Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lord Evans of Rainow and Anne Milton

Tuesday 2nd November 2010 Commons Chamber

[Graham Evans (Weaver Vale) (Con)]

9. What progress he has made on increasing the provision of specialist neuromuscular care in (a) the north-west and (b) England.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Anne Milton)]

I thank my hon. Friend for that question. I pay tribute to the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign and a number of other organisations that have been so successful in raising these issues. A review of specialist neuromuscular services in the north-west was completed in September 2010. I understand that the focus of the review was the particular pressure areas of service provision highlighted by Muscular Dystrophy Campaign reports and corroborated locally by key stakeholders.

[Graham Evans]

I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. Muscular dystrophy is a particularly terrible muscle-wasting disease that afflicts many constituents of mine. Will the Minister agree to meet me and the NHS north-west specialised commissioning group to discuss the action required to reduce the £13.6 million spent on unplanned emergency admissions for neuromuscular conditions in the region?

[Anne Milton]

I know that I speak for all the ministerial team in saying that we are always very happy to meet groups to go through some of the situations. I would also urge continuing to campaign locally. If services are not provided adequately and properly, the unnecessary admissions due to that poor provision are considerable, as are the costs associated with them.