Diabetes (Care in Schools)

Debate between Jim Shannon and Pauline Latham

Tuesday 11th September 2012 Westminster Hall

[Pauline Latham (Mid Derbyshire) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Leigh. I thank Mr Speaker for selecting this important debate on type 1 diabetes in schools. I congratulate the Minister on his promotion in the reshuffle.

I was inspired to request this debate after being contacted by a family with two boys who both suffer from type 1 diabetes and require multiple finger-prick blood tests and insulin injections daily, just as Rufus the bear, who also has type 1 diabetes, needs help. They have experienced many problems in organising the management of their children’s care in school, particularly for the youngest who is still in primary school, a cheerful child who was diagnosed early at the age of two, but is not yet completely stable, even though he is now 10. He loves sports and wants, as anybody would, to be treated just the same as any other child of the same age. Type 1 is not his lifestyle choice; it is a problem with his immune system, causing it to turn on itself and destroy the cells in his pancreas that produce the insulin that we all need to live. If his blood sugar is not kept at a stable level, this increases the risk of long-term complications, such as kidney disease, blindness, stroke and nerve damage.

There are an estimated 29,000 children with type 1 diabetes, who are usually diagnosed between 10 and 14, but the incidence of type 1 in children under five is increasing by 5% year on year. The UK has the highest number of children with diagnosed diabetes in Europe, but the lowest number of children attaining good diabetes control.

Living with type 1 diabetes has a profound impact on children and their families: there are no days off and even a few hours of trying to forget can be dangerous. Living with this complex, chronic condition is at times unbearable for many parents. Many children with type 1 diabetes will struggle to keep their condition under control. It is important to manage food, insulin and the amount of physical activity that a child does. We encourage children to do at least 60 minutes’ physical activity a day, but this can cause complications in children with type 1 diabetes. The way that these factors are managed directly affects a child’s attendance and performance at school.

A survey by Diabetes UK showed that three in five schools do not have a policy on advising staff how to give medication.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I congratulate the hon. Lady on securing the debate.

This week in Northern Ireland, a group of parents felt unable to send their type 1 diabetic children to school, as they were not convinced that staff were fully trained in how to deal with a crisis. Does the hon. Lady feel that better co-ordination is needed between schools, those dealing with health and parents, so that everyone understands what is needed at school?

[Pauline Latham]

The hon. Gentleman raises an important point that I intend to deal with later.

I should like to raise a number of concerns relating to one young boy that also relate to the thousands of families in the UK who have children with type 1 diabetes and are struggling with inconsistent care provided at schools. Every parent of a child with diabetes has the right to know when leaving children at school that the appropriate care systems will be in place to allow that child to have the same access as others to high-quality education, care and support, without exclusion from activities.

Melanoma

Debate between Jim Shannon and Pauline Latham

Wednesday 18th January 2012 Westminster Hall

[Pauline Latham]

Yes, and I thank my hon. Friend for bringing that up. Sunbeds are still a problem, particularly among young women who think that having a tan makes them look healthier.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I congratulate the hon. Lady on bringing this matter before the House. Skin cancer is the deadliest cancer in Northern Ireland, and that is very worrying. The hon. Member for Stafford (Jeremy Lefroy) mentioned sunbeds. People under the age of 35 who use sunbeds increase their possibility of getting skin cancer. What does the hon. Lady think can be done? Does she think that councils need to do more? Councils have control of sunbeds, so perhaps they need to say, “No more.”

[Pauline Latham]

Yes, I would like that to happen. Looking tanned does not mean that someone is healthy. In fact, tanning increases the risk of malignant melanomas, which are rapid killers, and I would like councils to have the strength to say, “No.”

It may be expensive to prescribe the drug, but it is the first advance in treatment for a long time, and if used, may offer the opportunity of more trials to refine it, which could lead to its becoming even more effective. For young people with melanomas, it is a lifeline, even if they only survive for a relatively short time. Let us not forget the possibility that agencies, such as social services, and welfare benefits can cost the country huge sums if the remaining parent has to give up their career to look after a young family. Patients with this aggressive disease are expected to have a median overall survival time of six to nine months, but in trials, 46% of patients taking ipilimumab were still alive after a year, and in some cases, patients can live even longer.

At the stakeholder’s meeting on 8 November, we heard from a patient called Ian. He seemed well, spoke eloquently and raised many important points on access to treatment, which I urge hon. Members to read in the report that we submitted to NICE—I am happy to provide a copy. Sadly, before 21 December 2011, Ian became very unwell and was ultimately bedridden. The short time between Ian attending the meeting in November and his death a week ago demonstrates the aggressive nature of advanced melanomas.

Lack of access to the drug is still a major concern to all melanoma patients and, of course, to their families and friends. It is very distressing for them to know that there is a drug on the market that has been proven to prolong the lives of sufferers, if even for only a few months or years, yet they cannot access it through the normal channels. I acknowledge that ipilimumab is available in some parts of England through the cancer drugs fund, but it is not available in all areas, and the fund does not even exist in Wales—yet another example of inequality from the cancer drugs fund and another illustration of a postcode lottery.