Julia Lopez MP's column for the June 2020 issue of the Hornchurch Vision magazine:
I write my latest Vision column as we begin to take the first tentative steps to resume normality since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
As a society, we have undergone an exceptionally difficult period in which we have accepted significant changes to our way of life in order to protect the NHS and save lives. As a result, we can be grateful that neither our local health trust nor the wider health service has been overwhelmed. However, one of the worrying effects of lockdown has been the reluctance of people who might have other health conditions to seek help. If this is you, please do not be deterred from contacting the NHS or afraid to go to hospital. There is lots of useful advice online about how to access a range of NHS services via a computer, tablet or smartphone using the Health at Home website - www.nhs.uk/health-at-home Visiting the site gives information about how to contact GPs, order repeat prescriptions, manage long-term conditions and maintain mental and physical wellbeing.
While the pandemic presented many challenges, it has also highlighted both the strength and importance of communities as many have rushed to help others. Nationally, over two million food boxes have now been sent to the clinically vulnerable. Locally, the Havering Volunteer Centre has played a pivotal role in marshalling helpers and there have been numerous examples of local traders providing services free of charge to the most vulnerable. With Havering having the highest proportion of over-65s in London, Hornchurch-based Tapestry have also been a key community coordinator, providing care calls, telephone befriending and other support to those in need. If you know of anyone that may benefit from this support, please call 01708 796600 or email [email protected].
Economically, it has been our high street and other small businesses that have faced some of the hardest challenges. With many high street stores required to close, the government has sought to support businesses with a package of grants, Statutory Sick Pay relief and government-backed finance. The government has also backed employers who retain their staff with the now-extended furlough scheme, supporting 7.5 million jobs alongside an income support scheme for the self-employed. Any traders that experience any difficulty in accessing government support schemes should contact my office and my team would be happy to assist them.
As efforts continue to control the pandemic, we must also ensure progress is made on the pledges set out at last year's election. Two of my local priorities were to ensure Havering benefits from the goal of recruiting 20 000 more police officers, and to deliver a new NHS Health Hub in Hornchurch. I want to reassure constituents that work is being done on both issues. When I last spoke to our Borough Police Commander, he had received an additional 56 officers in the previous two months in the triborough area, with more to come. A specialist Violence Suppression Unit is also being launched, alongside new entry routes into the Met for detectives and apprentices. I am assured, further to my discussions with the Department of Health, that a project director is now in place for the new NHS hub in Hornchurch and a planning application is due to be submitted in the coming months.
As we look forward to further restrictions being lifted, I continue to recommend that constituents stay up to date with the latest help and advice through the government's coronavirus portal at: www.gov.uk/coronavirus
