Non-surgical Aesthetic and Cosmetic Treatments

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 11th September 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Desmond. I am sure that when Jan Spivey went to see her MP, the hon. Member for Putney (Fleur Anderson), it was a meeting between two enthusiastic people—not just the one. It is lovely to see the hon. Lady here, having stepped away from the Northern Ireland Office, to make a contribution in today’s Backbench Business debate. This always says a lot about the individual person, and I am very encouraged to see her here. She is a friend, of course, but none the less we are very pleased to be together.

I thank the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) for highlighting this issue. As he rightly says—indeed, as everyone in this debate will say—it is of great importance, given the increasing usage of non-surgical procedures. We have all read the terrible stories of procedures gone wrong. Most of those that I am aware of are of people who went overseas. One person went to Turkey for a hair transplant—to be facetious, I probably need one very badly, but there is very little donor area around the sides of my head to help. Joking aside, people go abroad to have surgical cosmetic changes made, such as butt lifts, which I understand caused the death of one person, lip lifts, which have left some people disfigured, or breast enhancements, which unfortunately have also led to some deaths. I have tabled questions on this very issue, asking the Government to consider legislation to ensure that there is a system, a regulation or a methodology applied for those who go overseas for these procedures. There must be controls; there must be insurance; there must be a way for those procedures to happen in a safe and secure way. So many disasters have taken place, and unfortunately deaths as well.

In my Strangford constituency, so great is the concern that my local council, Ards and North Down borough council, has put up guidance on making clear choices. The council does not have responsibility for this matter—it is the Department of Health’s responsibility—but the fact that it has done that in my area tells me that the councillors have been contacted by their constituents about these issues and that they feel it is important to put up the signage with guidance on making choices. In Northern Ireland, our local councils have no responsibility for health, so the fact that the council has stepped in shows the depth of concern felt locally.

In 2022, Ards and North Down borough council, in conjunction with other councils in Northern Ireland, wrote to the Department of Health to ask for better regulation of cosmetic treatments in Northern Ireland and for a licensing scheme for non-surgical cosmetic procedures to be introduced. All those councils recognise a need to do something above and beyond what has already been done. In the absence of a licensing scheme, they strongly advise anyone thinking of having a cosmetic treatment to read the advice they have put up on the website, which lists the important considerations.

That is great for those who have considered procedures and are looking for a safe way of getting them, and for those who are trying to find the cheapest solution— I hate to say it, but more often than not, people are driven by the cost factor. That is why they go to Turkey, where these procedures are cheaper. Is there regulation? No, there is not. Should there be? Yes, there should. Those are some of the things we need to see. If there is no regulation and no built-in protection, there is a clear danger.

I am pleased, as always, to see the Minister in her place. She and I are often in the same debates; I am always one of those with questions, and she is always very helpful in trying to respond to our requests, so I look forward to her answers later on. I am also pleased to see her retaining her position in the Health and Social Care Department; that tells us all that she is a safe pair of hands, and the Government and the Prime Minister recognise that.

In 2023 alone, an estimated 7.7 million people underwent cosmetic and aesthetic procedures ranging from botox to chemical peels, fat dissolution and facelifts. They are all unregulated, and all of them can go wrong, leaving irreparable damage. That is what we need to make people aware of at all stages.

[Dame Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West) (Lab)]

I congratulate the hon. Member for Bromsgrove (Bradley Thomas) on securing this important debate. This year, in June alone, 28 people in the north-east were left with cases of botulism from botched and unregulated botox injections. That is one of the reasons why the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, which I chair, will be holding an inquiry later this year into hair products and unregulated beauty procedures. We follow this debate with interest.

[Jim Shannon]

The hon. Lady has just reinforced the need for this debate that the hon. Member for Bromsgrove and others have put forward. These procedures need to be regulated and legislated for. Rules that people can rely on for coverage and security need to be formed and put in place.

As we know, the Government-approved register for medical aesthetic treatments received more than 3,000 reports of complications or adverse outcomes linked to cosmetic procedures; 48% involved women aged between 18 and 25. I believe that is only the tip of the iceberg.

