The comments made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 30 November 2020.
This new £20m fund will significantly increase the capacity and resilience of our medicines and diagnostics manufacturing supply chains and equip us to fight future health crises.
Throughout the pandemic we have seen a coming together of British scientific industry and innovation and this new fund will enhance the UK’s manufacturing capabilities even further.
The statement made by Nadine Dorries, the Minister for Patient Safety, Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, in the House of Commons on 26 November 2020.
Today we have published the report into the events surrounding the death of Elizabeth Dixon—a baby who sadly died in December 2001 from asphyxiation resulting from a blocked tracheostomy tube and while under the care of a private nursing agency.
I offer my heart-felt condolences to Elizabeth’s family, to Anne and Graeme Dixon for their loss, compounded by the length of time—the passage of 20 years—before the facts of this case have been brought to light.
The investigation led by Dr Bill Kirkup was tasked with reviewing the care given to Elizabeth Dixon between her birth on 14 December 2000 and her death on 4 December 2001—and the response of the health system to a catalogue of errors and serious failings in that care.
This report describes a harrowing and shocking series of mistakes associated with the care received by Elizabeth and a response to her death that was completely inadequate and at times inhumane. Elizabeth and her family were let down by a failure to diagnose or respond to her underlying condition, to put in place the care she required, to acknowledge the circumstances of her death or provide her parents with an honest account of these failings.
The investigation sheds light on what the report describes as a “20 year cover up”. It alleges that some individuals have been persistently dishonest in accounting for their actions or inaction.
Underlying all of this was the acceptance of a flawed prognosis that influenced the future course of events. It created a situation in which
“facts were wilfully ignored, and alternatives fabricated”.
Shocking too is the implication in the report’s recommendations that the presence of her physical and mental health needs may have been used to justify or excuse the inadequate care she had received.
On behalf of Government and the health system I would like to say I am truly sorry for the devastating impact this must have had upon the Dixon family.
Individuals made mistakes and acted unprofessionally, but the system allowed it. The report makes it clear that
“clinical error, openly disclosed, investigated and learned from, should not result in blame or censure; equally, conscious choices to cover up or to be dishonest should not be tolerated”.
It is also unacceptable for patients ever to be exposed to unsafe or poor care, and I remain fully committed to ensuring we provide the highest standards of quality and safe services to all patients.
I am grateful to my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Jeremy Hunt) for commissioning this investigation in June 2017 when he was Secretary of State for Health and bringing these events into the open. I would also like to thank Dr Bill Kirkup and his team for the diligence and hard work that has informed their report.
Particularly, I would like to pay tribute to Anne and Graeme Dixon who have fought so hard for answers. I hope this report is the beginning of a process that will bring some closure for the family. They should not have had to wait for so long.
This report shines a light on a culture of denial and cover up 20 years ago that left a family with little choice but report their concerns to the police. Families should not have to fight a closed system for answers and I will not hesitate to expose this sort of behaviour whenever it appears today. Indeed, Elizabeth’s legacy should be that other families will always be told the truth.
Relevant organisations will need to consider and reflect carefully on the report’s recommendations. There is no room for complacency. The continual appearance of shocking reports about patient safety—historical or more recent—implies there is much for the NHS to focus on. My Department will therefore have oversight of their responses and report back to the House. There needs to be learning and implementation, but above all I want to be assured that we are doing all we can to make sure such events cannot happen again.
No other family should ever again have to go through the heartache and frustration experienced by the Dixons and I apologise again for the failings set out in this report.
Copies of the report have been laid before the House.
The comments made by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 29 November 2020.
Every week, we are getting more positive news about the range of vaccines in development, and thanks to the work of our taskforce the UK has pre-ordered hundreds of millions of doses from those companies most advanced in their work.
This includes buying a further 2 million doses of Moderna’s vaccine, on top of the 5 million we’ve already secured.
With a wide range of vaccine candidates in our portfolio, we stand ready to deploy a vaccine should they receive approval from our medicines regulator, starting with those who will benefit most.
The comments made by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 28 November 2020.
Because of the incredible sacrifices made by the British people to control the virus, many of us have spent more time indoors this year and could be deficient in vitamin D.
The government is taking action to ensure vulnerable individuals can access a free supply to last them through the darker winter months. This will support their general health, keep their bones and muscles healthy and crucially reduce the pressure on our NHS.
