have the confidence to do the right thing. Finally, surveys of the UK population show that we have one of the highest acceptances of taking the vaccine in the world. The numbers who are enthusiastic about it are rising at the moment, and we need to keep that going.

[Holly Mumby-Croft (Scunthorpe) (Con)]

I echo the Secretary of State’s thanks to the MHRA for its tremendous work in ensuring that this vaccine is safe. I look forward to having my jab as soon as it is my turn, and I will encourage everybody I love to do the same. Earlier this week, we learned that Scunthorpe General Hospital was not among the first group of vaccination hubs. Can my right hon. Friend provide further clarity on how those hubs are allocated, and can he reassure me and my constituents in Scunthorpe, who are currently in tier 3, that we will receive the vaccine in the very near future?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, absolutely. We have started at 70 hospitals across the UK. Those are the ones that are best able to deal with the difficult logistics of a vaccine that has to be stored at minus 70° C. I understand the desire for every hospital to get on that list, and we will publish a further list later today. My local hospital, the West Suffolk, is also not yet administering vaccines. The other critical part of this is the primary care networks—the community roll-out—which will get us to many, many more sites where people are able to access the vaccine, so that in Scunthorpe and across the whole of the UK, everybody is able to access this vaccine as fairly and safely as possible.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Matt Hancock and Holly Mumby-Croft

Tuesday 17th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

As a proud supporter of the Conservative Government’s introduction of the national living wage, I am a big fan of the pay increases that we have seen for some of the lowest paid people in the country, such as some of those working in social care including the home care sector, about which the hon. Member speaks. National living wage legislation is not a “nice to have”; it is mandatory, and all employers must follow it.

[Holly Mumby-Croft (Scunthorpe) (Con)]

  I thank my right hon. Friend for his incredible hard work over recent months. I am delighted that Scunthorpe General Hospital has received significant funding, which will help with the short to medium-term pressures, but he knows that it is in need of a much more significant upgrade. When he is able to, will he meet me to discuss a way forward?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes; my hon. Friend has been a champion for Scunthorpe and for supporting Scunthorpe General Hospital. I am glad that we have been able to make an investment in that hospital, and I am happy to meet her to talk about what more we can do.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Matt Hancock and Holly Mumby-Croft

Programme motion
Monday 19th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Of course I understand the point that the hon. Gentleman makes. I know Chester well, and it has more pubs per head of population than any other city in the country, so the hospitality industry there is incredibly important. We are giving as much support as we possibly can, but we always keep these things under review. I look forward to working with the hon. Gentleman to support the people of Chester.

[Holly Mumby-Croft (Scunthorpe) (Con)]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his work. Will he give an update on the availability of the Roche reagent that Scunthorpe has seen a shortage of? Can he reassure me that those who need an urgent blood test can get one and that the lack of reagent will not affect covid tests?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, I hope I can reassure my hon Friend on both points. First, we have largely resolved the problem of the supply of Roche kit for non-covid tests—mostly blood tests. There has been a huge amount of work on that and I thank my team and the Roche team for solving the problem with the warehouse in Kent. Secondly, I absolutely reassure my hon. Friend that the situation does not affect covid tests: although Roche supplies around 5,000 covid tests a day, they were protected throughout.

Covid-19 Update

Debate between Matt Hancock and Holly Mumby-Croft

Monday 5th October 2020 Commons Chamber

[Holly Mumby-Croft (Scunthorpe) (Con)]

From speaking to local people, it has become clear that there are still concerns about routine appointments—GP appointments and, increasingly, routine dental care—which are obviously important for preventing problems down the line. Can my right hon. Friend tell me what plans he has to ensure that over these potentially bumpy next few months, people are still able to get those appointments?

[Matt Hancock]

For all my huge enthusiasm for technology, it is obviously critical for people to have a face-to-face appointment in primary care at their GP’s surgery, if one is needed. We have made it clear that every GP practice should offer those face-to-face appointments in a covid-secure way where they are needed. The vast majority of GPs are doing incredible work, and offering the public the service and the vocation that they went into medicine for. If my hon. Friend has specific examples, I will be happy to look into them, but overall, it is so important that we keep primary care running.

Coronavirus

Debate between Matt Hancock and Holly Mumby-Croft

Tuesday 15th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, I absolutely recognise that there are challenges: I set them out in my initial answer and have done repeatedly. I urge colleagues in all parts of the House, and the hon. Gentleman, for whom I have huge respect, to accept that we are only going to solve these problems if we use the data as our guide.

[Holly Mumby-Croft (Scunthorpe) (Con)]

I have constituents in Scunthorpe who have struggled to access a face-to-face GP appointment. Can my right hon. Friend reassure those constituents that, should they need one, they will be able to have one?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes. There is no greater supporter than me of the ability to access medicine by telemedicine. It is an incredibly important option that is available and should be a choice for our constituents. We have made access by telemedicine the default method unless there is a good clinical reason not to use it. It is, however, as I have always set out, critical that there is face-to-face access as well. The NHS has written to all GPs to explain that while telemedicine should always be available, and that option should be available where it is clinically right, face-to-face appointments should also always be available and are absolutely necessary. The combination of the two is the future of the NHS.