Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 16 July 2020 to Question 62691 on NHS: Racial Discrimination, what steps his Department has taken to protect NHS staff who have been assessed as high risk.

A number of resources are available to support organisations to protect staff who have been assessed as being at high risk. These include a risk reduction framework published by the Faculty of Occupational Medicine published in response to COVID-19 and the adult social care risk reduction framework. Additionally, NHS Employers have published guidance on how to enhance existing risk assessments. Risk is best managed at a local level in discussion between individuals and their managers.

There are a range of steps employers are taking to mitigate risk. These include stringent infection prevention and control assurance such as prioritisation of fit testing, rota adjustments, and regular health checks including COVID-19 testing. Personal protective equipment is also being procured, which addresses concerns about fit for some groups of people.