Hughes Report: First Anniversary

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 27th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship, Ms Furniss. I thank the hon. Member for Washington and Gateshead South (Mrs Hodgson) for leading the debate, as she always does, in such an expert fashion. This issue has impacted thousands of people, including many in my constituency. It is something I have spoken on many times. It is crucial that it is given recognition and time. I look forward to giving my constituents a voice and explaining how this has impacted them. As the DUP’s Westminster health spokesperson, I am here to join the call for justice, because that is what the hon. Lady asked for, and that is what I wish to see as well.

Between 2007 and 2015, 5,255 women in Northern Ireland underwent vaginal tape procedures for stress urinary incontinence. In June 2017, the media reported the challenges and difficulties faced by women in Northern Ireland, leading to a pause in the use of mesh there. In addition to mesh being used for women, men have also been affected by it—it is important to add that to the debate—and it has been used particularly for hernia repairs. Research has shown that some 10% to 15% of men experience chronic pain post surgery.

I was contacted by a male constituent in 2020 who told me his experience of excruciating pain. His GP denied that it was due to the mesh, and he faced many infections, numerous antibiotics and extremely limited day-to-day life. He informed me that, for many years, his problems got worse, and he contemplated taking his life, not because he wanted to die, but because he did not want to struggle with the pain. The sad reality is that that will be the case for many people, not only across Northern Ireland but across the whole nation. Both men and women have been directly affected by something that was supposed to do good. It clearly did not, so people deserve some form of redress and, more importantly, an acknowledgment of wrongdoing by the NHS and Government Departments.

Similarly, the Hughes report highlights the need for redress for women who were prescribed sodium valproate during pregnancy, even though it had long been known to pose risks to unborn children. A conversation must be had around compensation and better regulation of the use of drugs that are known to have impacts on women, especially during pregnancy. It is said that some 20,000 children were exposed to the drug in the womb, leading to many living today with neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism.

I have spoken to many parents—many constituents—who have said that their ultimate feeling is guilt. There is something seriously wrong when a mother feels guilty for taking something she was told would do no harm, for not asking enough questions and for taking medication for which due diligence should have been done. More research and double-checking should have been done to make sure that the medication was suitable for pregnant women. Many find it difficult to cope both mentally and physically with the long-lasting pain, along with the trauma, anxiety and guilt that rack them over what they have done.

On the first anniversary of this report, I look to the Minister on behalf of my constituents for a commitment to put things right. These matters must not disappear, and we must not forget the thousands of people suffering to this very day. From Primodos to thalidomide, from pelvic mesh to sodium valproate, we must do better by all our people so that they know they are not forgotten. I await the Minister’s response. I will be grateful if she can provide an update on any compensation scheme in relation to this matter. I hope she will do all she can to ensure that due compensation is awarded. My constituents and those who suffer as a result of pelvic mesh want that, and I want that today on their behalf.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 25th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Hon. Members]

Hear, hear!

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

There’s only one Jim Shannon, by the way, you know? [Laughter.] Mr Speaker, thank you very much for your birthday wishes. I am terribly embarrassed. I thank right hon. and hon. Members for their kind wishes. As I often say, I don’t count the years, I make the years count. That is the important thing.

Can I ask the Minister a very important question? What discussions has he had with the Education Secretary on providing more financial support to young students who want to study dentistry, to ease the burden of high costs associated with studying dentistry which many young people may find off-putting?

[Stephen Kinnock]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question and I congratulate him again on his 60th birthday. [Laughter.] He raises an important point on teaching and training in dentistry. There is not enough capacity in the system. We absolutely want to ensure that we are building that capacity. As I said, a lot of that will depend on the comprehensive spending review settlement in June. I would be more than happy to discuss the issue with him in greater detail once we have a better sense of where we are on the funding.

