The Mail Column: 04 April 2020

COVID-19 Heroes

People have been contacting me this week with a wide range of issues. My team and I have been doing our best to address these as quickly as possible, but the thing that has struck me this week have been the emails praising others' work.

More frequently than I'd expect, I'm receiving emails about how the Police are doing a great job, about the incredible sacrifices that doctors, nurses and staff across the NHS are making to keep the community safe, and about the small things that businesses are doing to help those in need.

So, I thought I'd use this column to thank a few myself. Thank you to everyone at Furness General, the NW Ambulance Service, and the Police who are really going above and beyond to save lives. I'm in awe. 

Thank you also to the amazing teams behind the Local Resilience Forums, who are keeping the community informed and safe. And thank you to local businesses like Wax Lyrical and Shed 1 who are pitching in and helping both the local and national effort.

Finally, thank you to all of you who are quietly at home, not going out into the sunshine this weekend and following the government and scientific advice by maintaining your distance. It may not feel like you're doing much, but you're actually saving lives. 

Fighting back against COVID-19

The Health Secretary made a welcome return to our screens this week, out of his own period of self-isolation after coming down with COVID-19 symptoms.

His press conference laid out the challenge we have as a country: to ramp up RELIABLE testing to 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month. As the experts tell us, we need more testing to protect those on the front line, but also so that we know who has had Coronavirus. Getting this right is a huge piece of work but crucially important. Furness has been above the national average on testing, but meeting this target will take that effort to a whole new level.

I've spent much of this week talking to people about personal protective equipment, or PPE as it is commonly known. I've been talking to doctors and nurses, the Chief Executive of our Hospital Trust, local businesses who are attempting to meet the challenge of supply that we face, and also Ministers.

We face an uphill struggle. I am told by leaders in the NHS that the supply is there, but getting it to the front line is proving challenging. Until supply grows, that will remain the case, and my team and I are dedicated to working with Ministers and businesses to increase Furness' supply of adequate PPE so that this issue can be put to bed. Of all things right now, we should not be worrying that our frontline medical staff are at risk. 

For every season

This morning I stepped out of isolation for the first time in eight days. It was glorious. I walked for the full hour of my allocated time, maintaining my distance from others, glad to feel pavement under my feet rather than carpet, and sun on my face. I even allowed myself the rare treat of leaving my phone on my desk.

I came back to a heated discussion on WhatsApp about garden centres. 

The messaging service WhatsApp is how parliament runs behind the scenes - group after group filled with MPs promoting ideas, asking questions, and seeking support. These groups are normally busy, but recently they've become unmanageable. It's not unusual to put your phone down for a few minutes and come back to over 100 new messages. This is maddening, but also hugely useful. Right now, it's how we're getting things done - flagging local issues with Ministers direct so that changes can be made to policy. A fast moving situation requires a platform like that.

The debate on garden centres is over whether they should be open. Gardening keeps people at home and gives them purpose during a lock-down. Garden centres don't. There is also the issue of plants being allowed to die if there is not a mechanism for their sale and distribution.

The back and forth continued until one of my colleagues - a former medic now back on the front lines in their constituency - chipped in with a her own experience. She was currently caring for a 45 year old who had been in isolation for two weeks, nipped to the shops once during that time for milk, and was now on a ventilator.

And suddenly, like that, it's all brought home to you. This is why social isolation is so important. The virus could be on door handles, bottles of milk. Going out introduces risk, and for many people that risk can cause serious medical issues.

So, I implore you once again. Stay safe, wash your hands, only step out if you must, and maintain your distance. Doing so will save lives.