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Written Question
Coronavirus: Screening
Thursday 6th August 2020

Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to reports of limited home testing for COVID-19, what plans they have to simplify the requirements involved in taking a test.

Answered by Lord Bethell

Everyone with symptoms of COVID-19 is eligible for a test, but we know that certain groups or individuals may find access more difficult or be less likely to want to access a test or feel unable to self-isolate. This could be for a combination of reasons, from capability through to personal circumstance.

We are working on a number of policies to address these barriers, such as:

- the NHS 119 call centre uses the Language Line interpreter service and staff are trained to manage language barriers, including through use of this service;

- we have opened new ‘walk in’ local testing centres to make it easier for people without cars to get a test; and

- we are also conducting a targeted evaluation of asymptomatic workers in several high contact professions. In a number of these occupations such as taxi drivers, cleaners and retail assistants, there is high representation of black, Asian and minority ethnic groups. This evaluation is intended to help us learn more about who may be at higher risk from COVID-19 and how to help keep people in professions that come into greater contact with others safe.

We have also created a home testing programme that provides access to testing to anyone, anywhere in the United Kingdom. We are continuously improving the service so that testing is accessible to all. This includes working with a diverse range of organisations to help us making home as easy to access and as user friendly as possible. For example, we are currently working with the Royal National Institute of Blind People to make home testing services more accessible for the visually impaired.

Written Question
Care Homes: Staff
Monday 27th July 2020

Asked by: Lord Turnberg (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that the proposed White Paper on social care will include greater support for the care home work force than has previously been available.

Answered by Lord Bethell

The Government has put in place increased support for the social care workforce, including funding to support those needing to isolate, wellbeing assistance and initiatives to attract more people to social care roles. We will continue to review this support as we develop long-term plans for supporting our vital social care workforce.

The Government’s priority for adult social care is for everyone who relies on care to get the care they need throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

We are committed to bringing forward a plan for social care to ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect and to find long term solutions for one of the biggest challenges we face as a society. There are complex questions to address and it is important that we give these issues our full consideration in the light of current circumstances.

Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 01 Jul 2020
Covid-19 Update

"My Lords, when will the Government begin to make the test available to the whole population and not just to those with symptoms, so that we can discover the 80% of asymptomatic carriers? If there is a lack of capacity, why not use private and university labs around the country, …..."
Lord Turnberg - View Speech

View all Lord Turnberg (Lab - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Covid-19 Update
Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 03 Jun 2020
Covid-19: Response

"My Lords, like the Minister I too went to have my Covid test recently. There was hardly anyone there—lots of testing stations but no customers and no queues. I was in and out in five minutes. I was not surprised, therefore, that while 200,000 tests a day are available, many …..."
Lord Turnberg - View Speech

View all Lord Turnberg (Lab - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Covid-19: Response
Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 20 May 2020
Covid-19: Care Homes

"My Lords, among the many reasons why we have done so badly in protecting our care home residents from this dreadful illness is the almost complete lack of adequate public health services at the local level. A few years ago, when I was chairman of the then Public Health Laboratory …..."
Lord Turnberg - View Speech

View all Lord Turnberg (Lab - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Covid-19: Care Homes
Speech in Lords Chamber - Thu 23 Apr 2020
Covid-19: Social Care Services

"My Lords, I want to raise three questions with the Minister. None of them is entirely novel since they concern testing, how we treat care home staff and the logistics of government control. Those who are gifted with hindsight can see clearly now where the Government have gone wrong. But …..."
Lord Turnberg - View Speech

View all Lord Turnberg (Lab - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Covid-19: Social Care Services
Speech in Lords Chamber - Thu 06 Feb 2020
NHS: Targets

"My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend Lord Hunt for getting this debate and setting out the facts in such a devastating way. I heartily endorse his words. May I also say how much I appreciated the maiden speech of my noble friend Lady Wilcox? It was a …..."
Lord Turnberg - View Speech

View all Lord Turnberg (Lab - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: NHS: Targets
Speech in Lords Chamber - Tue 29 Oct 2019
Health Service Safety Investigations Bill [HL]

"My Lords, I should declare my interest after a lifetime spent in the National Health Service and as a past president of a medical royal college, so of course I welcome a Bill on patient safety, even if it may be some time before we see it again. I am …..."
Lord Turnberg - View Speech

View all Lord Turnberg (Lab - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Health Service Safety Investigations Bill [HL]
Speech in Lords Chamber - Mon 01 Apr 2019
Vaccine Hesitancy

"My Lords, vaccination programmes are the most effective public health measures we can imagine. I have two questions. First, what are the Government doing to ensure that pharmaceutical companies are encouraged to develop new vaccines for diseases? Secondly, I understand that some schools have made it imperative for parents to …..."
Lord Turnberg - View Speech

View all Lord Turnberg (Lab - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Vaccine Hesitancy
Speech in Lords Chamber - Wed 19 Dec 2018
Health: Pancreatic Cancer Treatment

"My Lords, the problem with pancreatic cancer is that, by the time a patient has symptoms and a diagnosis has been made, it is almost always too late. It hides itself away for far too long. The only way to make a real impact is by having some sort of …..."
Lord Turnberg - View Speech

View all Lord Turnberg (Lab - Life peer) contributions to the debate on: Health: Pancreatic Cancer Treatment