When I read this point in my research, I said to myself, “My goodness, in Northern Ireland, under-18s are allowed to access non-surgical procedures.” Children who need parental consent for a filling at the dentist do not need consent to go for lip injectables. They then have no recourse. Really? I say with great respect, Sir Desmond, that it seems idiotic that we have requirements for a dental procedure, as we should have, but nothing for cosmetic procedures or similar. It again poses a question, and we look to the Minister for a helpful response. This simply has to stop.

I know that the Government and the Minister are absolutely of the same mindset as those of us here, and have every intention of bringing in legislation. I wish to ensure that there is UK-wide legislation. My request, as always—the Minister probably knew this was coming before I got to my feet—is to ensure that we in Northern Ireland are encouraged to have similar legislation. I know councils have taken the initiative and have been to the Health Minister and Department in Northern Ireland to ensure that this happens, but a start made here could provide the initiative and the fillip needed to ensure that Northern Ireland follows quickly. If we are not legislating for the devolved Administrations, they too must have the information and the capacity to introduce legislation similar to that we hope to see here.

Further, we need to do this on a quicker timescale. I was never blessed with much patience, but I have gained it as an elected representative. I know the very procedures that we hope to push along take time, but some urgency in this matter is important. The campaign group Save Face, a register of accredited practitioners and clinics, received 136 complaints in Northern Ireland last year about injectable complications. These people have been disfigured; some may remain like that for years, and some of the effects will last for life. To have no regulation in this field seems absolutely crazy to me. It is difficult to understand why we regulate—rightly so—the fostering of animals by animal shelters and yet allow poison to be injected into a 16-year-old’s face by any Tom, Dick or Harry. My goodness. Can you believe it? It is incomprehensible.

We need to work on this issue at some pace across the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I look to the Minister to ensure that regulation is introduced as a matter of urgency. I think everyone today will speak from the same Bible or hymn book, if that is the way to put it; we will all push for the same things. I am very keen to hear the Minister give us some answers on how we can prevent these life-changing consequences of a botched job from ever happening again.

Urgent Care Centres: Hillingdon

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 10th September 2025 Commons Chamber

[David Simmonds (Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner) (Con)]

This Adjournment debate is on the future of the minor injuries unit at Mount Vernon hospital. I am particularly grateful to the Minister, who, despite representing a Bristol constituency, has a great deal of knowledge of my area having grown up in it, and to the Secretary of State for a number of conversations that have recognised that the loss of such a unit runs contrary to the 10-year plan set out to the House. It would have a much broader impact, beyond the Hillingdon hospitals NHS foundation trust, which is the overarching NHS body for both the Mount Vernon hospital and the Hillingdon hospital site to the south.

That is reflected in the fact that more than 20,000 people have signed my petition expressing concern about the loss of the service and calling for an opportunity to think again. I place on record my thanks to the Members of Parliament in a number of neighbouring constituencies who have supported me with that petition and supported their local residents. The right hon. Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell), who is present, has maintained the long tradition of Hillingdon MPs working together on issues that affect their constituencies. My neighbours in Harrow East, Hertsmere, South West Hertfordshire, South Buckinghamshire and Harrow West have all expressed a similar view. They understand the impact that the closure will have on their constituencies.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Gentleman, to whom I spoke beforehand. The support for what he is proposing goes much further afield. We recently lost a minor injuries unit in a small town to a centralised urgent care A&E unit. Like him, I urge caution. I am informed that the merging of A&E and urgent care has affected waiting times, with ill teenagers lying in a cold waiting room for upwards of 15 hours. Does he agree that it is imperative that the centralisation of services does not leave worse waiting times and standards of care? That is the very issue that he is referring to.

[David Simmonds]

I am grateful to the hon. Member. What he described is similar to the concerns outlined by my hon. Friends the Members for Beaconsfield (Joy Morrissey) and for South West Hertfordshire (Mr Mohindra) and others across the wider area, as well as by many people who have been in touch with me directly.

We know that minor injuries units in general, and the one at Mount Vernon in particular, are valued by people for whom A&E is not always the best place to seek treatment. Many local schools have been in touch to say that if there is an injury during the school day, minor injuries units are the ideal place for a child to get the treatment that they need. For older residents, particularly if they are not in the best of health and perhaps not up to the journey to an A&E department—many of which are under significant pressure—a minor injuries unit is the place to be. I know the Secretary of State and Ministers have responded very positively to the pleas of a number of Members across the House who have asked for the prospect of a minor injuries unit opening to serve their constituencies as part of the 10-year plan, so to see one lost that is already providing a good service seems to me a great shame.

