Oral Hormone Pregnancy Tests

Graeme Morrice Excerpts

Thursday 19th March 2015 Ministerial Corrections

The following is an extract from Topical Questions to the Secretary of State for Health on 24 February 2015.

[Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)]

T7. My constituent Wilma Ord was prescribed Primodos in the 1970s, an oral hormone pregnancy testing pill that she blames for her daughter’s birth defects. As the Secretary of State is aware, it was announced back in October that an inquiry would be established to look into the whole issue. What progress has been made in setting up the inquiry and what assurances can he give my constituent, and the many other women and families affected throughout the country, that the inquiry will be fully comprehensive, transparent and independent?

Oral Answers to Questions

Graeme Morrice Excerpts

Tuesday 24th February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

1. How many NHS staff have been made redundant and subsequently re-employed by the NHS since May 2010.

[Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)]

9. How many NHS staff have been made redundant and subsequently re-employed by the NHS since May 2010.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Dr Daniel Poulter)]

Over the four and a half years between May 2010 and October 2014, 5,210 people—equivalent to, annually, less than 0.1% of the NHS work force—have been made redundant and then returned to work elsewhere in the NHS.

[Dr Poulter]

I am not sure I recognise that picture of the NHS. We know that there are between 6,000 and 8,000 extra nurses, midwives and health visitors working in our NHS than there were under the previous Government. Also, in respect of A and E, the average length of stay in hospital has steadily come down from about eight days in 2000 to about five days now. So our NHS is getting better and improving under the current Government.

[Graeme Morrice]

Last year the Prime Minister promised to recover redundancy payments from people who have been rehired. Can the Minister tell us how many payments have been recovered and at what cost?

[Dr Poulter]

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that it was the previous Labour Government who in 2006 set these eye-watering redundancy payments for the NHS, and we have committed to making sure we reform and change that. Therefore, as part of our negotiations and pay offer to NHS staff we want to introduce a redundancy cap of £80,000. Since many Opposition Members are supported by trade unions, I hope they will encourage union members to back that pay and redundancy cap.

--- Later in debate ---

[Norman Lamb]

That is a matter for local commissioners. There is no requirement on them to tender competitively if their judgment is that it is right for the local community that services remain with the existing provider. We have been very clear that that is a matter for local commissioners.

[Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)]

T7. My constituent Wilma Ord was prescribed Primodos in the 1970s, an oral hormone pregnancy testing pill that she blames for her daughter’s birth defects. As the Secretary of State is aware, it was announced back in October that an inquiry would be established to look into the whole issue. What progress has been made in setting up the inquiry and what assurances can he give my constituent, and the many other women and families affected throughout the country, that the inquiry will be fully comprehensive, transparent and independent?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (George Freeman)]

I am delighted to report that I have met colleagues from across the House and patient representatives of that campaign on a number of occasions. We have appointed the chair and made sure that the terms of reference for the inquiry are clear and comprehensive. It is not, I stress, a judicial inquiry; it is a medical inquiry looking at the evidence.[Official Report, 19 March 2015, Vol. 594, c. 1MC.]

Contaminated Blood

Graeme Morrice Excerpts

Thursday 15th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)]

May I say from the outset how pleased I am that the right hon. Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt) has secured a debate on an issue that has had profound and devastating consequences on the lives of at least two of my constituents and indeed thousands of individuals and families across the country?

I hope that through my contribution I will be able to give a voice to my constituents who have been affected by contaminated blood and who, up until now, have had no answers to what is considered to be one of the worst tragedies in modern health care. The experiences of my constituents echo many of the findings in the APPG report, particularly in terms of the inadequacy of the support available and the difficulties encountered when applying for entitlements from the Skipton Fund. I want to take this opportunity to praise the work of the APPG for haemophilia and contaminated blood.

I was deeply saddened to hear of the plight of two of my constituents who received contaminated blood during the 1980s.

[Mr Tom Clarke]

My hon. Friend will be aware that some of us who have sought for many years to get legislation through the House but have not yet achieved it feel that whoever wins the next election should make sure that time is available for this. Does he agree with that objective?

[Graeme Morrice]

Yes, I certainly concur with my right hon. Friend and commend him for his work in this field.