Male Suicide in Rotherham

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Monday 24th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jake Richards]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. Just on Friday, I had the Defence Secretary, who is with us today, and the Veterans Minister in Dinnington to speak with veterans groups and organisations. Mental health provision was right at the top of the agenda, as it should be. Beyond each individual tragedy is a wider story. There is a specific challenge for policymakers in grappling with male suicide.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Gentleman, who I spoke to beforehand. This is his first Adjournment debate, and it is on a subject that every one of us understands only too well. I am saddened to hear the vast number of reasons contributing to male suicide in his constituency. There is certainly more to be done to support men across the UK. Suicide happens everywhere and especially in men—70% of the suicides in Northern Ireland are men. The majority of them occur in deprived areas. Does he agree that we need greater accessibility to mental health services in deprived areas to ensure that men are not left behind?

[Jake Richards]

I agree with the hon. Member, who makes a characteristically pithy point.

John Leaver, who does incredible work with men in tough times in Kiveton Park and Wales in my constituency, is in many ways the inspiration for the debate and the campaign I intend to run in Rotherham. John works with men and women, but has extensive experience of the particular issues that men face in his area. He has often been the person telling me of another suicide, and not infrequently it is somebody he knows well, played football with, went to school with or is an old family friend. He spoke to me about the effect of the decline of post-industrial towns and villages, such as Kiveton Park, Dinnington, Maltby and Thurcroft in my constituency, on men and notions of masculinity. Those places were built on the back of coalmining—a proud tradition of honest hard work, offering a sense of purpose and meaning for generations of young men. We should not simply look back with rose-tinted spectacles, but after the closure of the pits, we have too often struggled to replace that social fabric for men. These remain brilliant communities with a long-standing sense of solidarity and camaraderie, but too many within them still feel lost.

Even worse, too many men feel victimised or attacked. I was recently struck by the words of musician Sam Fender in a newspaper interview. Speaking about the towns in the north-east of England that he grew up in, he said lads were

“being shamed all the time and made to feel like they’re a problem. It’s this narrative being told to white boys from nowhere towns.”

I fear there is some truth to that—that men from towns built in a bygone era feel they are a problem in modern times. I want to play my part as the local MP in changing that, and I am not alone. Brilliant organisations in my constituency already do fantastic work. Andy’s Man Club in Maltby and Kiveton Park meet every Monday evening. Better Today, run by John Leaver, is incredible at supporting men in times of real difficulty. There are many fantastic sports clubs and associations, from boxing in Dinnington to Swallownest FC and Maltby Main FC. There are the regular coffee mornings, the walking and rambling clubs, and the monthly men’s breakfast in Anston. They all play a vital role in supporting men in difficult circumstances.

Face-to-face GP Appointments

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 20th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Richard Tice (Boston and Skegness) (Reform)]

It is a pleasure to hold this Adjournment debate on face-to-face appointments with GPs. I ask hon. Members listening and watching to go back to October 2023 and imagine that they have abdominal pain and some blood loss. They seek a GP appointment and they are given a telephone appointment. They are given a diagnosis of endometriosis and prescribed some painkillers. This diagnosis, sadly, turns out to be incorrect.

They then move forward, still in pain, to mid-December 2023. They receive a letter with a gynaecological appointment for the end of January 2024. But they are still in deep pain. The pain intensifies. Their husband rushes them to the urgent treatment centre at Pilgrim hospital, where a doctor sees them and reaffirms the diagnosis of endometriosis. The doctor says, “As you are being looked after by a GP, there’s nothing more I should do.”

Over the next two weeks, the pain intensifies, to the point where at the end of December 2023, they are rushed to A&E. It is just before new year. They are told to come back for tests on 2 January 2024. Those tests reveal some problems and some lesions around the liver. They are put on a two-week cancer pathway with more tests, CT scans, MRI scans and an endoscopy. On 2 February, they are given the results of those tests. Sadly, the cancer has spread to such a degree that nothing more can be done. Just three days later, they pass away.

It is impossible to imagine or to understand this, but it is the tragic story of Laura Barlow, aged just 33, the mother of three young daughters: Summer Skye, Bonnie Rae and Bella-Mia. Her husband Michael Barlow is here in the Gallery with friends. His campaign, after the tragic loss of his wife Laura, is for more face-to-face appointments, and for patients to have the right to one if they feel they need it.

