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Freedom Pass
7.9 pm
Mr. Burstow: The second of the two petitions is presented on behalf of many thousands of my constituents who contacted my office over the past few weeks, when they learned about the threat now posed to the London freedom pass as a result of an announcement by the Department for Transport of a redistribution of funds from London to other parts of the country to underwrite the costs of their concessionary fare schemes.
The Petition of residents of Sutton, Cheam, Worcester Park and others,
Declares that the decision of the Secretary of State for Transport to cut the financial support for concessionary travel for older and disabled people in London is unfair to the 1.2 million people who use the Freedom Pass. Further declares that London Councils currently contribute a third of the cost compared to the parts of the country where concessionary travel is fully funded by the Government and that the cut in the grant would result in London Councils covering half of the cost of the scheme.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons calls upon Her Majesty's Government to drop the plans to cut the funding for the Freedom Pass for elderly and disabled people.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.
Immigration (Adela Mahoro Mugabo)
7.10 pm
Mr. John Leech (Manchester, Withington) (LD): I shall try again. Some time ago, I submitted a petition on behalf of thousands of constituents in support of the "Mahoro Must Stay" campaign. Unfortunately, Adela Mahoro Mugabo remains under threat of deportation and I am now submitting a petition signed by a further 1,300 people who support the campaign.
The Petition of the Mahoro Must Stay Campaign,
Declares that Adela Mahoro Mugabo, who is to be removed to Rwanda, is the widow of a man murdered in 2002 by the Interharamwe Hutus, and as a Hutu herself was accused by the Rwandan
Military Intelligence of covering up for her husband's murderers. The Petitioners further declare that Mahoro was tortured and raped, and is now HIV-positive, and that if she is returned to Rwanda she will still be in danger and will be unable to get the anti-retroviral drugs she needs to survive.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Home Secretary to instruct a reconsideration of the Home Office decision and allow Adela Mahoro Mugabo to stay in the UK, a safe environment in which she will be able to lead a healthy life.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.
Badman Report (Bristol West)
7.11 pm
Stephen Williams (Bristol, West) (LD): I have a petition to present on behalf of 33 constituents in Bristol, West on the same subject as petitions presented by several other hon. Members: the report by Graham Badman into home educators. To avoid detaining colleagues further, I shall not read out the full text of the motion.
Following is the full text of the petition:
[The Petition of persons resident in the Bristol West parliamentary constituency,
Declares that they are concerned about the recommendations of the Badman Report, which suggests closer monitoring of home educators, including a compulsory annual registration scheme and right of access to people's homes for local authority officials; further declares that the Petitioners believe the recommendations are based on a review that was extremely rushed, failed to give due consideration to the evidence, failed to ensure that the data it collected were sufficiently robust, and failed to take proper account of the existing legislative framework.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families either not to bring forward, or to withdraw, proposed legislative measures providing for tighter registration and monitoring of children educated at home in the absence of a thorough independent inquiry into the condition and future of elective home education in England; but instead to take the steps necessary to ensure that the existing Elective Home Education Guidelines for Local Authorities are properly implemented, learning from current best practice, in all local authorities in England.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.]
Badman Report (Cheadle)
7.12 pm
Mark Hunter (Cheadle) (LD): I, too, beg the leave of the House to introduce on behalf of persons resident in the Cheadle constituency a petition expressing their grave concerns about the recommendations of the Badman report. The wording is exactly the same as the petition read out earlier by my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Dorset and North Poole (Annette Brooke).
Following is the full text of the petition:
[The Petition of persons resident in Cheadle,
Declares that they are concerned about the recommendations of the Badman Report, which suggests closer monitoring of home educators, including a compulsory
annual registration scheme and right of access to people's homes for local authority officials; further declares that the Petitioners believe the recommendations are based on a review that was extremely rushed, failed to give due consideration to the evidence, failed to ensure that the data it collected were sufficiently robust, and failed to take proper account of the existing legislative framework.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families either not to bring forward, or to withdraw, proposed legislative measures providing for tighter registration and monitoring of children educated at home in the absence of a thorough independent inquiry into the condition and future of elective home education in England; but instead to take the steps necessary to ensure that the existing Elective Home Education Guidelines for Local Authorities are properly implemented, learning from current best practice, in all local authorities in England.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.]
