King's College Hospital: Covid-19 Recovery

Opened the debate

Helen Hayes raised the issue of post-covid recovery at King's College Hospital, highlighting its importance to her constituency. She praised the hospital staff for their work during the pandemic, noting that they treated over 6,871 patients and lost 1,285 lives due to covid-19. The hospital’s finances were in a precarious state before the pandemic, but the government wrote off £13 billion of debt including King's College Hospital's debt. This allowed staff to focus on coping with the pandemic. She also commended the hospital for its involvement in research and vaccine distribution, administering over 250,000 vaccines. However, she stressed that ongoing investment is needed to address backlogs created by the pandemic and to support patient care and staff retention. Helen Hayes called for sustained capital investment to renew facilities, especially at the Denmark Hill site.

Government Response

Minister Gillian Keegan thanked Helen Hayes for securing the debate and acknowledged the hard work of King's College Hospital staff. She detailed the hospital’s progress in reducing waiting lists, with significant reductions from February 2021 to present. The trust received £64 million in additional revenue funding since the start of the pandemic and an additional £18 million in capital funding for its critical care unit expansion. She commended the hospital's work on diagnostics and vaccinations, noting that they have administered over 250,000 vaccines. Gillian Keegan also highlighted national efforts to support NHS staff through comprehensive support programmes and occupational health teams, as well as investments in diagnostic hubs and elective activity recovery. The government is providing £700 million targeted investment for winter preparations and has given extra funding to bolster frontline staffing capacity and meet increased demand.