Breast Scans

Baroness Billingham Excerpts

Monday 19th November 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Billingham (Lab)]

What steps are the Government taking to make everybody aware of the availability of breast cushions? I suspect that a lot of people do not even know of their existence, so it is time that we knew.

[Lord O'Shaughnessy]

That is precisely what I have asked to committee to advise on.

Health: Liver Disease

Baroness Billingham Excerpts

Tuesday 6th May 2014 Lords Chamber

[Noble Lords]

My Lords—

[Baroness Billingham (Lab)]

My Lords, given the sad news that we have had in the past 48 hours of the death of Elena Baltacha, one of our best young tennis players—I have no idea about the history of her illness, but I know it has gone on for many years—what is the availability of liver transplants? That is a question that will cross many people’s minds. It would seem to me that if it was available and she was a suitable candidate, that could have been looked at. Can the Minister give us any assistance on that?

[Earl Howe]

My Lords, I, too, learnt with great sadness of the death of Elena Baltacha, and was also unaware of the history of her medical condition. It is not appropriate for me to comment at the Dispatch Box on whether she should have received a liver transplant. However, I can say that transplant services are very active in this country. More and more liver transplants take place compared with a few years ago, and there are better techniques to ensure their tolerability in patients. If I can find out some more information, I will be happy to write to the noble Baroness.

Health: Active Lifestyles

Baroness Billingham Excerpts

Monday 17th December 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Billingham]

My Lords, as we look ahead to the consequences of an inactive lifestyle, it is to the medical profession that we should look first. Before I do that, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Heyhoe Flint, for introducing this debate and for her contribution, so much of which I completely agreed with. I was delighted to hear another participant in our regular sporting debates—and such an excellent one, too. All the other speakers brought different facets to the debate, and all spoke from personal expertise and experience. I only wish that there were more people here to hear it tonight. I hope very much that we will encourage our colleagues to read these debates in Hansard; they have been truly excellent.

Having said that we will look at the medical profession in order to examine the impact on health and well-being, I will study the excellent briefing from the BMA, which others have alluded to, and reflect on its findings. Secondly, I will comment on the existing health regime and reflect on the comparison with previous provision. Thirdly, I will give my views on what must be done if future generations are to avoid catastrophic illness in old age.

I will begin with the advice of the doctors. I woke up a few days ago to the “Today” programme. One of the first items, which I am sure many of your Lordships heard, was the dreadful news that one in three of our primary school children are obese. When the BMA briefing came, therefore, I studied it very carefully. It made devastating reading, listing a wide range of damaging medical conditions, all of which could be traced back to obesity and an inactive lifestyle. The prognosis on individual health is a matter of great concern, and the financial implication for the National Health Service is equally worrying.

The Government tell us that by 2050 the cost of overweight-related illnesses will be £49.9 billion, with a direct cost to the NHS of £9.7 billion. This is a staggering sum and cost to society. Let us not forget that we are in the middle of one of the most dreadful recessions, which will blight national expenditure for many years to come. We have to change our lifestyles if the costs to the nation are not to be catastrophic.

Various critical conditions are linked to an inactive lifestyle. The BMA lists them very clearly. Type 2 diabetes, such a threatening condition, is clearly attributable to obesity. Cardiovascular diseases have a similar cause, and the BMA claims that dementia could be reduced by 12.9% if a more active lifestyle were adopted. Depression also manifests itself with a lack of physical activity.

I have not done the cost-cutting analysis from the BMA figures, but it is clearly horrific and undeniably capable of significant reduction by changing our form of lifestyle. The report provides us with sensible suggestions: more walking and cycling and more active travel patterns. All those suggestions should be heeded. The suggestion of combined responsibility, which has already been mentioned by other speakers, does not rely solely on the medical profession; it combines major government departments, such as health, education and local government. It is not a new notion; I remember arguing for such a collaborative approach more than 30 years ago. Sadly, it has never happened.

That, then, is the medical diagnosis. I will now turn to other practical solutions. My second media shock came not on the “Today” programme but in the national press some days later. Many in this Chamber tonight will know of my constant criticism, which may be described as my rant, of the Lawn Tennis Association, an association that is stunningly wealthy and ineffective. We have tried for years to find proper answers to a number of vital questions, all with scant responses. One question that I and, for that matter, every sports journalist in the country has wanted to know is: how much is Roger Draper, the chief executive, paid? Rumours flowed for years but now, as a result of government legislation, we know: his take-home pay is £640,000, which is four times that of the Prime Minister. As a national paper said last year, the LTA spends £250 million and has absolutely nothing to show for it. Just in case noble Lords think that British tennis is on the up, think again—Andy Murray, Laura Robson and Heather Watson all came as products of their families and had nothing to do with LTA training. They all had to do it for themselves.

I am concerned by these facts because for years the LTA has ignored the best and most successful way of getting people involved in tennis. It has totally ignored the fact that grass-roots sports of any kind, as has already been said by many noble Lords, are an essential basis for lifelong involvement. It is also worth reflecting that 94% of our primary school children—that is all the children in state schools—are where the money must be spent, but the LTA has almost totally ignored them.

Sport England has already been mentioned tonight. I bring noble Lords a stop press: Sport England announced this afternoon that, for the second year in succession, it is cutting funding to the Lawn Tennis Association because of its belief that the LTA’s business plans and projects are not proving successful. Last year there was the same cut in funding, which many noble Lords know, because the figures that the LTA suggested were going to be involved in the game were nothing like that.

