Coronavirus Response

Heather Wheeler Excerpts

Monday 20th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

If they have signed a data protection agreement, today.

[Mrs Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire) (Con)]

My South Derbyshire constituents have strong links with Burton and Leicester. In light of the recent spikes in the covid virus there, what steps is my right hon. Friend taking to ensure that local authorities have the necessary powers to take local action to control the virus? Does he agree that localised action will be key to managing the virus as we move forward?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, I agree strongly with my hon. Friend, who makes the point very clearly. No matter the level of new infections in any area, having better and better data helps us give more support to those who have coronavirus. Whether it is an outbreak with large numbers, as we saw for instance in Leicester and some other cities, where there is clear concerted action with support from national Government to go in and root it out, or whether it is an area with very low levels of background infections, like her own, where the local authority having the data will allow it to support the few positive cases, better data will help the co-ordination of the national and local response. We have said all along that tackling the virus is best done by the national level and local level working together, and I am really pleased that we are able to get this increased data out to increase that co-ordination still further.

Covid-19 Update

Heather Wheeler Excerpts

Thursday 16th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

The last bit of the question was a bit broad.  Not all my assertions have been wrong, but I do learn and try to learn. Indeed, I have discussed openly some of the things that went badly and wrong judgments, as well as things that have gone well. I have referenced, for instance, the fact that when we first brought in guidance on funerals, it had the impact of too many people staying away—spouses who might have been married for 50 years. We changed that, because it was an error. Absolutely, the learning culture is important. It is important that it is set from the top, and I am happy to be open about the errors that I have made—others can be open about their errors—and learn. I also think it is important to be robust where you think you have made a decision correctly.

[Mrs Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire) (Con) [V]]

Will my right hon. Friend commit to use the experience of what has happened in Leicester to inform future measures in other areas, with a ruling on which essential workers should be able to keep working, with all the appropriate safeguards, such as those in our high-class engineering companies in South Derbyshire and elsewhere?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes. That links to the previous question, and this is one of the things we learned from Leicester. We had the power to close non-essential retail across the city. We will now take the power to enable the local council to close non-essential retail where necessary and therefore take a much more targeted approach. That allows us to fight the virus but with a lower negative impact on business. We are constantly seeking to improve the tools at our disposal—in this case, legislative tools—to fight the virus.

Coronavirus

Heather Wheeler Excerpts

Tuesday 7th July 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes and yes.

[Mrs Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire) (Con) [V]]

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on answering this urgent question with the usual aplomb, and I also congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Miss Dines) on asking about cancer treatment, which is very important up here in Derbyshire. Is there any news about reopening swimming pools? We have fantastic swimming clubs in South Derbyshire that want their kids to get back to swimming. Although I am grateful for all the pubs that are open, some families prefer to go to bowling alleys. Does he have any news on when they will be able to open?

[Matt Hancock]

I would love to get swimming pools open as soon as safely possible. As my hon. Friend knows, the emphasis has to be on safety. Alongside gyms, we are working with swimming pools. Of course, there is also some beautiful open water swimming in Derbyshire. Swimming in all its forms—in the sea, in open water and in swimming pools—is very good for your health, and we should try to get it all open as soon as we possibly can, but the nature of swimming and changing rooms means that there are risks, and we have to ensure that those risks are properly taken into account.

Social Distancing: 2 Metre Rule

Heather Wheeler Excerpts

Monday 15th June 2020 Commons Chamber

[Edward Argar]

The hon. Gentleman is quite right. A lot of the debate has focused on hospitality, pubs and restaurants, but he is absolutely right to talk about the impact on music venues, cultural venues and theatres, all of which play a huge part in our national life. I will, of course, highlight that issue for those conducting the review and the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

[Mrs Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire) (Con) [V]]

Can my hon. Friend confirm that the comprehensive review launched by the Prime Minister on the 2 metre rule will report back to Government as swiftly as possible? That will be very important to pubs and restaurants in South Derbyshire, which are chomping at the bit to reopen and welcome customers back.