It is worth looking at the context of face-to-face appointments in our healthcare system. Going back some six years to 2019, around 80% of all GP appointments were face to face. According to NHS England, for the last two months, the figure is just over 64%. How do we compare to other nations? In European nations with different healthcare systems, the average is 84% or 85%. We have some 20% fewer face-to-face appointments than some of our international peers.

I am just a layman, not a doctor, but it must be common sense that an experienced, highly skilled, professional GP looking a patient in the eye to physically assess them face to face must give patients the greatest chance of a correct diagnosis. Sometimes, a GP will spot something that the patient was not even aware of.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Gentleman on securing the debate. GP face-to-face appointments are a massive issue in my constituency, and you, Madam Deputy Speaker, are probably inundated with constituents asking about the same thing. People —more often than not, elderly people—phone the emergency number at half-past 8 in the morning and hold on till 5 past 9. After they have held the phone for 35 minutes, a voice says, “By the way, you’re too late.” The system is not working. To be fair to the Minister, I understand that changes are coming. We need to know what they are, and whether they will improve the system. If they do not do so to the satisfaction of the hon. Gentleman, my constituents and me, something is drastically wrong, and that needs to be addressed immediately.

[Richard Tice]

The hon. Member makes some excellent points. There is clearly a place for telephone appointments. When researching the topic in more detail, I was astonished to find that of the gap between the 64% or 65% of face-to-face appointments and 100%, telephone appointments represent some 25% and Zoom or Teams appointments are just 5% to 7%. I would have thought it would have been the opposite. Surely it is better if GPs can see the pain that might be etched on a patient’s face.

We can look at the broader context—at what is happening to our population, and to the number of GPs, and at the pressures on GPs—and ask: is that why the percentage of face-to-face appointments has collapsed so significantly? In England, there are 6.5 million more people than in 2015—an increase of some 17%. Interestingly, the number of GP appointments increased in that period by a similar percentage, give or take; it went from just over 300 million appointments to over 360 million appointments. In fairness, and with due credit, there has been a recent increase, month on month, in GP appointments, which is to be commended, but it seems strange that the number of full-time, fully qualified GPs has barely moved in those 10 years. It is true that there are more trainee doctors and trainee GPs in the system, but the number of fully qualified, full-time-equivalent GPs has basically stayed static. That means, of course, that the number of patients that a GP has on their books has increased significantly, from over 1,900 per GP to over 2,300 per GP. We can therefore understand the increase in pressure on them. Given those health needs, they will feel the need to see as many people as possible, so we can see the temptation to hold telephone or Zoom appointments.

Down’s Syndrome

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 19th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship for the second time today, Mr Turner. I wish you well in this new role, and I hope we will have many engagements in this Chamber. I thank the right hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Graham Stuart) for raising this issue and introducing the debate. He has taken the mantle on well and I congratulate him. In the short time I have, I will give three inspirational examples of those with Down’s syndrome from Northern Ireland. I know the parents of one of them personally.

First, many people will have seen James Martin from Belfast; the Minister, who always has a close eye on what is happening in Northern Ireland, will know him. Last year at the Academy Awards he was an inspiration to so many, showing that the opportunities are limitless for that young man. There is a place in our society for so many different skills and abilities. I am truly thankful for those who are at pains to portray acceptance in the mainstream. James did us all proud at the Oscars, and set the scene for more to be done.

Secondly, young Kate Grant was Northern Ireland’s first Down’s syndrome model to walk at London fashion week. What an inspiration that young lady was. Our society has made limits, but they are being changed, which can only be a good thing. In setting the scene, the right hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness talked about how we must change the limits and ensure that young people have opportunities.

Thirdly, my parliamentary aide volunteers in a local Campaigners clan in Newtownards. In her clan is a young boy called Harry; he and his younger sister are integral members of the group. Harry played the role of a wise man in the nativity play this Christmas, delivering his iconic line, “Look at the star!”, with great confidence and gusto. He attends a special school but is well integrated in this wee group, and the inspirational aspect is that he is not treated as different by the children around him. They just see him as Harry; they attach no Down’s syndrome label to him, but accept him as he is.

I love to see and hear those stories of integration and I think the right hon. Gentleman hopes to see that sort of integration across society. We all know the days of stigmatising Down’s syndrome children are well in the past, and rightly so. Now is the time to step up and help these children and adults to find their place in our society. I believe that that is happening more, and that is very positive.