My constituent Mr Billy Cannon of West Calder suffered from a burst ulcer in 1986, which meant he required two blood transfusions. Mr Cannon was fine after the operation and recovered. However, it was not until August 2010, some 24 years later, when he was diagnosed with advanced liver cancer that he discovered he had hepatitis C. Sadly, after a brave battle, Billy Cannon, aged 57, passed away in February 2013. The loss of Billy, understandably, has been devastating for the Cannon family and I wish to take this opportunity to pass on my sincere condolences to Linda, Billy’s wife, who has shown great courage in the face of a very difficult set of circumstances.

It is the circumstances around Mr Cannon’s death that are so hard to accept because there have been no answers, no apology and no acknowledgement that mistakes were made that led to his untimely death. His wife recognises that apportioning blame will not bring back her beloved husband. Nevertheless, the death of Billy has had such profound consequences for many different aspects of her life and leaves so many questions unanswered.

Like Billy Cannon, another constituent, Vera Gaskin of Livingston, also contracted hepatitis C from contaminated blood. You, Madam Deputy Speaker, may recall that I raised her circumstances with the Prime Minister in the House a few years back. Mrs Gaskin received a blood transfusion during her treatment for cancer in 1985. Fortunately, Vera recovered from the cancer. However, later in 1996 when she began to feel unwell, it was revealed that she too had hepatitis C. Again, no explanation was given to Mrs Gaskin of how she had been infected with contaminated blood.

What is evident in the case of both of my constituents is the lack of information on the circumstances surrounding the passing of hepatitis C through contaminated blood. It is for this very reason that it is so important that there is a review of the events and decisions that led to the tragedy.

Luckily, Mrs Gaskin was in the early stages of the virus when she was first diagnosed and could therefore receive treatment. Nevertheless, living with hepatitis C has been particularly difficult for her and has impacted on all aspects of her life and that of her husband and family. The stigma alone of having hepatitis C has been mentally draining for Mrs Gaskin and her quality of life has been greatly reduced. The hepatitis C has denied her many opportunities and brought many difficulties.

What makes Vera Gaskin’s story even more upsetting is that she has not only had to come to terms with the devastation of her diagnosis, but has had to deal with an inadequate support system, further adding to her distress. Her view of the Skipton Fund, set up to help those affected by the tragedy, is:

“It is not fit for purpose, does not serve the victim and is causing more harm than good”.

I believe that this speaks volumes about the effectiveness of the support arrangements put in place following the tragedy.

I recognise that some improvements have been made to the support and compensation available to those affected, but changes are still clearly required in two areas: first, in the criteria used to determine entitlement for payment from the Skipton Fund, and, secondly, in the amount of financial support available. Despite having the medical proof that she had cirrhosis—the medical criteria required in order to receive further compensation—Mrs Gaskin was denied her stage 2 payment from the Skipton Fund.

She is not alone in encountering such difficulties. The APPG report revealed that 16% of all claims considered by Skipton have been deferred or rejected, many on the basis of insufficient proof. It was not until after a year-long battle that Mrs Gaskin’s application to receive her second stage payment was approved. What is evident from my constituent’s experience is that the criteria used by the Skipton Fund are too strict and only make it more difficult for victims to receive funds that they are perfectly entitled to. In response, I would urge the Government to take action to improve the system of allocating funds and to review the criteria, making it easier for those affected to provide proof.

The second important issue about the support arrangements is the amount of compensation available. Although no amount of money will be able to take away the pain experienced on a daily basis by those affected, it is clear that the amount of compensation available is simply not enough. Many individuals living with hep C continue to experience hardship and financial difficulties, despite the existence of Government-established funds, which is why I would urge the Government to reconsider the amount available with a view to increasing it so that individuals can maintain a good quality of life.

In conclusion, I am sure all Members would agree that what my constituents and others across the country went through is tragic and cannot be undone. That said, I am hopeful that a positive outcome can be reached in the form of a review of the circumstances and the support arrangements available—for the sake of those who are sadly no longer with us and for the sake of those who continue to suffer. The all-party group report makes some important recommendations, to which I hope the Government will respond carefully and positively. I strongly support the report’s recommendations, particularly the calls for a public apology from the Prime Minister on behalf of successive Governments. I hope that, following this debate and, most importantly, following the publication of the Penrose inquiry, some form of justice will be delivered for each and every individual and family across the country who continue to have to deal with the consequences of this awful tragedy.

