MY OPEN letter to Jeremy Hunt MP:

Dear Mr Hunt,

I am writing on behalf of the SW Surrey Constituency Labour Party to request you act with urgency on behalf of NHS staff in securing immediate testing for all staff and that they get the PPE they so desperately need.

We endeavour to be non-partisan in this time of extreme crisis. The entire country shares the same objective: to defeat the outbreak with minimal suffering.

However, being non-partisan does not mean passively endorsing ineffective policies.

The government’s approach is characterised by lack of precision, by unexplained changes of direction and by a woolliness in leadership which risks losing the confidence of the community in this time of crisis.

We need a credible plan for testing: tomorrow, next week, next month. We need to know who will be tested first and who next.

We need clarity on what the lockdown means – one walk or several? How far? Can you drive to get there? Should you shop frugally every few days, or stock up once a week?

Quite unprecedentedly, people are willing to follow the government’s lead, but it is simply infuriating the details swim before our eyes, subtly changing from day to day.

Moreover, I am distraught at the slow response of our government in requisitioning even the basic protective gear for our frontline staff and I have heard from many constituents who share my distress.

It is shocking that doctors and nurses cannot get masks and gloves and that some physicians have had to personally order and pay for protective gear for themselves and their staff.

Not providing staff with adequate PPE is almost certainly leading to higher death rates among those who are giving their all to save us from this virus.

Similarly, this government has acted far too slowly in requisitioning Covid-19 tests and making them available to all NHS staff.

The NHS was already understaffed prior to this pandemic and keeping staff in isolation without testing adds to staff shortages.

Testing would also lead to quick identification and treatment of Covid-19 and could save many lives of our frontline healthcare workers.

As health secretary from 2012 to 2018, I am certain you have a thorough understanding of the processes to action such requests and I am asking you do whatever you can to work for immediate and widespread testing for NHS staff, for supplying them with adequate PPE and for rigorous clarity in guidance to the public.

* By Tim Corry

Labour Party Parliamentary Candidate for SW Surrey, Farnham

***

Jeremy Hunt, MP for South West Surrey, replies:

Thank you for your open letter. You are right that in difficult times like this it is important not to be partisan which is why I welcome the approach the Labour Party has taken in supporting the government’s general strategy to dealing with Covid-19.

It was particularly significant, for instance, that they agreed with the emergency legislation that was required to prepare us for this crisis.

I support what the government is doing but as chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee I have certainly not been afraid to speak up on the key issues of personal protective equipment and testing.

I spoke about both at length in the House of Commons in March and have made numerous media appearances highlighting the importance of these issues.

We must protect the wonderful NHS and care staff who are doing so much to get us through this.

That is why I was pleased to see the government upgrade the personal protective equipment guidelines last week making them amongst the safest in the world.

This decision was endorsed by the Royal Colleges who helped put the guidelines together. Millions of pieces of equipment are now being delivered to staff across the country and there is a hotline for them to report shortages directly to those who can help.

There is always more we can do and I will continue to encourage the government to keep staff protected, particularly those who work in the care sector who often do not get the recognition they deserve.

Finally, on testing, the government now has a five-point strategy for increasing our testing capacity to 100,000 tests per day and beyond. This is very welcome news and demonstrates how importantly they are taking the issue.

I believe a mass community testing and tracing programme is the only viable route out of the present situation and I will continue to make the case publicly that we must adopt this approach.

As Her Majesty reminded us all so powerfully last weekend, if we come together we will get through this. We all need to play our part by sticking to the government’s advice and staying at home for all but essential reasons.