I have one concern, which is that children with Down’s syndrome can be aborted up to birth in Northern Ireland, under the horrific imposed abortion regime. It is an absolute stain on this House that it made the decision to impose that regime in Northern Ireland. I cannot highlight the wonderful steps forward that society is taking without begging once again that allowing abortion until birth simply because a child has Down’s syndrome is removed from our legislation. We voted against that measure at the time, but this House passed it for Northern Ireland.

I will never forget the words of young Heidi Crowther, who has Down’s syndrome, urging people not to allow abortion until birth, saying:

“My life has as much value as anybody else’s.”

That is so true, and the worth of people like her to communities around the world is beginning to be understood. We must encourage and support children and adults—and parents, too. I look to the Minister, as I always do, to ensure that families have access to help and support throughout this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which is only made richer and stronger by our differences.

NHS England Update

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 13th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Wes Streeting]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Some of the best innovation and improvements for patients I have seen has been led by frontline clinical teams that have had great executive leaders behind them, giving them the freedom and the tools to do the job. I hope that, as a result of these reforms, not only will we see the results for patients in the data, but staff and patients will feel the outcome and the difference in their experience of working in or being treated by the NHS.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I thank the Secretary of State for his statement and for his positivity on getting waiting lists down and making the change that is needed. He referred to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. He will know that we in Northern Ireland are having the very same problems that he is sorting out today for England. I know that he is always keen to see the positivity that comes out of this place being shared right across this nation. Will he have discussions with the relevant Northern Ireland Minister, Mike Nesbitt, in relation to health back home, to ensure that we can follow the directives here, to make our health service in Northern Ireland every bit as good as this one will be?

[Wes Streeting]

I was recently in contact with Mike Nesbitt, offering some of that support and offering to work together to help improve the quality of health services in Northern Ireland, recognising that we have advantages of scale here in England. While recognising the devolution settlement, we want to work closely, just as we are working closely with our friends in the Labour Government in Wales to help them improve their services, and also learning from some of the things that the Welsh NHS does better than England.

Type 1 Diabetes and Disordered Eating Services

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 5th March 2025 Commons Chamber

[Josh Newbury (Cannock Chase) (Lab)]

It is a privilege to have secured a debate on a chronic but often misunderstood condition that affects many people across our country: the correlation between type 1 diabetes and disordered eating, known as “T1DE” for short. Separately, those two conditions are well-known and well documented, but together they exacerbate one another and can, in extreme cases, become a life sentence.

On an individual level, type 1 diabetes is a chronic autoimmune condition characterised by the pancreas being unable to produce insulin, meaning that those with the condition are required to carefully monitor their blood glucose levels and administer insulin. As we know, that delicate balance demands constant attention. Many of us have the luxury of going out for dinner and choosing a meal based on what we like the sound of—shamefully, in my case, often with too little thought to the sugar content, calories or how the body will digest it. For those with type 1 diabetes, however, that blissful ignorance simply is not an option. For them, life revolves around counting carbohydrates, monitoring blood sugar levels and injecting insulin. It is relentless. To put that into numbers, a child diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of five faces up to 19,000 injections and 50,000 finger-prick blood tests by the time they are 18. Every moment of every day is a balancing act between food, activity and insulin.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Gentleman for securing the debate. I spoke to him outside the Chamber and he knows exactly what I am going to say. I have been a type 2 diabetic for almost 20 years, and I understand very well the fact that monitoring food intake is part and parcel of daily life. For those who suffer from an eating disorder, the constant food noise needs to be addressed by a professional, but diabetic clinics do not have the resources to deal with that. Does he agree that we need mental health support links for diabetics throughout the United Kingdom?

[Josh Newbury]

It is a pleasure to take my first intervention from the hon. Gentleman. I pay tribute to him for his campaigning on this issue and the personal experience that he brings to the House. I will come later in my speech to my experience of mental health services. I absolutely agree that we need to ensure that people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes have all the support they need for their mental health and managing their condition.