Off-patent Drugs Bill

Graeme Morrice Excerpts

Friday 7th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Jonathan Evans]

Invariably, such drugs have been licensed for other uses, but it transpires that they are being researched, as I will outline in my further remarks, and that research is showing that they can be used effectively in another way. The kernel of the problem that I am seeking to highlight is that, without licensing, they are not being used in that way.

A licence gives a clear indication to GPs that a drug is both safe and effective, so it is preferable that indications that could achieve such a licence are supported. We face an unacceptable situation where cost-effective drugs are not made routinely available for new and proven effective uses. Although a small number of people might be fortunate enough to get the drug, a far greater number with exactly the same condition, in exactly the same clinical circumstances but with a different GP, will not. That is the worst form of inequality.

I want to highlight one scandalous example of the failure, red tape and bureaucracy of our current licensing system. The passive approach to the flaw that I have highlighted has meant that, for all of 15 years, the chemoprevention drug tamoxifen was routinely available to women in the United States of America to prevent the development of breast cancer but not to thousands of women at risk here in the UK, not because the research evidence is any different in the United States of America and the UK but because under our licensing system there is just no one to request that this treatment should become routinely available. So for 15 long years nothing whatsoever happened, and thousands of women here in Britain were denied treatment that it has been clinically proven could have prevented the development of breast cancer in many cases.

It was not until 2013 that the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence—NICE—eventually recommended the use of tamoxifen in the UK in its guidelines on the management of familial breast cancer, but that still stopped short of licensing, because of the flaw to which I have referred. As a result, the NICE guidance has proved insufficient to ensure equal access and there is no evidence that it has significantly changed clinical practice. The uptake of these treatments is lower and less uniform than if the drug were licensed. Furthermore, owing to the infrequency with which NICE guidelines are updated and their impact, this mechanism could not be widely employed to make off-patent drugs available, and I believe that the example of tamoxifen starkly confirms this.

[Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)]

I entirely agree with what the hon. Gentleman has said so far. Indeed, I want to lend my personal support to his private Member’s Bill and wish him well on its Second Reading. Several dozen of my constituents have contacted me in support of the Bill and specifically asked me to come along today to represent them in the Chamber and to vote for the Bill on Second Reading if, indeed, there is a vote. I certainly hope that his Bill is not talked out.

[Jonathan Evans]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that contribution. If he will forgive me, I will not go further down the path of responding because of the point that he made at the end.

Sadly, all existing off-patent drugs that reduce the risk of people developing breast cancer fall into this category. The leading proven chemoprevention drugs are tamoxifen and raloxifene. These drugs, which reduce the risk of breast cancer developing in high-risk women by around a third, are not licensed for this purpose. With nearly half a million women in England and Wales eligible for these low-cost treatments, there is an urgent need to address the barriers to chemoprevention drugs being prescribed. The cost of tamoxifen is 6p a day; the cost of raloxifene is 61p a day. A third chemoprevention drug, anastrozole, originally developed as a hormone therapy, has been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer developing by a half, and with fewer side effects. The evidence is there, but what action can be taken to ensure the routine availability of these treatments? The answer is none, or very little.

Oral Answers to Questions

Graeme Morrice Excerpts

Tuesday 10th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hunt]

Let us address this issue head on. The right hon. Gentleman knows perfectly well that it is totally wrong to have a system in which two neighbouring GP practices can be paid different sums of money for doing the same amount of work. We must have an equitable funding formula for GP practices, which is why we are phasing out the minimum practice income guarantee. That is a sensible decision. We are also taking measures to ensure that we do not affect patient care in the process. Of course we are looking at the individual cases carefully, but I am sure that he would agree that we have to fund GP practices equitably.

[Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)]

2. If he will commission a review of the safety of polypropylene transvaginal mesh implants.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health (Dr Daniel Poulter)]

The Department of Health, NHS England and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency—the MHRA—have been working collaboratively with the clinical community to address the serious concerns that have been raised about transvaginal mesh implants. A working group, chaired by NHS England, has been set up to identify ways to address them. The group will also have patient representation.

[Graeme Morrice]

Last week, I attended the Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee to hear from and support women who have suffered from the horrific adverse effects of mesh implants. Women spoke from wheelchairs or on crutches and were in constant pain. They could not possibly have been told about the risks of TVM implants because there are simply no accurate data available. Will the Minister or the Secretary of State meet me and mesh campaigners from across the country, so that they can fully understand the urgency of the situation and the kind of action that is required to end this scandal once and for all?