The Minister will know that the Hillingdon hospitals NHS foundation trust has been financially challenged for many years; indeed, during my days as a non-executive director of the Hillingdon primary care trust, in the days of the last Labour Government, the overspend was significant. It is a challenge that has persisted to this day under Governments of all parties, despite numerous initiatives to try to resolve it. That is reflected in the poor state of the main hospital building, which is pending a rebuild. I should declare for the record that my wife is a doctor in that building. I know the Minister and the Government have accepted the programme of works set in place previously, which was granted planning permission by the local authority and announced under the last Government, to provide a new district general hospital at Hillingdon.

I am sure the Minister will know, because of her local knowledge, that we need to recognise that Hillingdon serves Heathrow airport as well as the normal district hospital population. The airport has a very large population of transitory people coming through it, many of whom are taken ill and add to the pressure on A&E. In addition, we have the largest number of asylum seekers per capita of any local authority in the country and a significant number of people in immigration detention, pending deportation. This is not just a hospital serving the normal day-to-day needs of the population area; it has particular and unique pressures, and a minor injuries unit is a means of beginning to take off some of that pressure for the benefit of local residents.

Covid-19 Vaccination Harm

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 3rd September 2025 Westminster Hall

[Sir Christopher Chope]

I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend. I hope that the Minister listened to her and will have direct answers to the questions that she raised. Having spent so much time badgering my right hon. Friend, when she was a Minister in the Cabinet Office, to get something done on this issue, I perhaps need to take the opportunity to say this. I think in the end I reached the conclusion that she had been badly let down by the officials in her Department. It was unfinished business at the time of the general election, and if the current Secretary of State is in discussion with the Cabinet Office, then another 15 months have gone by. Having regard to the work that was done before, I would hope that we are getting close to having answers.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

This is not just about the damages figures; it is also about those who do not qualify through the vaccine damage payment scheme, which states they must have a 60% permanent disability. I have spoken to the hon. Gentleman about this. Many of my constituents have serious but not qualifying conditions. Those who suffer long term but do not meet the threshold may get nothing. Does he agree that there must be a better way to provide assistance than creating an unrealistic threshold that excludes those who are suffering but do not qualify?

[Sir Christopher Chope]

I agree absolutely. If someone has suffered serious adverse effects from a covid-19 vaccine, it is not much consolation to them, their loved ones or those whose confidence we are trying to build to be told that because they are only 30% disabled they are not entitled to a penny. Someone who is 59% disabled is not entitled to anything, even if that disability was caused by the vaccine.

To put all this in context, the VDPS was set up in 1979 to boost confidence for those receiving vaccines. Between 1979 and 31 March 2025, the total number of non-covid vaccine claims was 958. As of 31 March, 331 were still live, 88 of which had been waiting more than 12 months, and only nine had been successful. That is hardly a confidence-building measure, but as I mentioned, as of the end of June, there were more than 22,000—more than 22 times as many—claims for damage caused by covid-19 vaccines. It is hardly surprising that there has been a decline in vaccine confidence. That is why, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Esther McVey) said, we need some urgency.

When I ask questions about this, I keep getting fobbed off with unsatisfactory answers. Mostly recently, on 7 July, a Minister wrote in answer to my question:

“I am not in a position to comment on timelines for the consideration of options for reform or recommendations for change.”

Are those options not being considered now? When are they going to be brought forward? The answer continued:

“Ministers continue to consider options covering both potential reforms…and the situation of those who have suffered harm.”

But they will not tell us the timescale.