A number of studies indicate vitamin D might have a positive impact in protecting against COVID-19. I have asked NICE and PHE to re-review the existing evidence on the link between COVID-19 and vitamin D to ensure we explore every potential opportunity to beat this virus.
The comments made by Iain Stewart, the UK Government Minister for Scotland, on 28 November 2020.
The UK Government is helping all parts of the UK fight the coronavirus pandemic. Testing is vital, helping to manage local outbreaks and protecting people’s livelihoods. The UK Government is providing the bulk of Covid testing in Scotland, and this new walk-through centre is just the latest in our extensive testing network.
We are pleased to be working with local and commercial partners. These sites are not possible without the hard work of many people. I would like to thank everyone involved for their incredible efforts for the good of the country at this difficult time.
The comments made by Jonathan Ashworth, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 28 November 2020.
Only days ago Labour called for a Vaccines Minister to oversee the huge logistical challenge of widespread vaccination.
We now need a mass public health campaign urging uptake of the vaccine, alongside ensuring the resources are in place for GPs and other health professionals to rapidly roll this out as soon as possible.
The statement made by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, in the House of Commons on 26 November 2020.
On 23 November, the Prime Minister set out our covid-19 winter plan in Parliament. Our covid-19 winter plan puts forward the UK Government programme for suppressing the virus, protecting the NHS and the vulnerable, keeping education and the economy going, and providing a route back to normality.
Thanks to the shared sacrifice of everyone in recent weeks, in following the national restrictions, we have been able to start to bring the virus back under control and slow its growth, easing some of the pressure on the NHS.
We will do this by returning to a regional tiered approach, saving the toughest measures for the parts of the country where prevalence remains too high.
The tiering approach provides a framework that, if used firmly, should prevent the need to introduce stricter national measures.
On 2 December, we will lift the national restrictions across all of England and the following restrictions will be eased:
The stay-at-home requirement will end.
Non-essential retail, gyms, personal care will reopen. The wider leisure and entertainment sectors will also reopen, although to varying degrees.
Communal worship, weddings and outdoor sports can resume.
People will no longer be limited to seeing one other person in outdoor public spaces, where the rule of six will now apply.
The new regulations set out the restrictions applicable in each tier. We have taken into account advice from SAGE on the impact of the previous tiers to strengthen the measures in the tiers, and help enable areas to move more swiftly into lower tiers.
The changes to the tiers are as follows:
In tier 1, the Government will reinforce the importance that, where people can work from home, they should do so.
In tier 2, hospitality settings that serve alcohol must close, unless operating as restaurants. Hospitality venues can only serve alcohol with substantial meals.
In tier 3, hospitality will close except for delivery, drive-through and takeaway, hotels and other accommodation providers must close (except for specific exemptions, such as people staying for work purposes, where people are attending a funeral, or where they cannot return home) and indoor entertainment venues such as cinemas, theatres and bowling allies must also close. Elite sport will be played without spectators. Organised outdoor sport can resume, but the Government will advise against higher risk contact sports.
These are not easy decisions, but they have been made according to the best clinical advice, and the criteria that we set out in the covid-19 winter plan.
These are:
Case detection rates in all age groups
Case detection rates in the over-60s
The rate at which cases are rising or falling
Positivity rate (the number of positive cases detected as a percentage of tests taken)
Pressure on the NHS.
The indicators have been designed to give the Government a picture of what is happening with the virus in any area so that suitable action can be taken. These key indicators need to be viewed in the context of how they interact with each other as well as the wider context but provide an important framework for decision making, assessing the underlying prevalence in addition to how the spread of the disease is changing in areas. Given these sensitivities, it is not possible to set rigid thresholds for these indicators.
The regulations will require the Government to review the allocations every 14 days, with the first review complete by the end of 16 December.
We have been able to announce UK-wide arrangements for Christmas, allowing friends and loved ones to reunite, and form a Christmas bubble of three households for five days over the Christmas period.
We have increased funding through our contain outbreak management fund, which will provide monthly payments to local authorities facing higher restrictions.
We are also launching a major community testing programme, homing in on the areas with the greatest rate of infection.
This programme is open to local authorities in tier 3 areas and offers help to get out of the toughest restrictions as fast as possible.
The listed areas will be in each tier from the 2 December. This list will also be published on gov.uk and a postcode tracker will be available for the public to check what rules apply in their local area.
A list of allocations can be found at: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2020-11-26/HCWS608
The press conference statement made by Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, on 23 November 2020.
