Hughes Report: First Anniversary

Mark Sewards Excerpts

Thursday 27th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Mark Sewards (Leeds South West and Morley) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Furniss. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson) on securing this important debate and on her tireless work on this issue.

I have come fairly late to the issues surrounding mesh implants. I became acutely aware of them when a constituent in Leeds South West and Morley who had suffered because of this procedure came to see me at my surgery. I would like to highlight her experiences. I have her consent; she has asked me to do so. Her story starts 17 years ago, when she had mesh implants offered by the NHS. Little did she know that years later she would face severe health problems, despite being assured that the implants were the gold standard. The mesh would hang out of her body, and would be trimmed to try to prevent that. She eventually had it removed, but it was far too late: some of the mesh had disintegrated and could no longer be removed. It caused hernias and incontinence, and more recently she believes it had a role to play in her cancer diagnosis, as she has tumours in and around the areas where the implants were inserted.

My constituent tells me that the implants have completely ruined her life. She has had to give up her business, and now has to deal with the health impacts every day while having ongoing treatment for cancer. The one bright spot from our meeting is that it was so clear to me that she and her husband were a team. He has been there, and will continue to be there, throughout everything she has had to go through. I was moved by that.

Quite understandably, my constituent is seeking redress, and that has led to another issue that she and people in the Public Gallery have had to contend with. The NHS complaints policy states that for clinical negligence the time limit for any claim is three years from the date of injury. Although there are some exceptions relating to knowledge of the injury, that has been absolutely no comfort to my constituent, who is yet to receive any acknowledgment that she could be entitled to redress.

That was partially addressed by the Hughes report, which presented options for compensation for those harmed by pelvic mesh implants. It is disappointing to those impacted that, more than a year on, there has still been no response to the report. Although some good steps have been taken in treatment and support, we must at least address the calls for financial compensation. I therefore encourage the Minister to give whatever outline she can about when the families and the victims will be updated. With time so short, that is the one point that I ask the Minister to respond to.

In the words of the Patient Safety Commissioner, Dr Hughes:

“Patients and families are suffering right now, and whilst the Government reviews my recommendations, it does not put their problems on hold.”

I know the Minister is aware of that, and I remain grateful for the Government’s positive work so far. However, I urge them to do all they can to reassure those who have been impacted by this scandal, and to respond to the Hughes report at the earliest opportunity.

Male Suicide in Rotherham

Mark Sewards Excerpts

Monday 24th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jake Richards]

I agree with the hon. Member, who makes a characteristically pithy point.

John Leaver, who does incredible work with men in tough times in Kiveton Park and Wales in my constituency, is in many ways the inspiration for the debate and the campaign I intend to run in Rotherham. John works with men and women, but has extensive experience of the particular issues that men face in his area. He has often been the person telling me of another suicide, and not infrequently it is somebody he knows well, played football with, went to school with or is an old family friend. He spoke to me about the effect of the decline of post-industrial towns and villages, such as Kiveton Park, Dinnington, Maltby and Thurcroft in my constituency, on men and notions of masculinity. Those places were built on the back of coalmining—a proud tradition of honest hard work, offering a sense of purpose and meaning for generations of young men. We should not simply look back with rose-tinted spectacles, but after the closure of the pits, we have too often struggled to replace that social fabric for men. These remain brilliant communities with a long-standing sense of solidarity and camaraderie, but too many within them still feel lost.

Even worse, too many men feel victimised or attacked. I was recently struck by the words of musician Sam Fender in a newspaper interview. Speaking about the towns in the north-east of England that he grew up in, he said lads were

“being shamed all the time and made to feel like they’re a problem. It’s this narrative being told to white boys from nowhere towns.”

I fear there is some truth to that—that men from towns built in a bygone era feel they are a problem in modern times. I want to play my part as the local MP in changing that, and I am not alone. Brilliant organisations in my constituency already do fantastic work. Andy’s Man Club in Maltby and Kiveton Park meet every Monday evening. Better Today, run by John Leaver, is incredible at supporting men in times of real difficulty. There are many fantastic sports clubs and associations, from boxing in Dinnington to Swallownest FC and Maltby Main FC. There are the regular coffee mornings, the walking and rambling clubs, and the monthly men’s breakfast in Anston. They all play a vital role in supporting men in difficult circumstances.