What are we to do? What are the punters meant to do about this? We are still waiting for the report from the inquiry, in particular on module 4, but the evidence given to the inquiry was compelling. In conclusion, I will quote briefly from the evidence that was given in the introductory statements before Baroness Heather Hallett:

“During the early months of the vaccine rollout, those who experienced adverse reactions found it nearly impossible to access information about vaccine injuries in the mainstream media. This lack of coverage contributed to feelings of fear, isolation, and a heightened likelihood of being disbelieved. Adverse reactions to the Covid-19 vaccines were largely absent from mainstream media discussions. When they were eventually covered, the stories were often framed with an emphasis on the rarity of such reactions, the safety of the vaccine, and the millions of lives it had saved. Members of the Covid Vaccine Adverse Reaction and Bereaved Groups who participated in interviews with mainstream media often had to agree to censor themselves, or had their words altered during editing.”

We now know that they were right. Their concerns that these injuries and bereavements had been caused by the vaccines were correct, although the Government at the time were in denial. That has added to the trauma of the victims and their families. I hope that the Government, which I always hope will be sympathetic to those in need and in plight, will now wake up and put a proverbial under the UK Government authorities that are trying to forestall any action. One can see the way in which the previous Government’s Ministers were disregarded on this issue and how the NHS carries on doing its own thing and being in denial. I hope that the Minister can tell us the timescales for this, exactly what is being discussed and what is not, and when we will be able to report something positive to those of our constituents who continue to suffer.

Eating Disorders: Prevention of Deaths

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd September 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Desmond. I congratulate the hon. Member for Isle of Wight West (Mr Quigley) on securing the debate. In the short time that I have, I want to make three points about Northern Ireland.

Stats show that 22 individuals—20 women and two men—died from eating disorders in Northern Ireland between 2008 and 2018. Reports have highlighted that these deaths can often be connected to complications such as heart failure and organ damage, and are frequently misclassified on death certificates, so realistically the figure could be even higher.

Secondly, there has been rising demand for support for those with eating disorders. There is a higher prevalence of disorders today than 20 or 30 years ago, especially among young people. A youth wellbeing survey undertaken in Northern Ireland in 2019 showed that 16.2% of 11 to 19-year-olds exhibited signs of a disorder in eating—a much larger figure than in previous years.

Thirdly, the Northern Ireland Council for Voluntary Action revealed that between 2017 and 2021, 26 people had to travel outside Northern Ireland for specialist care in relation to eating disorders. We must ensure that across this nation that is not the case, as it would leave us with prolonged recovery times, excess stress, anxiety and avoidable hospital admissions. Everyone is worthy of support, but we are simply not doing enough to make the recovery process as simple as it should be. I look to the Minister, as always, for his commitment to the country as a whole. I ask him to endeavour to ensure that treatment does not fall behind in different regions.

Defibrillators

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd September 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I thank the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth) for setting the scene so very well and for his generosity in allowing time for us all to participate.

My interest in defibrillators goes back to an incident outside a school in my constituency. A parent who was coming to collect a child collapsed outside the school. Due to the good work of those who were there—there was a nurse there—CPR saved him. After that, a defibrillator was installed at the school.

Hon. Members may be aware that in December 2020 I introduced a private Member’s Bill about public access to defibrillators. The Government made movements at the time, although the Bill did not pass. I was proud of the steps that were taken, as the need for action had been made clear by the British Heart Foundation, which has been instrumental in pushing the matter forward.

Some 1,400 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests are reported in Northern Ireland every year, with fewer than 10% surviving. Public access defibrillators are now used in fewer than 5% of cardiac arrests that happen away from a hospital. When someone has a cardiac arrest, every minute without CPR or defibrillation reduces their chances of survival by about 10%. That was the rationale behind the Bill. I was pleased when the then UK youth education Minister and Health Minister, Jo Churchill, both reassured me that they would do all they could to ensure that schools and public areas would have ready access to AEDs, and that is what happened.

I have continued to press the Government on the issue. On 17 February, in answer to my question on access to defibrillators, the Minister wrote:

“The Government is committed to improving access to Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in public spaces, and reducing inequalities in access to these life saving devices. Following the depletion of the existing AED fund, launched in September 2023, the new Government approved a further £500,000 in August 2024 to fulfil existing applications to the fund.”

Who has filled the gap? It has been local charities and community groups. The Orange lodges have provided one in Newtownards in the past month, and another just before that in Craigantlet. The British Heart Foundation has opened a charity shop in the Ards shopping centre; the funds that it raises will save lives. I say a big thank you to all of them.

