In a joint statement, Crispin Blunt, MP for Reigate and Claire Coutinho, MP for East Surrey, have praised the exceptional local response to the Coronavirus crisis in East Surrey. Their joint statement reads:
Further to the rapid and far-reaching central Government response to the national Coronavirus crisis, we would like to express our personal gratitude to everyone who has responded so generously to the local efforts to address a range of issues resulting from the crisis. The quality of our local response means that we are living in a part of the country most prepared and equipped not only to deal with the medical crisis, but all the social care, business and finance, and goods distribution challenges that the pandemic has unleashed upon the community, public services, and emergency services.
We are immeasurably grateful for the bravery and dedication of all the NHS workers in our area, including those based at East Surrey Hospital, First Community Health & Care and all of the GP Surgeries across East Surrey. The same applies to all the health and social care workers, who continue to support vulnerable people despite extremely difficult conditions, as well as our emergency services, delivery workers, supermarket and corner shop staff, chemists, post office staff, local parish and district councils, and all other essential service workers, including the fantastic effort from the voluntary sector, all of whom are keeping the foundations of our community social fabric working whilst non-essential services have closed down as requested.
We praise the response from Surrey County Council, which has been decisive and rapid, resulting in the reconfiguration and prioritisation of services, the closure of libraries, schools, recycling centres, and parks, the setting up of a Coronavirus information web-service, the creation of a Surrey wide vulnerable people’s hub and hotline, the setting up a County food store in Guildford, arranging for food and medical items to be distributed to the needy, and the setting up a Multi-Information Group (MIG) on behalf of the Surrey Local Resilience Forum (SLFR) is now coordinating public information and communications activities across the County.
Reigate and Banstead Borough Council has also taken the initiative under strong leadership and a dedicated staff team. It is mapping local need through its Community Partnerships team which is also arranging food and medical deliveries to the most-needy residents. It has also set up a community support centre and central food store at the Harlequin Theatre which supplies local food-banks and emergency food deliveries and has helped support the local voluntary sector respond by recruiting hundreds of volunteers to support health and social care community needs.
Tandridge District Council has also met the challenge by quickly mobilising to work with Tandridge Voluntary Action, Parish Councils, food-banks and over 20 community groups and charities, including the network of Anglican Churches, to provide food parcels, medication deliveries, befriending and spiritual support. There are comprehensive information and advice on its web-site and a regularly updated Coronavirus newsletter. An online directory of Voluntary groups is available to help direct residents to the wonderful volunteers throughout the District.
Thank you to everyone who has registered to volunteer locally and who is giving up their own time and sometimes safety to ensure that services are provided to the elderly and needy. The local response has been outstanding.
Today though, our primary thoughts are with our Prime Minister. We need his national leadership restored to continue to inspire us all to make the necessary sacrifices to our normal life to win this war with as few casualties as possible. We thank our constituents for heeding Government advice to stay at home and adhere to social distancing and isolation guidelines. This has been a massive and determined effort by everyone and represents a truly united local community front to combat the further spread of the virus and save the lives of our relatives, friends, and neighbours. We hope by so managing the burden on the NHS, we will enable its people to do what they do best - save lives.
Crispin Blunt, MP for Reigate - crispin.blunt.2nd@parliament.uk
Claire Coutinho, MP for East Surrey - claire.coutinho.mp@parliament.uk
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Notes to editors
If you are in need of urgent help and live in Surrey call the community helpline:
0300 200 1008
For information about the Surrey County Council Coronavirus response go to:
https://www.surreycc.gov.uk/people-and-community/emergency-planning-and…
For Coronavirus information from Reigate and Banstead Borough Council go to:
https://www.reigate-banstead.gov.uk/coronavirus
If you want to donate money to the emergency effort in Reigate and Banstead go to: https://www.cfsurrey.org.uk/fund/rbf/
If you want to volunteer in Reigate and Banstead go to:
https://www.varb.org.uk/blog/2020/04/03/register-here-to-become-a-covid…
For Coronavirus information from Tandridge District Council, go to:
https://www.tandridge.gov.uk/Your-council/Coronavirus
If you want to volunteer in Tandridge go to:
www.tva.org.uk/Covid-19-community-support-volunteer/
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Covid-19 (Coronavirus) Updates
This page has been designed to provide constituents with information, guidance and advice with regards to Coronavirus (COVID-19).
If you need medical help, please use the 111 online coronavirus service.