Navendu Mishra seeks reassurances during coronavirus crisis

Navendu Mishra, who is the Member of Parliament for Stockport, has asked for clarity on a range of issues in recent days, from Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for workers, to support for homeless people facing eviction, to guarantees that key services will continue to be provided across the constituency. 

As the number of cases of COVID-19 soars across the UK, Mr Mishra requested an urgent update from the Chair and Chief Executive of the Stockport NHS Foundation Trust about what measures were being put in place at Stepping Hill Hospital to increase capacity, provide sufficient numbers of ventilated beds and ensure that staff are receiving any additional training that is required. He also pushed for news about whether testing was taking place for NHS staff and whether adequate PPE equipment was available to all staff at the hospital. 

Then, in a letter to the Leader of Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council, Mr Mishra called for a council hotline number to be set up to field calls from concerned residents. He went on to ask what contingency measures the local authority is putting in place for daily public services as people are increasingly advised to self-isolate, in addition to providing residents with advice on hygiene and health, and details for how essential services, such as bin collections and burials, might be affected during this period. 

With the elderly and most isolated considered the most vulnerable, Mr Mishra also raised the important issue of social care, for both care home residents and those that currently receive care in their own homes, and what the council is doing to minimise the threat to them, particularly given they will be coming into contact with people who have not self-isolated. 

The Stockport MP also pushed for information on how homeless people, both tenants of Stockport Homes and private landlords who are under the threat of, or in the process of, eviction, would be supported during this period. Mr Mishra sought clarity on the same issue from the Chief Executive of Stockport Homes, as well as assurances on what they were doing to look after their staff and help to prevent the spread of the disease.

He has also been in contact with food banks and schools across the constituency to see what support they are receiving as the country goes into lockdown.

Navendu Mishra said: 

“I have been in contact with a range of organisations across Stockport, most importantly the NHS Foundation Trust and local authority, to establish what steps are being taken to deal with the threat of the coronavirus crisis.

This is an incredibly worrying time for workers and residents across my constituency and I would like to reassure them that I am doing all I can to ensure they are protected during this troubling time.”