Clearly, we need effective, accessible defibrillators throughout communities as a standard, not as a bonus. Will the Minister give us some indication of discussions with the relevant Minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly to ascertain whether there is a policy to move these things forward in a positive way? I fully support those calls. I was pleased that the Northern Ireland Assembly introduced a number of such measures through the then Education Minister, Peter Weir, who now sits in the other place.

I believe that more can and should be done to educate the general public to be fully confident in how to use defibrillators. Local churches, community groups and coffee shops should all have people who are trained and able to step in when needed. I commend the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland for moving the motion today; I will stand with him in this place as we seek to take steps to make a difference.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 22nd July 2025 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Care (Stephen Kinnock)]

I commend my hon. Friend for bringing his personal experience to bear on this important matter. NHS England’s independent ADHD taskforce is looking at how to provide support for people with ADHD and how to improve it. We are considering the taskforce’s interim report and look forward to the final report later this year. The taskforce is joined up with expert groups established across Government to provide advice on meeting the needs of neurodivergent children and young people in education, and on boosting neurodiversity inclusion at work.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

T7.   Will the Minister confirm what steps the Department will take to build neighbourhood health services in partnership with charities, such as Macmillan, that have a proven track record of designing and delivering community-based services for people with long-term conditions? How can we ensure that this is a UK-wide service, and not a postcode lottery for cancer services?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Ashley Dalton)]

The cancer plan will reflect the three shifts in the 10-year plan, including from hospital to community. Macmillan, Cancer Research UK and Cancer52 all sit on the steering board for the cancer plan, and I meet them regularly. Last week, we announced the Diagnostic Connect partnership with the third sector, linking patients with third sector services on diagnosis. The cancer plan will cover this for the whole of England and build on the commitments in the 10-year plan.

NHS Pensions: Frontline Patient Care

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 17th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Karin Smyth]

I am totally focused on remedying this situation and learning from the mistakes. If further action is required, I will happily update the House at that point. My absolute focus at the moment is on getting everybody in that organisation and the independent review focused on sorting out the pension situation for those who have already lost out.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

As always, I thank the Minister very much for her answers. I recently read an article that referred to the mechanism of the NHS pension scheme as a “Ponzi scheme”, which gives me great concern about the scheme’s ability to cope in 20 years’ time. How do the Government and the Minister intend to convert the transitional arrangement in place since 2019—of topping up pensions from another source—into permanent and transparent arrangements so that we can stop robbing Peter to pay Paul and ensure that those who are working 70 hours a week in 2025 have a real pension and retirement fund in 2065?

[Karin Smyth]

The hon. Gentleman tempts me to stray further from the urgent question, but he raises an important point, further to the one raised by the hon. Member for West Worcestershire (Dame Harriett Baldwin), who is a trustee of the parliamentary contributory pension fund.

The NHS pension scheme is an extremely important part of the reward package that NHS staff at all levels absolutely deserve. We want to ensure that it, like the rest of the NHS, is fit for the future. If hon. Members have suggestions for how to make it work better, as part of ongoing discussions, I am happy to hear them.

Women and Girls with Autism: Mental Health Support

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 15th July 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jessica Toale]

Absolutely. There are now more than 2,000 people with learning disabilities and/or autism detained across the UK in in-patient units similar to the one that Lauren was held in. They are often far from home, cut off from their families and placed in highly restrictive environments that frequently do more harm than good. Lauren’s case is heartbreaking, but it must also be a turning point, which is why Lindsey is campaigning for Lolly’s law and why I am bringing this campaign to the House today.

Lolly’s law proposes four urgent reforms that could prevent future tragedies. The first is mandatory retraining for psychiatric professionals and support staff so that they have a proper understanding of how autism presents in girls and women. Too often those young women are misdiagnosed with personality disorders or wrongly pathologised.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Lady for securing this debate. She is absolutely right to highlight the issue. It is very hard to listen to because the particular circumstances are so personal. Numerous studies have shown that girls and women are more likely to internalise the stress and anxieties that come with autism, whereas boys are likely to be more openly tempered or passive-aggressive. That is a statement rather than an observation. Does the hon. Lady agree that we could work more closely with teachers in schools and other individuals to ensure that young girls struggling with autism have support in the educational system to externalise some of their stress?

