Richard Holden, MP for North West Durham, has asked Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, about testing in care homes. Richard has also spoke with the Minister for Care Homes about the issue. You can watch Richard in the House of Commons here.
During questions to the Secretary of State in the House of Commons, Richard raised the issue of testing in care homes for both staff and residents. Richard asked this to seek clarity and support from the Health Secretary as part of ongoing conversations he is having with care homes across North West Durham.
Staff at care homes in the constituency have reached out to Richard for reassurance about testing and how it works. In some care homes, residents and staff have refused testing due to concerns about it. You can read about testing and how it works, and also book testing for your care home here.
Commenting, Richard said ‘I want to reassure everyone that we are working hard to ensure testing is accessible in all care homes. It is vitally important that those working and living in care homes get tested – this allows you to access the right treatment and we have a huge amount of NHS capacity and resources to help deal with coronavirus. I understand that people are worried about testing but getting tested is critical to ensuring that you and those around you stay safe.’
To hear more about the work that Richard is doing for North West Durham, you can sign up here or input your details in the form on this page.