[Mark Sewards (Leeds South West and Morley) (Lab)]

Veterans have already been mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher). Would my hon. Friend join me in paying tribute to Veterans In Need Together? He talks about organisations that support men. That organisation supports men every Wednesday at Morley fire station without fail and offers support to those who need it.

[Jake Richards]

That service in my hon. Friend’s constituency sounds vital—just like those in my constituency. The focus on veterans in particular is critical.

Suicide does not simply affect the person taking their own life. Families lose loved ones and towns and villages are scarred by the traumatic loss of people with great promise and talent. The number of men who kill themselves every year is eclipsed by the number of people affected by their loss. I will use my role as the local MP to press the Government to take action. There are specific policy issues that I want to raise.

I am very aware of specific issues to do with gambling and male suicide. I have met two local mothers who are fighting for justice after their sons, both of whom were hard-working, talented and honourable men, took their own lives far too young as a result of spiralling online gambling addictions. Social media and technology have allowed vulnerable users easier access to gambling. A report found two years ago that there had been a 43% annual rise in demand for NHS gambling clinics, and that one in three of those patients had already attempted to take their own lives. It is estimated that every year there are more than 400 gambling-related suicides in England—and those are the ones we know of. I have before urged the Government to consider ways in which we can empower coroners courts, and indeed place responsibilities on coroners, to look at these issues in a robust and rigorous manner. At the moment, the causative link between gambling addiction and suicide is not given appropriate recognition.

There are broader issues. Although the issue of men’s mental health is complex, there are specific policy areas that the Government must confront. First, the rates of men taking their own lives are highest in the most deprived communities. The suicide rate in the most deprived 10% of areas in England in the two years from 2017 to 2019 was 14.1%—almost double the rate in the least deprived areas. Indeed, rates of men taking their own lives in the regions of England are almost double what they are in London. Tackling poverty and insecure work across our country is a Labour mission, and it is one that will save lives.

New Hospital Programme Review

Mark Sewards Excerpts

Monday 20th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

I am always open to constructive representations. As I said in my statement, the capital envelope that the Chancellor has given my Department—the biggest since Labour was last in office—includes funding for exactly those sorts of maintenance, backlog and disrepair challenges in the NHS estate. It is not just about new units or hospitals; it is also about ensuring that the current estate can deliver the quality of care and the value for money that our constituents deserve. I would be happy to take representations from the hon. Gentleman.

[Mr Mark Sewards (Leeds South West and Morley) (Lab)]

The Conservatives made promises about 40 new hospitals that they knew they could not build and deliver, and now it turns out that they knew they could not pay for them by 2030. It is little wonder that trust in politics is so low at the moment. It is also little wonder, given the unedifying display from Conservative Front Benchers today, that they are sat on the Opposition Benches. It falls on this Government to take the decisions that the Conservatives ducked when they were in power. Given that trust is so low, what reassurances can the Secretary of State give my constituents that the Leeds general infirmary will be delivered according to the timetable that he has set out today?

[Wes Streeting]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his representation and for his outstanding work for the people of Leeds since his election. I can reassure his constituents that this is a credible and funded timetable that we can stick to—and I am determined to ensure that we do. As for promises made by the Conservatives, we saw the crocodile tears from the Leader of the Opposition this weekend. She says that she will admit that the Conservatives got things wrong, but she never, ever gives a specific example. In fact, we have heard more about steak sandwiches than humble pie since the election.

National Insurance Contributions: Healthcare

Mark Sewards Excerpts

Thursday 14th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Karin Smyth]

I commend the hon. Lady for raising the great work done by hospices. We understand the pressures and the precarious situation that many have been left in after 14 years of the last Government. We are willing and keen to talk to representatives from all types of hospice, and others. We are going through the process of the allocations and we will be able to get back to them as soon as possible.

[Mr Mark Sewards (Leeds South West and Morley) (Lab)]

Hundreds of my constituents in Leeds South West and Morley are stuck on record long waiting lists, thanks to the Conservative party. It is essential that we get those waiting lists down, because they have profound effects on our economy and on the health of those waiting. Will the Minister confirm that the measures that we set out in the Budget will provide the additional appointments needed to get those waiting lists down?

[Karin Smyth]

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. As I said in my response to the hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans), we faced a situation where we were told that we would have to reduce appointments by 20,000 a week. We have taken serious steps, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State fought hard for our Budget allocation so that we can have 40,000 extra appointments as promised in our manifesto, which was overwhelmingly endorsed by the British public. We are determined that we will bring change to the system and tackle the waiting lists.