Medical Cannabis (Access) Bill

Debate between Rosena Allin-Khan and James Daly

Friday 10th December 2021 Commons Chamber

[Dr Allin-Khan]

In three years, we have had three prescriptions on the NHS. In three years, we have seen people in fear of not having roofs over their heads because they cannot afford to give life-changing medication to their children.

[James Daly]

Will the hon. Member give way?

[Dr Allin-Khan]

I will make a bit more progress and then I would be absolutely delighted to give way.

The situation that we face, whereby only three prescriptions in three years have been allowed, pushes more and more patients into the hands of private providers, who, as we have heard, are charging extortionate amounts of money each month for treatment. For the vast majority of people, that is simply out of reach.

Let me add something that I was not originally going to say: I, too, am a science geek. I have a biochemistry degree and I worked in medical research before even going to medical school. I understand the importance of robust, evidence-based medicine, but I can also tell hon. Members that people searching in a very desperate way for things that will improve the quality of their life, or even keep their children alive, might also go to places where absolutely no thought is given to the purity of a drug. They may seek alternatives that are increasingly more dangerous for their children. It is important to recognise that.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Allin-Khan]

I could not agree more; my hon. Friend puts the point across perfectly. If anyone is planning on talking the Bill out today, please will they ask themselves who benefits from that and whether they would feel proud of frustrating a process for many children and families that would mean that they did not have to go through, frankly, the hell that we have heard described?

[James Daly]

The hon. Lady is being extremely generous with her time; she will please forgive me for intervening, but I want to call on her expertise. The specific intent of Parliament was to allow medical professionals to prescribe non-licensed cannabis-based products. It cannot be any clearer than that; that is where the law is now. I agree with the point that was made—the fact that there have been only three prescriptions is ridiculous. However, perhaps she can address this question: the medical professionals who are considering such matters can see the evidence that we have talked about—it has been incredibly well articulated by all hon. Members—so why are they not referring those matters on and saying, “This patient needs this treatment”?

The other question that I want to ask—very inarticulately—is about the two-stage process of the clinical referral and then the money within the CCG. Is the problem that it is getting through the first bit—the clinical referral—but the money in the CCG is stopping it? I wonder if she could address those points in her remarks.

[Dr Allin-Khan]

My understanding and my belief, unless someone has an alternative proposal, is that clinicians are often screaming from the rooftops in the knowledge that their patients need this medicine. We are where we are, however, with only three prescriptions having been granted in three years. This Bill seeks to improve that and move us forward.

Families being forced to pay for treatment from private providers creates an unjust two-tier health system. A founding principle of our health service is that we do not believe that people’s access to treatment and services should be based on their ability to pay—it is as simple as that. The barriers in accessing medicinal cannabis are causing exactly that situation. We would not tolerate that for any other medication, so we should not tolerate it here. The Government must speed up and improve the availability of medical cannabis on the NHS and guarantee that patients across the country can access those products where appropriate.

We have all heard the testimonies of children who receive no respite from their seizures and of patients whose chronic pain has become a constant of their lives. Working in hospitals, I regularly meet those people and their families, who beg me and other doctors to help their loved ones. Witnessing their suffering never gets any less upsetting, especially when we know that there are options to alleviate it. Unrelenting pain can be so devastating for all involved. It is imperative that we listen to those who would benefit from access to cannabis-based products and allow them to guide our future thinking.

We have a voice in this place. I commend hon. Members from both sides of the House for using their voice today to speak up for those families who cannot be here to make the case themselves. Hon. Members have been begging, but we should not have to beg to do the right thing for the people who we serve.