NHS: Winter Preparedness

Baroness Merron Excerpts

Tuesday 16th December 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Kamall (Con)]

My Lords, I want to ask the Minister about two cohorts in respect of which there are concerns about vaccination levels. The first is front-line health workers. Is the Minister aware of what percentage have been vaccinated and what action is being taken to improve the uptake of vaccinations, particularly among those front-line health workers? I know that there are stories and concerns expressed in the press about the rate of vaccination. On the second cohort, will the Minister tell the House which socio-economic or ethnic groups have the lowest update? What targeted plans does the department and NHS England have to increase uptake rates in these groups?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Care (Baroness Merron) (Lab)]

First, we have started earlier and done more than ever before to prepare for the winter pressures. The good news is that the flu vaccines are working well to protect people against severe disease, and they are certainly working well in comparison to how they used to. In fact, we are the first country in the world to show vaccines working this well. On the uptake of vaccinations, 60,000 more NHS staff have been vaccinated this year than last year, which is extremely welcome. We have delivered over 17 million flu vaccines, which is tens of thousands more than we had delivered this time last year. We have a particular programme of communication and support and availability to those groups which are less likely to take up vaccinations. Vaccinations are our best line of defence against RSV and flu. I will be pleased to provide more detailed information to the noble Lord.

[Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Lab)]

My Lords, given that not all babies are currently able to benefit from protection under the two-pronged approach to the RSV programme, what efforts will be made to ensure that other babies, such as those born to unvaccinated mothers, who remain at risk, will be included in any extension to the RSV vaccination programme?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I know my noble friend is very familiar with the maternal RSV programme, not least because of her campaigning, for which I pay tribute to her. It only began in September, and it is already proving successful. We want to see more pregnant women being vaccinated; we have updated and made available information resources in 30 languages for better access to vaccinations. We encourage maternity services to have early discussions with pregnant women about vaccination, and we ensure that training is in place to allow staff to have the knowledge and confidence to address concerns and build confidence. I hope that this answer is helpful not just to my noble friend but to the noble Lord.

[Lord Scriven (LD)]

My Lords, I do not believe for one moment that the Minister is complacent. In answer to the question from the noble Lord, Lord Kamall, the reason why the staff vaccination rate is up from last year is because it was at an all-time low of less than 30%, down from 2020 when it was 75%. There are still 750,000 healthcare workers who have not had the flu vaccine and who are unprotected. Based on that figure, what extra steps will the Government take to further incentivise take-up by NHS staff to prevent the crippling of service delivery when it most needed?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

The noble Lord is quite right. We have to protect our staff, who are under immense pressure and are not just at risk from flu but seeking to tackle the extra pressures of industrial action. We are focused on making vaccines available to staff in the easiest way possible. We will continue to do so. I should add that we are considering options on implementing advice to expand vaccinations to the over-80s and, in particular, older adult care residents to ensure that any change has the best possible impact. It is important that we continue to drive vaccination rates up. That will protect staff who are providing the care. As the noble Lord said, we also have to continue our programme to encourage NHS staff to take up the vaccine.

[Lord Stirrup (CB)]

My Lords, one of the biggest winter pressures on the NHS is the forthcoming strike, which will have an impact on patients, of course, but it will also have a further extremely damaging impact on the crucial consultant cohort which has to cover throughout these periods, many of whom are now simply looking for a way out. What is going to be done to improve the morale and retention of this vital resource?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

In my view, the BMA has chosen Christmas strikes to inflict damage on the NHS at a moment of maximum challenge. It has refused to postpone them to January, which would have helped patients and other NHS staff, as the noble and gallant Lord referred to, to cope over Christmas. At present, our position is that the offer that we made to prevent those strikes happening has not been accepted, as the noble and gallant Lord will know. We are now reviewing where we are going to go. We completely understand the effect on morale and the exhaustion among staff who are covering. We are managing that to the best of our ability. I am most grateful to NHS staff in supporting us to be ready for winter and tackling the industrial action’s effects.

[Lord Harper (Con)]

My Lords, can I press the Minister a little on the reasons why NHS staff are reluctant to get vaccinated? The noble Lord, Lord Scriven, drew attention to the very low vaccination rate. What are the top reasons for those barriers? What is the Minister doing about it as a matter of urgency, given the significant numbers of people contracting flu this season?

--- Later in debate ---

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

Among NHS staff, as in other groups, there is a vaccine hesitancy. It is not specific and particular to NHS staff but, as we have discussed a number of times in this Chamber, there is perhaps a misunderstanding about vaccines’ efficacy. We also have to acknowledge that conspiracy theorists across the internet continue to have a hold. We saw that throughout Covid. Our job with NHS staff, as with members of the public, is to make it easy and possible to get vaccinations, and to make people feel confident and informed about why they need them and how they support not just them but the people around them. That is particularly important for NHS staff. The noble Lord will be aware that we cannot demand that people have vaccinations, but we absolutely want to encourage maximum take-up.

[Lord Watts (Lab)]

My Lords, many parents shielding their children who have had serious illnesses are having to pay up to £90 each for a Covid jab. Many of those families do not have those resources, so their children are put at risk. Will the Minister look at that?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

My noble friend will be aware that we take advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation about to whom, when, and where jabs are available on a range of matters, including Covid. The committee keeps that constantly under review. Our immediate threat is in respect of flu and RSV; in particular, flu cases are rising, which is why we are closely monitoring the situation, as well as having prepared more extensively and providing more additional support than we have ever done before.

[Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP)]

My Lords, when it comes to influenza, the focus is often on droplet transmission, but there is also evidence of aerosol transmission, with the deeper lung deposition resulting in greater potency in initiating infections. That means that ventilation and air filtration are hugely important. How would the noble Baroness assess the levels of air ventilation and air filtration in hospitals and other medical settings, and, more broadly, in schools? Are the Government looking to improve that to help deal with all the respiratory infections that we face?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I cannot give the noble Baroness a specific answer, but I will be very happy to write to her. She will know how much improvement needs to be made to the estate. She will also be aware of the extra money that the Government have committed. Those decisions are local matters, but she raises a much wider and national matter, and I will be pleased to write to her further.