[Edward Argar]

My hon. Friend emphasises what a number of right hon. and hon. Members have quite rightly said, not least my right hon. Friend the Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Sir Iain Duncan Smith), about the need for the review to report with speed and urgency. I know that that message will have been heard very loud and clear.

Covid-19 Update

Heather Wheeler Excerpts

Tuesday 5th May 2020 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, we have today launched a piece of work by Public Health England to look into the disparities in the impact of covid-19. However, I will just pick the hon. Lady up on a couple of points from her question. The evidence shows quite clearly that the impact of covid-19 is lesser on children and lesser on women than it is on men. There is also growing evidence that obesity has a big impact. We have to look into all those considerations. We will listen to the scientists and the medics, and learn whatever lessons we can.

[Mrs Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire) (Con) [V]]

I thank my right hon. Friend for his answers and congratulate him and all the hardworking staff in the NHS and carers on looking after us. Will he support my campaign to have a memorial placed at the National Arboretum at the heart of the country as a fitting way to commemorate the sad loss of essential workers to covid-19?

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, I would be very happy to discuss that suggestion with my hon. Friend. It is important that, as a nation, we remember and commemorate the sacrifice of those who have lost their lives while serving on the frontline of this war; it is a war in which we are all on the same side, and we should commemorate those who have given their lives in it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Heather Wheeler Excerpts

Tuesday 7th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire) (Con)]

10. What progress the Government have made on improving safety in hospitals in special measures.

[The Secretary of State for Health (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

The 21 hospitals that have been put into special measures under the new inspection regime have recruited 458 more doctors and 1,012 more nurses, and all of them have made good progress, including the Medway and Burton hospitals.

[Mr Hunt]

I do pay tribute to them, and I welcome Dr Trisha Bain to that post. Ten years ago, that hospital had one of the worst mortality rates in the country. Since then, it has recruited nearly 100 more doctors and 83 more nurses, and has teamed up with Guy’s and St Thomas’. There is a culture of transparency and honesty about failings and a rigorous focus on improvement that were not there before. I hope that the whole House will welcome that change in culture.

[Heather Wheeler]

My local hospital, Queen’s hospital in Burton, has worked closely with Monitor to improve while it has been in special measures. Does the Secretary of State agree that, although spending four nights in ward 7 was not the best way for me to start the general election campaign, all the staff should be congratulated on the way they have approached the need to improve?

[Mr Hunt]

I am sorry that my hon. Friend had to go to hospital at the start of the election campaign, but I congratulate her on being probably the only Member of the House to have launched their campaign from an NHS hospital ward. I trust that all the nurses voted for her as a result.

Inexplicably, the trust that my hon. Friend talked about was made a foundation trust in 2008, despite a number of problems that were not recognised. Since then, it has made dramatic improvements in its care, with more doctors and more nurses. I am delighted that it is on track to deliver better care.

Hospital Car Parking Charges

Heather Wheeler Excerpts

Monday 1st September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire) (Con)]

Some of my colleagues have talked about parking arrangements needing to change so that instead of getting a ticket at the beginning of their stay, people pay at the end. South Derbyshire has free car parking for everything, but it does not have a hospital, so my constituents have to travel to Burton, to Glenfield in Leicester or to the Queen’s medical centre in Nottingham, and they have to pay. Burton hospital has changed its arrangements, along with a company called ParkingEye, and there has been a huge outcry. Part of the arrangement is that people have to remember when they came in, and when they go out they pay according to when they came in. They do not get a card that tells them when they came in. They might be rushing to take a child into A and E, or they might be a bit elderly and have eyesight that is not so good—I am coming and going with my glasses these days, so I feel their pain. A number of constituents have come to me in absolute outrage, because when they get it wrong they get a £70 fine. I am delighted that on every occasion I have been able to appeal to the chief executive and get that fine removed, but what an incredible waste of her time and mine, let alone the angst and anger of constituents.

