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Doctor Training
13. Mr. Tony McWalter (Hemel Hempstead): What provision he is making to train increased numbers of doctors; and what progress is being made in inaugurating new medical schools. [72388]
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Mr. John Denham): The Government announced on 22 July 1998 that intake to medical schools in the United Kingdom would be increased to about 6,000 places by 2005--an increase of about 20 per cent. In England, the increase is being co-ordinated by a joint implementation group, which has invited universities to submit proposals for the allocation of additional places by 12 March. Proposals will be considered by the group and decisions will be announced later in the year. Numbers in postgraduate training are also growing to meet future requirements for general practitioners and consultants.
Mr. McWalter: I thank my hon. Friend for that answer and I welcome the Government's commitments. Is my hon. Friend aware that many district general hospitals need new doctors and trainee staff to function properly? If the new doctors being trained are consolidated in existing centres of excellence, many district general hospitals will not have access to new doctor trainees because of the Calman report's recommendations. I hope that my hon. Friend will ensure that hospitals throughout the country, and particularly in Hemel Hempstead, have the opportunity of having trainee doctors associated with medical schools so that they can take full advantage of their expertise.
Mr. Denham: Doctors in specialist training and, to a lesser extent, medical students benefit from the experience of a range of provision, including large teaching centres, smaller acute trusts and community care trusts. How that experience is provided is for local decision.
Uganda
3.31 pm
The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (Mr. Robin Cook): With permission, I shall make a statement on the recent kidnappings in Uganda.
The events occurred in a remote part of Uganda and we do not yet have official corroboration of the most recent developments. We shall make further public statements as we receive confirmation, but the House will wish to hear what is known so far.
Yesterday morning 14 tourists, including six British nationals, were abducted from Bwindi Impenetrable national park in the Kisoro district of Uganda. In addition to the British nationals, those abducted included United States, New Zealand, Canadian, Australian and Swiss nationals. Several others who were present at the time of the attack, including one British citizen, managed to avoid capture. Those who did so returned to Kampala last night, where they were all debriefed and offered support by the British high commission.
As soon as we learned of the abductions, we were in immediate touch with the Ugandan authorities. Our high commissioner told the Ugandan Foreign Minister that we expected every effort to be made to achieve the rapid and safe return of those abducted. He made it clear that there should be no intervention that might put lives at risk. The Foreign Minister gave us that assurance and undertook to keep us fully informed. Two members of the high commission travelled to the area to liaise with the local authorities.
This morning we received reports that some of the hostages had been killed, but that others had been rescued. I regret to inform the House that our present information is that four of the six British nationals were among those who were killed. The whole House will wish to join me in expressing our deepest sympathies to their relatives and families.
We are seeking urgent clarification from the Ugandan authorities of the circumstances in which the deaths took place. It is not yet clear whether the Ugandan military intervened directly, but if that is confirmed we shall want an immediate explanation of how that happened despite the assurances that we were given yesterday.
From our interviews with those who escaped we believe that the abductors were a rebel group opposed to the present Government of Rwanda, and operating from over the border in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is the first such incident in Uganda, although last August the same rebel group seized a number of tourists, including one British dual national, who had strayed over the border into the Democratic Republic.
Our travel advice for Uganda was last updated on 19 February. It warned:
The Minister of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Central (Mr. Lloyd), has just returned from an extended trip to nine countries in the region, including
Uganda and the other five countries involved in the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In each of them he pressed the need for a negotiated settlement and underlined the willingness of the United Kingdom to do all that we can, both in the European Union and in the Security Council, to support such negotiations.
This latest tragedy demonstrates the distressing human cost of the continuing conflict and the urgent need for a settlement.
Mr. Michael Howard (Folkestone and Hythe):
I am grateful to the Foreign Secretary for that statement. The whole House will be deeply shocked by yet another unprovoked attack on British tourists. Our thoughts and sympathies go to their families, the families of the other tourists who died and the families of those Ugandans who were trying to protect them and whose duty it was to try to release them. They live constantly in the shadow of the conflict engulfing the Great Lakes region.
When was our high commissioner to Uganda made aware of the kidnapping? We are all obviously pleased to hear of the release of the French and some of the Australian hostages. Can the Foreign Secretary shed any light on how the French authorities were able to negotiate their release? Can he confirm that, in addition to the attack to which he referred, last week seven people were killed travelling in a road convoy between Goma, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Rutshuru, on the Ugandan border? If so, what consideration was given to updating the travel advice for the region in the light of that attack? When may we expect a statement from the Minister of State on the prospects for peace in the region?
Mr. Cook:
My understanding is that the high commission in Kampala heard of the events yesterday, and debriefed yesterday those who had returned from the area. The right hon. and learned Gentleman is not quite right to suggest that the French authorities negotiated a release of their citizens. Our understanding is that the two were not among those who were abducted from the camp. We believe that one of them had an asthma attack at the time of the abduction, and that may have influenced who was selected for kidnapping. I stress that our information is not confirmed and that there is no doubt much yet to be learned about what happened both yesterday and this morning.
I cannot confirm the precise details of the event in the Congo to which the right hon. and learned Gentleman refers, but there are killings there daily, and our travel advice is explicit and clear: we warn firmly against any travel to the Congo. There had been no such event in Uganda, however. We gave a clear warning in our travel advice about the dangers of the Kisoro district, but we had not felt obliged to warn against all travel to it. We have now done so.
I join in the right hon. and learned Gentleman's condolences both to the families and to those others whose lives have been put at risk. I agree absolutely about the importance of tackling at source the root problem of the instability and insecurity in the Democratic Republic of Congo. My hon. Friend the Minister of State has already issued a press notice following his visit, and I am sure that he will look for an early opportunity to brief the House or the Foreign Affairs Committee.
Mr. Donald Anderson (Swansea, East):
Does my right hon. Friend agree that the prime focus of our concern and
Mr. Cook:
I agree absolutely on that last point. My hon. Friend the Minister of State discussed the problems of the Great Lakes region when he met President Museveni only last week.
"Rebels are periodically active in Uganda/Rwanda/Congo border areas around Kisoro district. Although the situation is currently peaceful, it can change quickly."
Yesterday, in the light of the kidnaps, we revised our travel advice to warn against all travel to those border areas.
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