What a wonderful inspirational evening last night was. I was delighted to see Seb Coe—the noble Lord, Lord Coe—saying so rightly in print that the failure to have sport in primary schools is his gravest and greatest concern. I have identified the LTA for its failures in one important way, and the Government fund the LTA with a £28 million grant of taxpayers’ money. We have a right and a duty to dictate how that money is spent. I ask the Minister to take this message back to the Government and ensure that the role of the LTA and its funding is well known.

Talking about being known, Michael Gove is now known as the anti-sports personality following his decision to rip sport out of state primary schools and wreck all the good work that was done by previous Administrations, such as school sport partnerships and the ring-fencing of PE funding. The decision to completely remove PE from the Gove curriculum in primary schools was only partially changed following an outcry from the general public, professionals and education and medical experts who lobbied relentlessly. As a result, part of the old funding—a very small part—has been restored, but I remind noble Lords that that is only until the end of the academic year.

All this destructive negativity is from the Government, who have funded and overseen the most successful 2012 Olympic Games, which inspired a whole nation to warm to the role of sport in society. We will never be the same again—the Olympics, Paralympics, volunteers and families. This is the time, and we cannot miss this unique opportunity. We have wonderful role models including the Duchess of Cambridge and our athletes.

The Government must also address the lack of women and girls in sport. I look back 30 years when I was working with people such as Billie Jean King on Title IX, which I know that many noble Lords will be aware of. It transformed female participation. We need to look at this as a specific gender problem. It is worth reminding ourselves that children born to women who are involved in sport are 80% more likely to be sporting too.

We all share responsibility. The medical profession gives warnings and the governing bodies of sport receive government funding. Most importantly, those responsible for PE opportunities in primary schools must be called to action. Money spent on encouraging and promoting active lifestyles will be more than rewarded in the years to come. Let the coalition put this issue at the head of its objectives. A good, happy and healthy life is surely worth working for, and we owe it to all our citizens. I very much hope that the Minister will take some of these messages back to his colleagues

Health and Social Care Bill

Baroness Billingham Excerpts

Tuesday 11th October 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Billingham]

My Lords, the overwhelming response to this Bill is: why? Given all the promises made by David Cameron prior to the general election, why is he now supporting such a dire, top-down reorganisation? Why is he reneging on his pledge to support the NHS fully? Why does he turn his face against the most comprehensive criticism from all major organisations and participants in the field of health, or against the opinion of the OECD and the Commonwealth Fund that the NHS is recognised as one of the most efficient and least costly in the world? It can make no sense unless there is an underlying sinister motive to advance the market philosophy into the NHS, which will ultimately destroy it. The cherished principles of the NHS as a universal service will indeed be lost forever.

Today I speak as one of many in this House who are raising fundamental objections to the Bill. The speakers’ list is full of the most knowledgeable Members on NHS matters, Members who have given a lifetime of service to the NHS and to the community. I leave to them the forensic analysis and demolition of this Bill. I have no competence compared to them, but I can and will speak on behalf of those who have no voice here and who have written to me in their dozens, and on behalf of those who will rely on the NHS for their health provision in the future.

I also speak as one who very recently saw first hand the outstanding excellence of the NHS in all its separate parts and stages. The tumour on my lung was diagnosed by clinical excellence and co-operation, from my GP in West Hampstead to my local hospital, the Royal Free, and finally to my surgeon at the Royal Brompton Hospital. At every stage, from detection to operation, those involved were totally competent and professional. I was kept fully informed of every procedure. There were no delays and every piece of evidence was gained through the use of the most advanced technology available. I witnessed the result of years of investment in the NHS by the previous Government. How dare anyone question the value of the millions of pounds invested? The results speak for themselves and should be celebrated.

My personal journey, just 12 weeks ago, led to an eight-hour operation, carried out by three surgeons, which, I am thankful to be able to tell you, resulted in the complete removal of the tumour and the subsequent analysis that showed it to be non-malignant. I am a very lucky woman. This leads me to highlight one of my main concerns with the Bill: the effect it is having on the morale of those who deliver the service for us. Already in the midst of a pay freeze, with pensions threatened, the impact on existing staff of the threat from the Bill cannot be overestimated.

I saw at first hand the excellence of all parts of the service: the superb nursing staff; the administrators who make the system work; the teams of doctors and surgeons, working co-operatively, who ensure that the service is so outstanding. With GPs and many agencies working together, the service succeeds, but the Bill threatens that very ethos. How will the Bill affect the people involved in my experience, Dr Michael Beckles and his outstanding team at the Royal Free, or Mr Eric Lim at the Royal Brompton Hospital, people who made my recovery possible? Are they going to accept the draconian changes that the Bill inflicts on them or will they walk away and take their outstanding skills elsewhere? That, indeed, would be too high a price to pay and the loss would be immeasurable.

No one denies that some rationalisation may be necessary. In fact, some changes are already under way. However, this sledgehammer of a Bill is blind to the fact that the quality of the service is dependent upon the people who work in it. To suggest that market forces, competitiveness—yes, and even greed—are a solution to the NHS’s problems is nonsense. So I add my plea to the Government: think again. Listen to the knowledgeable critics and do not destroy the NHS, which has been an icon for the British people. Unless you do listen, you are wilfully signing the death warrant of the NHS and for that you will not be forgiven.