Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Review

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Mark Pawsey

Wednesday 21st February 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

This is something for Baroness Cumberlege to consider, but the broader point is right. We have for too long in each of these three cases, and in others as well, had processes that have not had the confidence of patients. That is why we are proposing today not just specific measures on each of the three issues, but a broader look at the regulatory structure to make sure that patients’ voices are louder and we avoid precisely what the hon. Lady said.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

I welcome today’s announcement, which I am sure will also be welcomed by my constituent who had surgical mesh implanted in 2008 during a hysterectomy, and, significantly, without her knowledge or consent, which has led her to suffer severe distress and significant pain. When she raised that with her doctors, she was told it was all in her mind and she was imagining it, and she believes that she is still not being taken seriously 10 years later. Does the Secretary of State share my hope that the very existence of the review will encourage a more sympathetic response to people such as my constituent from the medical profession?

[Mr Hunt]

I very much hope so, and the crucial point that has come out from the contributions of Members in all parts of the House is that the processes we have had in place to date have not had the confidence of the families affected. That applies to a whole range of issues, and I believe medicine is changing fundamentally: people who are passionate about medical innovation and life sciences know that we need to have a very close partnership with patients in order to make proper advances. But we have not always got this right, and that is what I hope Baroness Cumberlege’s review will help us to do.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Jeremy Hunt and Mark Pawsey

Tuesday 19th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

That area will obviously be very important in the negotiations, but we have made our preference clear: a deep and special partnership with the EU in which the benefits of co-operation that we currently have can continue.

[Mark Pawsey (Rugby) (Con)]

T6. Public Health England has stated that e-cigarettes are at least 95% safer than tobacco products and are now the most popular way to stop smoking. What is being done to encourage smokers to quit using this method, and what steps are being taken to ensure that e-cigarette users are not forced to share their space with people who continue to smoke?