[Dr Poulter]

I would be very happy to meet the hon. Gentleman. It is important to note that work is under way to collect better data on urogynaecological procedures generally and on mesh implants, because the complications that occur post-surgery are often multifactorial. An NHS England-funded audit on urogynaecological procedures for stress urinary incontinence is currently taking place, which covers all procedures, not just mesh implants. I am sure that we can discuss that and what the working group will do to review the procedures when we meet.

Oral Answers to Questions

Graeme Morrice Excerpts

Tuesday 26th February 2013 Commons Chamber

[Anna Soubry]

I understand that the Secretary of State has been to the Royal Marsden, but I am more than happy to accept the invitation and look forward to going along and seeing it for myself.

[Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)]

T10. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to prevent the fragmenting of the national health service through a massive reorganisation that is costing £3 billion, diverting much-needed resources from the front line?

[The Minister of State, Department of Health (Norman Lamb)]

The truth is that the Government inherited a completely fragmented NHS; we had managed institutionally to separate health care from social care, mental health from physical health and primary care from secondary care. At the heart of the legislation we have already passed and the proposed social care legislation, which we hope to introduce very soon, is the principle of integrated care. I am determined that that should be central in every area of the country so that we deliver proper care and avoid crises, keeping people out of hospital.

Oral Answers to Questions

Graeme Morrice Excerpts

Tuesday 27th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)]

4. How much the NHS spent on consultancy in (a) 2010-11 and (b) 2011-12.

[The Secretary of State for Health (Mr Jeremy Hunt)]

The amount spent by strategic health authorities, primary care trusts and NHS trusts on consultancy services in the financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12 was £291 million and £278 million respectively—a 39% fall in expenditure, compared to the last year of the previous Administration.

[Graeme Morrice]

In 2010 the former Secretary of State said he was

“staggered by the scale of the expenditure on management consultants”.

However, in the past year alone foundation trusts have increased their spend on consultancy by 25% and NHS trusts have increased their spend by 13%. Is the new Secretary of State just as staggered?

[Mr Hunt]

With respect to the hon. Gentleman, a 39% fall in consultancy expenditure compared to the last year of the previous Administration is something that we are rather proud of. If he wants to know what the Health Secretary is directly responsible for, direct Department of Health expenditure on consultancy in the past year was £3 million. In the last year of the previous Government it was £108 million.

Oral Answers to Questions

Graeme Morrice Excerpts

Tuesday 10th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Paul Burstow]

I very much agree with the hon. Lady about the need for NHS trusts to consider their stance on volunteering. Indeed, I suspect Members of all parties have visited hospitals and worked with friends organisations over the Christmas period and have seen the good work that volunteers do in our hospitals. Our aim is to make sure that NHS trusts and commissioners of health and social care have the tools and information they need to make good judgments about investing in volunteering. That was the purpose of the volunteering strategy that we published last year.

[Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)]

We all recognise the huge contribution that volunteers make to the NHS, so will the Minister take this opportunity to recognise the contribution of Clive Peedell, the co-chair of the NHS Consultants Association, who is taking part in Bevan’s run today, highlighting concerns among the medical profession about the impact of the dreadful Health and Social Care Bill?

[Paul Burstow]

I would certainly wish that gentleman well with his run. I am sure that the contribution he makes through that charitable act is one that will stand us all in good stead in due course.

Oral Answers to Questions

Graeme Morrice Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd November 2011 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Graeme Morrice (Livingston) (Lab)]

1. What recent assessment he has made of front-line staffing levels in the NHS.

[The Minister of State, Department of Health (Mr Simon Burns)]

We fully recognise how important front-line staff are to the provision of high-quality care. Local organisations are best placed to plan the work force who are required to deliver safe and high-quality services to patients.

[Graeme Morrice]

The Prime Minister promised to cut the deficit and not the national health service. Can the Minister tell us what has changed?

[Mr Burns]

Nothing has changed. As the hon. Gentleman will know, the NHS budget is a protected budget, and during the lifetime of the present Parliament it will receive real-terms increases. What the hon. Gentleman may not know is that the number of full-time equivalent clinical staff working in the NHS today is higher than it was in May 2010 and September 2009.