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2,941 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDCovid-19: Cancelled Medical OperationsI should first like to pay tribute to all those who have been involved in setting up the Nightingale hospitals. People have worked extremely hard to deliver a valuable service to…10 Jun 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Cancelled Medical OperationsThe noble Lord may be interested to know that, frustratingly, waiting lists have gone down rather than up, from 4.42 million in February to 4.32 million in March. This is an…10 Jun 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Cancelled Medical OperationsThe noble Baroness, Lady Jolly, is right to emphasise the importance of safe spaces. Cancer surgery requires a completely hygienic environment for those who have immune…10 Jun 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Cancelled Medical OperationsThe noble Baroness has asked for a very specific figure, which I am afraid I do not have to hand. However, I can assure her that the private healthcare contract has provided us…10 Jun 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Cancelled Medical OperationsMy Lords, NHS trusts were rightly asked to postpone elective activity to free up capacity to support the response to Covid-19. The latest data shows that there was a 30% reduction…10 Jun 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Cancelled Medical OperationsMy Lords, I do not have the precise figures which the noble Baroness asked for. However, I reassure the Chamber that the NHS is working hard to ensure that those who need urgent…10 Jun 2020HANSARDCovid-19: Cancelled Medical OperationsThe noble Baroness is right to raise this concern. The bigger focus is less on the operational restraints, because the NHS has in fact done extremely well to keep the flow of…10 Jun 2020HANSARDExercise CygnusThe noble Baroness will not be at all surprised to learn that I do not agree with her analysis in any way. Operation Cygnus demonstrates that we did have robust systems in a great…09 Jun 2020HANSARDExercise CygnusThe noble Baroness is in danger of misrepresenting the situation. The whole point of running a trial such as operation Cygnus is to probe the system and to find weaknesses. That…09 Jun 2020HANSARDExercise CygnusMy Lords, it is necessary for the preparations for such civil emergencies to be made in a confidential fashion so that the unthinkable can be thought and plans can be made in a…09 Jun 2020HANSARDCovid-19: R Rate and Lockdown MeasuresThe fear of a second wave is profound. We have seen what happened in Singapore and we remain vigilant. However, enormous progress is being made against the epidemic, as the noble…09 Jun 2020HANSARDExercise CygnusThe noble Baroness conflates two separate matters. The National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies is updated regularly and assesses civil emergency risks with a five-year…09 Jun 2020HANSARDCovid-19: R Rate and Lockdown MeasuresI share the noble Baroness’s tribute to the nation’s carers. This week is Carers Week, and it is quite right that the House pays tribute to the contribution of all those who have…09 Jun 2020HANSARDExercise CygnusI assure the noble and right reverend Lord that operation Cygnus happened in 2016 and the recommendations were completed by spring 2018. However, it is possible that nothing could…09 Jun 2020HANSARDCovid-19: R Rate and Lockdown MeasuresI share my noble friend’s frustration that this disease has proved a horrid and at times confusing foe, but I testify to the strength of the scientific advice we have been given.…09 Jun 2020HANSARDCovid-19: R Rate and Lockdown MeasuresThe London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine’s report is one model of more than a dozen that contribute to the SPI-M committee, which looks at modelling. We value it, but it…09 Jun 2020HANSARDExercise CygnusMy Lords, I admit that my briefing is not entirely specific, but it is my impression that operation Cygnus did not address the question of ventilators. One of the distinctive…09 Jun 2020HANSARDExercise CygnusThe noble Baroness is right—if I understand her correctly—that the needs of PPE for a flu pandemic were quite different from those for Covid. It is also true that the planning did…09 Jun 2020HANSARDCovid-19: R Rate and Lockdown MeasuresI completely agree with the noble Lord that we need to get the economy back, and I very much agree with his last word—safely. The CMO’s advice is very clear that social distancing…09 Jun 2020HANSARDExercise CygnusMy Lords, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services had strong input into operation Cygnus and its recommendations were taken on board. It was however a trial run for…09 Jun 2020