Badman Report (Brecon and Radnorshire)
7.13 pm
Mr. Roger Williams (Brecon and Radnorshire) (LD): By leave of the House, I beg to lay a petition regarding the Badman report that has been signed by seven residents of Brecon and Radnorshire. The wording is very similar, or identical, to the petition presented by my hon. Friend the Member for Mid-Dorset and North Poole (Annette Brooke), therefore I shall not detain the House.
Following is the full text of the petition:
[The Petition of persons resident in the Brecon and Radnorshire parliamentary constituency,
Declares that they are concerned about the recommendations of the Badman Report, which suggests closer monitoring of home educators, including a compulsory annual registration scheme and right of access to people's homes for local authority officials; further declares that the Petitioners believe the recommendations are based on a review that was extremely rushed, failed to give due consideration to the evidence, failed to ensure that the data it collected were sufficiently robust, and failed to take proper account of the existing legislative framework.
The Petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families either not to bring forward, or to withdraw, proposed legislative measures providing for tighter registration and monitoring of children educated at home in the absence of a thorough independent inquiry into the condition and future of elective home education in England; but instead to take the steps necessary to ensure that the existing Elective Home Education Guidelines for Local Authorities are properly implemented, learning from current best practice, in all local authorities in England.
And the Petitioners remain, etc.]
Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery
Motion made, and Question proposed, That this House do now adjourn.- (Mr. Mudie.)
7.14 pm
Angela Browning (Tiverton and Honiton) (Con): It is probably about two years ago that Devon primary care trust informed us, through their then chief executive, Dr. Kevin Snee, that it had been proposed that the upper gastrointestinal unit at Wonford hospital in Exeter be moved to and merge with the unit in Derriford hospital in Plymouth. In principle, I have no objections to proposals, including this one, that aim to create centres of excellence where surgeons can deal with a much wider range of patients and a much larger catchment area to improve their expertise in what is a very difficult area of surgery. Indeed, I support the call for centres of excellence.
In the discussions that I had with the then chief executive, it became clear to me that the facilities at Exeter would be moved to Plymouth and that, from that, the centre would grow. However, the upper GI unit at Wonford hospital in Exeter has developed as a national centre of excellence, using keyhole surgery to perform what are known as minimally invasive oesophagectomies-in other words, the removal of the oesophagus, a serious operation, usually required because of cancer, and one that surgeons need a great deal of experience to perform. To be able to carry out MIOs-which are much easier to say-it was promised that the excellence that had been developed in the centre at Exeter would be moved with the unit to Derriford hospital.
Under normal circumstances, the operation requires major open surgery, with the surgeon opening not only the chest cavity of the thorax, in order to access the oesophagus, but the abdomen. As one can imagine, that is a very large operation indeed. The surgical removal of the oesophagus has large implications for quality of life and recovery after surgery. However, as they have been developed over the years, it has been demonstrated and proven at Exeter that MIOs, where the thorax and the abdomen are entered using keyhole surgery, have a most beneficial effect on both post-operative recovery and quality of life, particularly where there are later reoccurrences of the carcinoma.
Since 2004, two surgeons at Exeter, Mr. Richard Berrisford and Mr. Saj Wajed, have done that operation in preference to open surgery. The Exeter MIO unit has submitted many papers to MIGOCS, the minimally invasive gastrooesophageal cancer study, which is run by the Oxford university medical school. The Exeter MIO unit is the only established UK unit that has published its data, published a safety algorithm and proven that its techniques result in the rapid restoration of quality of life, and it is also undertaking further research. Exeter is the UK's largest contributor to that national study, as a result of the work done in the MIO unit. Therefore, although I and my hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr. Swire), who has raised the matter with Ministers in the past, have an interest in Devon and the wider west country, the unit is also of national importance, which is why I am raising the issue on the Floor of the House.
I was first alerted to the problems that have arisen with the removal of the MIO unit from Exeter to
Derriford only recently, by Hannah Foster, the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Exeter, who was in touch with the local patients group. Patients, who included my constituents, were concerned that they would be denied MIO treatment and that the MIO surgeons, who were meant to have helped establish the MIO unit at Plymouth by last September following the move from Exeter, had not been able to do so.
Mr. Hugo Swire (East Devon) (Con): I congratulate my hon. Friend and neighbour on achieving this debate. I raised the issue in Parliament more than two years ago and have continued to do so since. She referred to the move and the culture of secrecy surrounding it. Does she agree with my constituent Mr. David Hamilton of Sidmouth, who is currently undergoing treatment, and others who have raised the issue, who say that people are not allowed to talk to politicians? A culture of secrecy seems to have been created, with a rather sinister air of intimidation surrounding the entire proposal to relocate-a proposal that I do not believe adds anything to the argument, but which makes us in this place rather suspicious about the motives behind it all. Does my hon. Friend agree with me that the proposal is not benefiting anybody?
