This article is taken from the Winter 2015 issue of LymphLine, the LSN's quarterly newsletter available to all LSN members.
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Debate in the House of Lords
Many of you will have read in our last issue of LymphLine about our visit to the House of Lords to meet with Lord Philip Hunt of Kings Heath. Lord Hunt had been prompted to table a question in a Short Debate in the House of Lords after meeting a lymphoedema patient, during the recent election, who had experienced difficulties in obtaining a suitable level of care. Representatives from both the British Lymphology Society (BLS) and the Lymphoedema Support Network (LSN) met with Lord Hunt to discuss the current situation and were able to impress upon him the challenges facing many patients and our disappointment that there was no national strategy for lymphoedema care in England despite similar strategies already having been established in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The debate was scheduled for the 9th of September and we were delighted to be able to attend to listen, along with colleagues from the BLS. Unlike a traditional ‘debate’ there was no actual discussion of the points, just the opportunity for peers to give supporting statements to the tabled question and then a reply from a peer from the current majority party.
Lord Hunt put the case forward very clearly and his opening statement was well thought out and to the point. He was backed by five fellow peers, Lord McColl of Dulwich, Baroness Smith of Newnham, Baroness Masham of Ilton, Lord Maginnis of Drumglass and Baroness Finlay of Llandaff. They all made short supportive statements which focussed on the need for early diagnosis and treatment, their frustration that England appeared to be falling behind the other home countries and the detrimental effect that the situation was having on the lives of those living with lymphoedema.
The right of reply was given to Lord Prior of Brampton in his capacity as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Department of Health. Lord Prior spoke at length and in many respects said what we all expected, pointing out that a decision had not yet been made on the BLS submission to the Prescribed Specialised Services Advisory Group, to commission lymphoedema services nationally, and that the issue that devolved administrations in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland had strategies but stated that “health is a devolved matter. It may not seem equitable, but the point of devolution is that the devolved parts of the country will have different ways in which they treat different conditions. In England, responsibility for determining the overall strategic, national approach to improving clinical outcomes from healthcare services lies with NHS England, and the provision of lymphoedema care is the responsibility of local NHS commissioners.”
He did offer to try and arrange some meetings with representatives of NHS England, so perhaps something will come from it. But in the meantime, many people who would not otherwise have heard of lymphoedema, thanks to Lord Hunt, have now.
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