HPV Vaccinations for MSM

Martin Docherty-Hughes Excerpts

Tuesday 7th June 2016 Westminster Hall

[Martin Docherty-Hughes (West Dunbartonshire) (SNP)]

It is always a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Mr Hollobone. I congratulate the hon. Member for Finchley and Golders Green (Mike Freer) on securing this important debate. I will concentrate on four points that I believe are fundamental: stigma, the recommendations of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, implementation and lessons to be learned. I have no doubt that living with HPV can be similar to living with HIV/AIDS. Nobody wants to talk about it, even today, and that cultural silence embeds the stigmatisation of those living with HPV, while limiting our ability to improve access to services and to reduce the indices of, in this case, men who have sex with men who are infected with HPV.

As my hon. Friend the Member for East Dunbartonshire (John Nicolson) said, HPV is one of the most prevalent infections. Statistically, most of us in this room will have been infected by at least one of the differing strains at some point in our lives. Although the majority of us deal with that infection naturally, which has already been mentioned, challenges in removing the infection remain for those, critically, who smoke, and those with compromised immune systems—for example, people living with HIV/AIDS.

As for stigma, let us be frank. Discussing anal warts can be a conversation stopper. For men, in particular, addressing and discussing health-related issues is problematic in general. With that in mind, I encourage Members to reflect on research undertaken several years ago in Scotland on male cancers for Cahonas Scotland by John Docherty-Hughes of Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. I must declare an interest: he happens to be my husband. Entitled, “Men, Masculinities and Male Cancer Awareness: a preliminary study”, it found that men felt uneasy when being open about their fears in relation to their own health, specifically in relation to cancer for that research, but also health in general. I recommend Members avail themselves of that research as it challenges those who seek to improve services for men, whether cancer or HPV specifically. It is critical that we reduce stigma in relation to male health and wellbeing.

Let us return to the recommendations of the JCVI. As a Scottish constituency MP, I am delighted that the Scottish Government earlier this year announced that they will make men who have sex with men eligible to receive the HPV vaccine without recourse to a pilot. They are working to ensure that the vaccine can be introduced for men who have sex with men as soon as possible, in contrast to the pilot programme being proposed by the UK Government in England. On implementation, the roll-out of the HPV vaccine has so far been a resounding success, with HPV immunisation uptake exceeding 80% in Scotland.

As to lessons learned—I do not want to detain the House for long—the hon. Member for Finchley and Golders Green has, by securing this debate, given us the opportunity to inform and educate not only the policy makers sitting behind the Minister, but colleagues and those watching the debate in the Public Gallery and on television. The key to improving the health and wellbeing of men, from my perspective and in much of the research I have read, is education based on their lived experience culturally, socially and economically. That is whether they have sex with other men—frankly, one can identify as being heterosexual and have sex with other men—are homeless, are black or from a minority ethnic community, identify as heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual, or are transgender, because even men in transition must deal with the consequences of male health.

The key question is this: are the UK Government and healthcare practitioners in the NHS and the charitable sector able to meet the challenge and listen to the lived experience of men who have sex with men living with HPV and those who support them? Will they begin the full implementation of the recommendations of the JCVI and start the full roll-out of that vaccination across England?