Angela Browning: I do agree with my hon. Friend. There is already a unit in Plymouth, at Derriford hospital, and it might well claim that it does keyhole surgery. However, the procedure that it carries out is not the same as that carried out at Exeter. The procedure at Plymouth tends to be either keyhole surgery in the thorax with open surgery in the abdomen, or vice versa. In other words, it is hybrid in nature.
The fact that everyone had been informed that the move from Exeter to Plymouth would have taken place by September of this year-so that, under the supervision of the Exeter surgeons, the unit would ideally have been up and running in Plymouth by early 2010-is a matter of great concern. I shall turn in a moment to the subject that my hon. Friend has just raised. Patients are worried, and doctors do not know where they stand, and we face the potential loss of a groundbreaking unit, not only in the west country but in the rest of the country.
Andrew George (St. Ives) (LD): Will the hon. Lady give way?
Angela Browning: I promised the hon. Gentleman that I would allow him to intervene in this debate.
Andrew George: The hon. Lady is making some important points. May I first apologise to the Minister, because I might not be able to stay in the Chamber to hear his closing remarks? The hon. Lady has raised an important issue that also affects Cornwall. It involves the whole issue of planning for upper gastrointestinal cancer surgery. I entirely accept the view of the Devon and Cornwall peninsula cancer network that patient safety must be paramount in the planning of these services, but does she agree that, rather than taking decisions about sub-specialty surgical interventions for cancer in a piecemeal manner, as is the case at the moment, we need to take a broader, more strategic view of how all these interventions are managed across the whole peninsula?
Angela Browning:
I am not sure that I have understood the hon. Gentleman correctly. I said earlier, however, that if I needed treatment for oesophageal cancer, I
would want that operation to be done by a person who was doing many such operations, and I would be prepared to travel to do that. Patient safety is important, and some procedures, including this one, are of such a specialised nature that they should not be left to generalist surgeons, who do not see or treat enough patients who require such a procedure in the course of a year to develop sufficient expertise. So I might be disagreeing with the hon. Gentleman on that.
I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for East Devon, however, when he says that the way in which the primary care trust has gone about all this looks extremely sinister. The Exeter surgeons should have been in the Derriford unit by last September, as promised, and working as a team. Teamwork is important in building up the necessary expertise. We have seen examples in other parts of the country of units not making such a transition smoothly. The result is that the consultants do not have enough time to build up their expertise before starting to carry out these procedures. The consequences of that will be obvious to everyone.
Plymouth has not yet carried out a full MIO of the type done at Exeter. Nor has it yet filed any papers with the Oxford study that I mentioned, to which Exeter has contributed more than any other organisation in the country. It has not registered its patients on the national register database in Oxford. I therefore believe that, in the interests of patient safety, Derriford should not be expected to replicate what is being done at Exeter without the proper transitional arrangements in place which are seen to work. That has not happened yet, and I would be very concerned if such procedures were to take place without those transitional arrangements. The health scrutiny committee of Devon county council has referred the case to the Minister, because it is so worried about it.
A further concern is that patients who are now presenting to the surgeons in Exeter are being told that the unit will not offer them operations after the new year. I received a phone call earlier from one of my constituents who was told by phone only this morning-I do not know whether that was connected to our holding this debate-that an exception would be made, and that he would receive his surgery in the MIO unit in Exeter in February. That makes it sound as if it is a one-off case and it does not look as though it will solve the whole problem that I have brought before the House tonight. The Minister is involved and there should be some national intervention in this case, not least because of the research at the Exeter MIO unit.
The research is known as the LOGIC programme; I am sorry about all the acronyms. The laparoscopic gastric ischaemic conditioning trial is approved by the Devon and Torbay ethics committee, has been running since April and has so far recruited 15 patients. It requires a total of 44 to complete the study. If there is a break in the established MIO service, there will not be a sufficient number of patients to allow the research to be completed. It is a very important piece of research. It is so important that one of our local cancer charities based in Exeter, FORCE-Friends of the oncology and radiotherapy centre-has donated £20,000 to the research project. People locally have put their firm commitment behind the research.
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