We love our local hospitals. Burton hospital has been going through tough times, but it is our hospital. This system has been imposed on my constituents, and I am not happy about it. Fortunately, I have a good working relationship with Helen Ashley, the chief executive, and she is trying her best for our local hospital. She has reviewed the arrangements for ParkingEye and got it to make the press button keyboards and wording on the signs bigger, and to put more signs all the way round, but still the principle applies—what a daft system! I cannot believe the hospital has ended up going down that route and think that national guidelines would be excellent. Like everybody else, I congratulate my hon. Friends on securing this debate and the Minister on setting out guidelines over the past few days. That is a major step forward, but I implore hospitals, which are there to serve the public—just as we are in this Chamber—for goodness’ sake to put the patient first.

Mitochondrial Replacement (Public Safety)

Heather Wheeler Excerpts

Monday 1st September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire) (Con)]

Like other hon. Members, a constituent, Clare Exton from Newhall, came to talk to me about this issue. She is a vibrant lady and was on a mission. As a listening, caring MP, I was happy to listen to her story. She spoke to me about the charity work she does, the self-help group people have built up together, and the social functions they perform in giving one another support at such a difficult time. She was the one who first told me about how tantalisingly close the opportunities for the new science were.

I admire my hon. Friend the Member for Congleton (Fiona Bruce) so much—she is a lady of such high moral standards and ethics that it almost pains me to tell her that I cannot support her motion—but the big prize is the new science we have heard about. The arrangements that the HFEA will put in place so that there will be no doubt whatever that the science is telling us the truth are massively and incredibly important.

I believe that this is a time in science and in the Chamber at which we ought to do the right thing. I have absolutely no desire to annoy any of my friends who have truly, deeply held religious feelings, because I think that, if they were shown this in black and white, they would still not agree. That is fine—of course it is—but we are making our constituents suffer, and it carries on year after year. It does not need to be like that. I am sure the Minister will describe the safeguards. That is all I want to say. I believe that our constituents deserve this chance.

Dementia Care and Services

Heather Wheeler Excerpts

Tuesday 7th January 2014 Commons Chamber

[Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. Will he congratulate the staff of Lloyds bank in Swadlincote high street who have taken the Alzheimer’s Society as their charity of the year? The local Alzheimer’s carers group works there and raises hundreds of pounds every month for that very important cause.

[Alec Shelbrooke]

My hon. Friend eloquently describes the work going on in her constituency to raise funds for this very important issue. I wish to add my congratulations to my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tracey Crouch) on her dedicated work and on securing the debate last month, as well as to the right hon. Member for Salford and Eccles (Hazel Blears) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Sutton and Cheam (Paul Burstow). I hope that the recent momentum achieved by the efforts of the all-party parliamentary group to shed light on this issue will result in achieving the aim—backed by NHS England—of 66% of people with dementia receiving a formal diagnosis by 2015. It can be done, as some CCGs already have a 70% diagnosis rate. Can the Minister shed any light on why individual CCG diagnosis rates are so varied and do not add up to the NHS England ambition of 66%? Are there any plans to investigate further the effectiveness of homocysteine tests on the NHS?

Hospital Mortality Rates

Heather Wheeler Excerpts

Tuesday 16th July 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

I absolutely can. The new chief inspector of hospitals starts work today. We would like him to start the new inspection regime, adopting the same methodology as the Keogh review, as soon as possible, but it takes time to assemble a team of expert inspectors. He plans to start a pilot round of inspections this autumn before getting into full swing next year, and all the hospitals on today’s list will be inspected again within the next 12 months.

[Heather Wheeler (South Derbyshire) (Con)]

My constituents use Burton trust, so it is a sad day when it is on the list. Will the Secretary of State help to ensure that no barrier is placed between MPs and hospital boards so that there is total transparency and local MPs can help the boards in the future?

[Mr Hunt]

That open relationship between hon. Members and their local NHS trusts is extremely important and useful. We all have to recognise that sometimes we have to speak up publicly when there are problems at our local NHS trust, because we have to represent our constituents, and that is part of the change due to this process. In the end, the most important thing is to give people confidence that, when there are problems, we are a Government who are committed to sorting them out.