For some, type 1 diabetes morphs into a the deeper challenge of disordered eating—it is not difficult to see how that can happen. Given the strict attention to diet and nutritional information that type 1 diabetes necessitates, unhealthily restrictive and avoidant approaches to food can sometimes, at least to begin with, be indistinguishable from healthy diabetes management. As we know, in some cases, one side effect of insulin-based treatment can be weight gain. That leads some people with type 1 diabetes to realise that by restricting their insulin intake, or even stopping it altogether, they can essentially eat what they like and lose weight. However, the medical consequences of that are stark, including kidney problems, bone wastage, amputations, blindness and even death.

One of the most insidious aspects of T1DE is how difficult it can be to identify until its devastating consequences for both physical and mental health begin to manifest themselves. People suffering with T1DE often say that the isolation that comes with trying to navigate both a chronic illness and disordered eating is unimaginable for anyone who has not experienced it.

--- Later in debate ---

[Ashley Dalton]

I am more than happy to meet the APPG to discuss those matters.

I was really moved to read Lynsey’s story on the Diabetes UK website. One thing that really stood out to me was her experience of turning 18 and moving to an adult clinic. She said:

“I became a number in a system, rather than a patient. Every time I went, I saw a different team, and would have to explain my entire medical history. It felt like it wasn’t worth my time, and I certainly wasn’t going to have a conversation about what was going on with people I didn’t know.”

After just a few appointments, Lynsey stopped going. T1DE cuts across diabetes and mental healthcare, and Lynsey’s interactions with the NHS show that we must never treat patients like interchangeable statistics, bouncing around a cold system that does not seem to care for them. Instead, each patient should benefit from a unique, joined-up approach.

To its credit, NHS England has recognised that there is an unmet need for better treatment of T1DE. As my hon. Friend the Member for Cannock Chase has recognised, it has begun piloting type 1 diabetes and disordered eating services, two of which came online in 2019. The aim of those pilots was to develop the evidence base around how best to manage T1DE by testing an integrated pathway, which means that patients such as Lynsey would not be obliged to recount their medical history on every visit. In the past five years, NHS England has expanded on the original pilots, with funding extended for five T1DE pilot sites until March 2026 to ensure that there are sufficient patient numbers for us to get a full picture of what is happening on the ground. I thank my hon. Friend for his contribution to those pilots.

While those pilots are gathering evidence, NHS England is looking carefully at the findings, with a view to developing a future national strategy. Each of the five new pilot areas is submitting quarterly data to the evaluation, and it intends to publish its analysis of the data by September.

[Jim Shannon]

I thank the Minister for her comprehensive and helpful response. I first came to this House in 2010, and in 2015 a diabetes plan for the whole of the United Kingdom came out of Westminster for all the regions together, but that came to an end. I had always asked and hoped for that plan to come together again. Will she consider having a diabetes plan for all of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland working together, because I understand that in Northern Ireland we have the highest number of type 1 diabetics anywhere in the United Kingdom?

[Ashley Dalton]

As I am sure the hon. Member knows, health is obviously a devolved matter. However, I am more than happy to look at the issues he has raised and come back to him.

The data from the pilot areas will also be shared with all the integrated care boards, so that we can build up the case for more investment in T1DE from ICB budgets while looking at ways in which NHS England can support ICBs in commissioning their services.

While those pilot sites are doing critical work, the NHS is supporting people with diabetes to live well. Central to that is making sure that patients have access to annual reviews that cover eight processes recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. We know that people who attend annual diabetes reviews have much better outcomes for emergency hospital admissions, amputations, retinopathy and mortality. That is why it is right that the NHS is investing £14.5 million over the next two years, supporting up to 140,000 people between the ages of 18 and 39 to receive additional tailored health checks by healthcare staff. That support will include vital support to break down any stigma associated with diabetes while helping those people to manage their condition, from blood sugar level control and weight management to minimising the risk of heart disease.