[NB, the statement from Downing Street is reproduced below with the punctuation errors uncorrected]
It seems that almost every week we learn of some new scientific breakthrough to help us beat Covid
last week it was good news about the vaccine from Pfizer BioNTech
and then Moderna
This morning we heard the fantastic news that the Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine has been highly effective in clinical trials
there are more tests to be done, but the signs are that this vaccine
financed partly by British taxpayers, working in partnership with a great British company –
This vaccine could be both affordable and easy to use and highly effective
We have ordered 100m doses
and thanks to the work of the Vaccines Task Force we have secured more than 350m doses of potential vaccines of all kinds
but we are not out of the woods yet
we can hear the drumming hooves of the cavalry coming over the brow of the hill
but they are not here yet
Even if all three vaccines are approved, even if the production timetables are met and vaccines notoriously fall behind in their production timetables
it will be months before we can be sure that we have inoculated everyone that needs a vaccine
and those months will be hard
they will be cold
they include January and February when the NHS is under its greatest pressure
and that is why when we come out of lockdown next week we must not just throw away the gains we have all made
So today we have published out Covid Winter Plan which sets out a clear strategy to take the country through to the end of March
We will continue to bear down hard on this virus
we will use tough tiering – in some ways tougher than the pre-lockdown measures and details of those tiers are on the gov.uk website later this week when we have the most up to data and we will be sharing details of which tier your area is going to be in
I should warn you now that many more places will be in higher tiers than alas was previously the case
and we will simultaneously be using the new and exciting possibilities of community testing – as they have done in Liverpool
and there will be a clear incentive for everyone in areas where the virus prevalence is high to get a test, to get one of these rapid turnaround lateral flow tests and do your best for the community
get a test to help to squeeze the disease and reduce the restrictions that your town or city or area has endured
and that way – through tough tiering and mass community testing
we hope to let people see a little more of their family and friends over Christmas
Now I know that many of us want and need Christmas with our families
we feel after this year we deserve it
but this is not the moment to let the virus rip for the sake of Christmas parties
tis the season to be jolly but tis also the season to be jolly careful
especially with elderly relatives
and working with the Devolved Administrations we will set out shortly how we want to get the balance right for Christmas and we will be setting this out later this week
Christmas this year will be different and we want to remain prudent through Christmas and beyond into the new year
but we will use the three tools that I have described to squeeze the virus in the weeks and months ahead
tiering, testing and the roll-out of vaccines
employing all three techniques together so as to drive down R and drive down the infection rate
and I really am now assured things really will look and feel very different indeed after Easter
and that idea of and end goal or date is important because at last – if the promise of the vaccines is fulfilled – we do have something to work for
a timescale, a goal around which businesses can begin tentatively to plan
and with luck and with hard work we will be seeing improvements before then
but for now the problem is not a shortage of hope
or a lack of optimism
not with the amazing news that we are getting from the laboratories in this country
the challenge now as we face this difficult winter ahead
is to fight down any over-optimism
to master any tendency to premature celebration of success
that success will come all the faster if we work together to follow the guidance
maintain the basic disciplines as people have done so heroically over the last few months
hands, face, space and get a test if you have symptoms
because that is the way we will beat it together.
The comments made by Jonathan Ashworth, the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on 23 November 2020.
After months of sacrifice, people are looking forward with hope to a vaccine that will save lives and provide a route out of lockdown restrictions. But after the ministerial mistakes over the procurement of PPE and the £12 billion for the failing Test and Trace system, nobody wants yet more avoidable mishaps.
Boris Johnson must reassure the country that Ministers have the resources and plans in places to deliver the vaccination programme as promised.
We need a Herculean effort to achieve the roll-out of a vaccine at a magnitude and scale unlike any we have ever seen before. Our NHS has gone above and beyond this year but is exhausted and overstretched. We can’t limp into the next crucial period of our battle with coronavirus, the government must urgently provide the resources necessary to ensure the speedy and smooth deployment of a vaccine. The necessary plans need to be in place now.
The comments made by Nadine Dorries, the Minister for Patient Safety, on 18 November 2020.
We are determined to make the NHS the safest healthcare system in the world. The introduction of digital prescribing systems has helped us reduce potentially deadly medication errors and save our hard-working staff valuable time, enabling them to dedicate their full attention and care to patients.
As we enter what is set to be a challenging winter, the best way we can continue to protect patients and staff is if we all work together and continue to follow the national restrictions to suppress the virus.