[Jessica Toale]

It is obvious that women tend to mask symptoms of autism more and that they present very differently from men. Our medical system is not set up to properly diagnose it in women.

The second proposal of Lolly’s law is a reassessment of personality disorder diagnoses where autism might be missed. There needs to be a national reassessment programme to identify cases of misdiagnosis and provide appropriate support for those affected. The evidence already shows that where female in-patients are diagnosed with emotionally unstable personality disorder and/or eating disorders and are reassessed for autism, 100% of them receive a diagnosis for autism.

Thirdly, specialist suicide prevention and self-harm teams must be available in all mental health units for vulnerable young people. These should be multidisciplinary teams trained specifically in females with autism. Finally, anti-ligature doors and safety infrastructure must be mandated across all in-patient mental health facilities. These are basic safeguards that can and do save lives.

Lindsey has set up a petition for Lolly’s law, which has already gathered 225,000 signatures—clear proof of the public demand for action. She has also developed a training course for child and adolescent mental health services professionals, solicitors and others involved in mental health decision making, which has been positively received by those who have seen it.

Resident Doctors: Industrial Action

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 10th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. It will be patients who suffer the most. I also urge the BMA to consider the impact on its whole membership, because it is other staff who are left picking up the pieces, and other staff who are tired—literally tired—of working in an NHS that is far from its best. To resident doctors in particular, I say that the cost of this will also be borne by them. There are choices and trade-offs in politics, especially when resources are tight. We can and we will act to deal with specialty bottlenecks. We can and we will act to tackle doctor unemployment, but our ability to do so is undermined, if not diminished, if we are instead paying the cost of this unnecessary, unreasonable and unfair strike action.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his statement today and fully support the line of action that he has taken. Indications that the majority of doctors in the BMA did not vote to strike makes this strike action even more difficult to understand. The Secretary of State is clearly trying to find a way forward. The way to do that is through finding solutions. Reviewing conditions of work, such as those that see junior doctors working 84 hours within the space of a week, would be helpful. Perhaps this action is not only about pay, but about the expectations of these young people who have life and death in their hands for 13 hours for six out of seven days a week.

[Wes Streeting]

The hon. Gentleman makes an entirely reasonable point. Pay is important—people have to be able to pay their bills and lead a good life—but so too are their working conditions. I am absolutely determined to work with resident doctors to make progress not just on pay, which we have already done, but on the conditions in which they are working. Given where we are with both of those things—the improvement on pay and the willingness to work together to improve conditions—they are not grounds for strike action.

Glaucoma Awareness

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 9th July 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship for the second time today, Mr Pritchard—I am getting a liking for it. I thank the hon. Member for Leicester South (Shockat Adam) for securing the debate. As my party’s health spokesperson, issues such as glaucoma are of great importance to me—the statistics show its prevalence. I would not have thought there would ever be a case in which the hon. Member for Alloa and Grangemouth (Brian Leishman) would be lost for words, no matter what might happen; that is meant as a compliment, by the way.

As it is Glaucoma Awareness Week, there is no greater time to consider this issue. I will start by describing the scale of the issue in Northern Ireland specifically, because that is what I want to highlight. Queen’s University undertook a study that found a 2.83% prevalence of glaucoma in 3,221 people aged 50-plus—I understand that rate is normal, compared with the rest of the United Kingdom—and that around two-thirds of those were undiagnosed. There is an issue to address: those who are undiagnosed. Northern Ireland currently has some 18,000 confirmed glaucoma cases. As I have said to the hon. Member for Leicester South—he knows this story—although my dad is dead and gone, when he was alive he lost his eyesight to glaucoma. Unfortunately—they were probably just not as good at managing it in times past—it crept up on him, and he lost his eyesight. My dad was very fortunate to have my mother to look after him, in every sense of the word. They loved each other greatly. It was never a burden to my mum to look after my dad. That was really important.

I was fortunate to secure a debate on glaucoma and community optometry just last year. The hon. Member for Leicester South made a fantastic contribution to that debate. I greatly admire his knowledge of optometry, and the job he did before he was elected. When he comes to these debates he brings that fount of knowledge, experience and examples, which we all appreciate. There is such an important link between our opticians and healthcare specialists who treat eye conditions such as glaucoma. Data from Specsavers highlighted that in 2023, some 30,000 referrals for glaucoma were made for people aged 40 to 60. Not all those people were diagnosed as such, but the fact was that there were some concerns, and the treatment for them was able to start.

