Medicines and Medical Devices Bill

Debate between Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle and Baroness Jolly

Report stage & Report stage (Hansard): House of Lords & Report: 1st sitting & Report: 1st sitting: House of Lords
Tuesday 12th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP) [V]]

My Lords, we started this debate today with widespread plaudits to the Government for listening to very strong campaigns to have a patient safety commissioner. Indeed, the noble Baroness, Lady Cumberlege, who has been so instrumental in this, commented on the importance of that person listening to patients. We have to draw the parallels here because we have heard—as a community, as a society, and as a Parliament—from the parents of children who desperately need these medicines but are unable to access them. Those patients are not being listened to. We really do have to ask ourselves the question of why that is happening and what kind of political block or ideological barrier exists so that we are not seeing action in this area when it is so clearly, urgently needed.

When we were talking about a patient safety commissioner, I commented on how effective campaigning has been in that area. There is also a very effective campaign called End Our Pain, which has been working with families trying to access this medicine. It has been doing a great job, but the Government have not been doing their job in delivering on the campaign. I give credit to the noble Lord, Lord Field of Birkenhead, and all the other people who have signed this amendment, which is very much cross-party and across the House. As the noble Lord said, we have a division here—a human rights issue, referred to in the amendment tabled earlier by the noble Baroness, Lady Sheehan. People, or families, who can afford it, are able to access this medicine; those who need NHS support for it cannot. We should not be tolerating that situation in Britain at any time, particularly in 2021.

I have a direct question for the Minister. I have been looking at what assessment the Government might have made of the impact of current policies and the lack of financial support for vulnerable families. I should be happy to be corrected and perhaps told that an assessment is under way, but the most recent information that I was able to find was from September last year, when Liz Saville Roberts MP asked a Written Question in the other place about whether such an assessment had been made—and the answer was no. I will be brief, because the issues have been well set out by the noble Lord, Lord Field, and others. However, I ask the Government what assessment they have made of the impact of their current policies.

[Baroness Jolly (LD) [V]]

My Lords, today’s final amendment, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Field of Birkenhead, and signed by my noble friend Lady Walmsley and the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher—all long-term campaigners on this issue—would require regulations to be introduced to allow doctors to prescribe medicinal cannabis products. I know that the movers of the amendment have been campaigning for ever—probably as long as I have been in the House—and can be excused their despair at the inactivity of GP prescribers.

The Home Office changed the status of medicinal cannabis two years ago, after a long campaign, but it has not been widely prescribed. The need for clarity on this matter was brought to the forefront by the news that nine year-old Alfie Dingley, whose use of medicinal cannabis has greatly improved his health, is no longer able to access his medication from the Netherlands due to Brexit. The Lib Dems have long been advocates of making medical cannabis accessible to those whose health would greatly benefit from it, and we support this amendment.

Will the Minister tell us what she can do to persuade the medical profession that cannabis has real medicinal value? Why are doctors deaf to children such as Alfie, and why are children such as Alfie and his parents left in the lurch? I hope that the Minister will be able to accept the invitation from the noble Baroness, Lady Meacher, to join her in a meeting with Dr June Raine, the chief executive officer of the MHRA.

Medicines and Medical Devices Bill

Debate between Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle and Baroness Jolly

Committee stage & Committee: 6th sitting (Hansard) & Committee: 6th sitting (Hansard): House of Lords
Tuesday 17th November 2020 Grand Committee

[Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (GP) [V]]

My Lords, I can only begin this contribution, as I did at Second Reading, by paying tribute to the power and importance of the report by the noble Baroness, Lady Cumberlege, as so many other noble Lords have. I also note that the length of the list of Peers speaking to this amendment reflects the fact that this is perhaps the most important element of her recommendations, or certainly the most easily and directly deliverable through legislation.

When thinking about how I could contribute within this long list of speakers in a positive way, I decided to go back to the noble Baroness’s report and to the patients who spoke to her. If I were delivering this as a public speech, I would at this point deliver a trigger warning: what I am about to say is very disturbing. That needs to be said now.

