Covid-19 — Testing of NHS and Social Care Staff — 24 Jun 2020 at 18:48

A majority of MPs voted against routine weekly covid-19 testing for all NHS and Social Care staff.

The motion rejected by a majority of MPs in this vote was:

• That this House
• expresses thanks to the heroic work of frontline NHS staff who have saved lives throughout the Covid-19 pandemic;
• pays tribute to the at least 312 NHS and Social Care staff who have died of coronavirus in the United Kingdom;
• recognises the impact that coronavirus will have upon the NHS to deliver routine care including mental health care without additional Government support;
• notes that NHS waiting lists are projected to reach 10 million by the end of 2020, that cancer referrals fell 60 per cent during the peak of the coronavirus lockdown and that four out of five children have reported their mental health has got worse during the pandemic;
• further notes that there is a backlog of NHS care that needs to be tackled and that it is vital to prepare NHS services to deliver safe care alongside care for coronavirus, including preparing for winter and ensuring necessary supplies of PPE and medicine;
• is concerned that routine testing of NHS and Social Care staff is not currently in place; and
• calls on the Government to implement a routine weekly testing programme for all NHS and Social Care staff to enable NHS services to safely resume and ensure the continuity of services throughout the winter alongside a functional, national, public test, trace and isolate system.

Debate in Parliament |