I have some stats for Northern Ireland that I want to quote for the record. Regarding the adoption of innovative glaucoma technologies, such as iStent inject, two of the biggest eye surgery hospitals in the country—Altnagelvin area hospital and Belfast city hospital—now routinely offer such combined procedures to comorbid glaucoma and cataract patients. The focus is now on making sure that no glaucoma patients miss out on the opportunity to intervene in glaucoma at the time of routine elective cataract surgery. The advances are incredible at this moment in time.

As of March 2025—which has just passed—almost 50,000 people were waiting for ophthalmology outpatient appointments in Northern Ireland. That is a massive number, and the Minister in the Assembly back home really needs to take that on. In Northern Ireland, the prevalence of glaucoma in people aged over 50 is, as I said, comparable to other parts of the United Kingdom, and indeed other parts of Europe. The figures that we have seem to be relevant wherever we are in the United Kingdom, but also across the whole of Europe. Interestingly, around two thirds of people with glaucoma were not aware of their glaucoma, as the hon. Member for Leicester South said in his introduction. If that is generalisable from the study sample to the whole population, that rate is higher than in other comparable populations.

Glaucoma is the second most common reason for certification as sight impaired, or severely sight impaired, in Northern Ireland. On average, 13.1% of certifications are caused by glaucoma, although that varies a lot year on year. I want to tell the Minister what we are doing itenn Northern Ireland in relation to the iStent inject surgery. That is a massive, technological, medical, modern way forward. It is good to be able to report it in this debate.

[Iqbal Mohamed (Dewsbury and Batley) (Ind)]

Under the 10-year plan, the Government want to invest in the NHS and bring services into the community. There are examples of that around our country, and maybe in Northern Ireland. There are trusts in London with diagnostic hubs that better manage glaucoma. There are regions with community glaucoma services that have reported halving hospital referrals, improving access and saving millions. There are also pilots, such as in the Royal Devon’s Nightingale model, that reduce appointments from two hours to 30 minutes. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that investing, reorganising and having a joined-up service with advanced detection will save money for the Government and save people’s sight?

[Jim Shannon]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. To be fair, the hon. Member for Leicester South was clear that there is an opportunity to advance greatly under the 10-year NHS plan to solve the problems. There are better ways of doing things and reducing waiting times.

We are fortunate to have two hospitals in Northern Ireland, the Altnagelvin area hospital and Belfast city hospital, where new treatment is starting and also where cataract operations can take place. Cataract operations also take place in Downe hospital, just outside my constituency. Optometrists have a key role to play because they can spot the early signs of glaucoma during routine tests. For patients with stable glaucoma, optometrists have a role in monitoring eye health and helping them manage their condition.

Ahead of this debate I was in touch with Glaukos on the steps that can be taken both nationally and within the devolved Administrations to improve the outcomes for those diagnosed with glaucoma. In his intervention, the hon. Member for Dewsbury and Batley (Iqbal Mohamed) made it clear that there could be great advances in glaucoma and for eye care and doing things better. Glaukos has educated me on the iStent injects that are implanted during cataract surgery or in a stand-alone procedure—the very things that the hon. Member for Leicester South referred to. These little stents unblock drainage and lower eye pressure with minimal risk or cost. Perhaps that is something the Minister could commit to looking at and engaging with as a means of treatment for those with glaucoma.

The Minister is always well versed on the technologies and advances. I know that when he replies to this debate he will give us some encouragement. I should say I am pleased to see the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans), in his place. I love doing debates with him. He and I share a passion for the subject matter. He brings a wealth of knowledge to these debates and I thank him for that.

To conclude, there are thousands and thousands of people living with the condition, but there will be thousands more to come. That is what we want to try to address. Ensuring affordable and accessible treatment is imperative. As I previously stated, and as the hon. Member for Leicester South who introduced the debate has stated, we must not underestimate the impact that our local opticians have in detecting these kinds of issues early on. I therefore urge people out there to prioritise their eye health while they can.