I will quote three of the patients quoted in the noble Baroness’s report. The first is identified as a mesh-affected patient who said:

“I have had a constant battle to get the help and treatment I needed with my mesh complications. ‘Gaslighting’ and a ‘fobbing off’ culture appears to be rife”.


The second quote is from a former GP and mesh-affected patient:

“I do … believe there is a huge unconscious negative bias among you all towards middle aged females in chronic pain.”


Finally, the third quote is from Teresa Hughes, from Meshies United:

“They would tell you there is nothing wrong with you and that you are just a hysterical woman”.


It is worth reflecting briefly on the history of medicine and the medical profession. The idea of a wandering womb—with strange afflictions supposedly affecting women, particularly those of reproductive age—goes back to the ancient Greeks. We have something here that has been embedded for literally millennia. If we look to more recent history, it was the book on hysteria by Edward Jorden in 1603 that really pinned down in English something that became medical doctrine for centuries. This treatment of female patients has a very long and embedded history.

If we look back at the 1960s and 1970s, up until that point in time the culture of medicine was very much one of paternalism. The doctor, who was most often a male, knew best; the patient was told what they should do and how they should be treated. The doctor knew what was best for them and the patient had very little say or control. We can credit the women’s movement as an important part of the forces driving for change in the medical profession. We have seen change, but medical habitus does not change quickly in its practices and culture. It is clear from those quotes I just read out that there is still a long way to go. There is a strong gender aspect to this, but many male and child patients were affected by it as well.

A patient safety commissioner could be someone to go to: someone who knows the system and has sufficient technical support to understand the issues, and to see where systematic breakdowns are happening and act on them. The Children’s Commissioner is a wonderful example—the noble Baroness, Lady Cumberlege, referred to it—and by chance I was referring to that commissioner approvingly in this very same Room yesterday.

We have already seen action on the recommendation for a patient safety commissioner in Scotland, and I am proud that the England and Wales sister party, the Scottish Greens, was very strong in supporting that. With this amendment, your Lordship’s House has a real chance, as we have been doing with so many Bills lately, to insert an important and key improvement.

I hope that, if not today then sometime very soon, the Government might see the sense of following the Scottish lead and the recommendations of the report of the noble Baroness, Lady Cumberlege. However, if that is not the case, I can certainly offer the Green group’s very strong support for pushing this further—as far as it needs to be pushed—to deliver this vital figure.

[Baroness Jolly (LD) [V]]

My Lords, Amendment 117 would establish the independent patient safety commissioner on a statutory basis, as recommended in First Do No Harm, the report of the Independent Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review. As the noble Baroness, Lady Cumberlege, said, it is a future-facing amendment towards a proposed organisation. It has not been a surprise that all noble Lords who have spoken have been hugely supportive of her report. This recommendation from the Cumberlege review was overwhelmingly supported by the House at Second Reading and is vital to ensure that the interests of patients are represented, to try to prevent scandals such as that regarding mesh implants from recurring. We support it wholeheartedly, and I was delighted to add my name to the amendment.

At present, there is no one to listen to the voice of patients, act on concerns, gather data and put together a clear picture to report back to the department. Commissioners can bring a fresh pair of eyes to an area but also a strong voice for patients. Of course, as the noble and learned Lord, Lord Mackay of Clashfern, said, they bring independence too. In addition, they will have unique statutory powers and responsibilities, such as powers to get access to data, and investigatory powers, with power of entry if necessary. Of course, patients’ voices would need to be heard, so in all probability, there would be a helpline, as well as email access and access via a website and by letter.

The noble Baroness, Lady Cumberlege, spoke of the Children’s Commissioner, and she was not alone. It has been a great success. The commissioner knows her remit and, as the noble Lord, Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, said, she speaks with no vested interest except in children, and she stays within it. She champions children and, as has already been said, this has given her authority. As a consequence, the organisation is hugely respected.

I have heard the criticism of the cost of such a body as the patient safety commission, and I feel sure that the noble Baroness would have squared off the funding for a commissioner and their office with the Cabinet Office, which would be the funding vehicle. However, compared with similar commissions, it would amount to less than £1 per head of population per year—less than tuppence per person per week. I defy anyone to claim that that is excessive. This is indeed of value, and patients of course deserve it.