As has been touched on, technology plays a critical role in helping people with diabetes to live healthier lives, and there is great potential to do the same for people with T1DE. NICE has made positive recommendations on offering real-time continuous glucose monitoring and hybrid closed loop technology to adults and children with type 1 and type 2 diabetes, meaning that those treatments are now offered on the NHS. Over two thirds of people with type 1 diabetes currently use glucose monitoring to help manage their condition, and following NICE’s recommendations on hybrid closed loop systems, NHS England has developed a five-year national strategy that began in April last year. I know that five years will seem like a long time to many of those young people struggling with this condition here and now, but the NHS does need an implementation period to ensure we have all the right people with the right skills within specialist adult services. We cannot compromise an inch on safety, and NHS trusts should only ever provide hybrid closed loop if specialist trained clinical staff, experienced in using insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitors, are in place.

Women’s Health

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 27th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I thank the hon. Member for Hastings and Rye (Helena Dollimore) for leading the debate and setting the scene incredibly well. I welcome the Minister to her place. I think this might be her first official engagement as Minister. If it is, I wish her well in her new role. I welcome the Conservative and Liberal Democrat spokespeople. The hon. Member for Hinckley and Bosworth (Dr Evans) and I seem to spend every Thursday afternoon at about this time in these debates. It is a pleasure to be here.

I am my party’s health spokesperson, so finding solutions and discussing these issues are of major importance to me. It is important to get the full perspective, so I will give some facts and figures about Northern Ireland, which will echo what the hon. Member for Hastings and Rye said.

Many will be aware that health is a devolved issue. That does not mean, of course, that our central Government allow the devolved Administrations to be left behind. The Department of Health back home launched a women’s health survey in late 2024. The hon. Lady referred to a similar survey. The Northern Ireland survey, which closed on 31 January 2025, focused on women’s healthcare needs and experiences to help shape planning for women’s health services. Almost 80% of respondents to a separate women’s health survey undertaken by the Community Foundation Northern Ireland said that they felt unheard by healthcare professionals, and more than 30% reported that necessary services were inaccessible or very inaccessible, so we have real problems back home.

I have worked closely alongside many charities raising awareness of endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome care, and the challenges that women in Northern Ireland face in relation to gaining access to treatment. Endometriosis UK revealed in 2023 that there was an average diagnostic delay of nine years and five months—an increase on the eight-year delay reported in 2010—so we really have significant issues in the Province.

As of 2021, Northern Ireland had only one endometriosis specialist surgeon, and some 324 women were waiting a long time, in pain, for surgery. I ask the Minister whether it would be possible for her to have some discussions with the relevant Minister in the Northern Ireland Assembly to see how we can address these things together.

I want to speak very quickly about the menopause. The hon. Member for Neath and Swansea East (Carolyn Harris), who is not here—she is in the main Chamber speaking on St David’s day—is a real champion on this issue. If she were here today, she would be adding to this debate. In my office, I employ six women of different ages, and I have always tried to make an effort to be understanding to ensure they are comfortable in the workplace. For menopause, there are adjustments that can be made in the workplace to support women, and I encourage employers to be mindful of that, especially in more male-dominated fields, where women can feel more isolated. Women are playing their part in places where men used to have all the jobs, such as engineering. It is time that employers grasped that and came up with something to help those ladies.

I have mentioned some of the issues, but there are many, many more. As the hon. Member for Hastings and Rye said, we in this place can do more as legislators to support more research into and funding for women’s healthcare. We need to do more to ensure women can access what they need. I look forward to working closely with the responsible agencies and our respective Governments to see what more can be done. I thank the hon. Lady again for bringing forward this debate, and I look forward to contributions from many others who will add to it. I am here to help us do the best we can, and to bring a Northern Ireland perspective, because we are badly lagging behind. We need to step up and do more.

Maternity Services

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Tuesday 25th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher. I commend the hon. Member for Chichester (Jess Brown-Fuller) for setting the scene so well. I thank her for sharing her personal stories; nothing sets out an issue better than a personal story. I am my party’s health spokesperson, but it is always good to give a local perspective too. I look forward to the responses from the Minister and Opposition spokespersons—the trio here today seem to be in all the debates on this subject, and I thank them for their contributions.

Our maternity services in Northern Ireland are crucial and, arguably, among the most consistent services offered by the NHS. Although all our services are important, everyone must be born and must be given the best start in life, and it is through our wonderful NHS maternity services that we are able to succeed.

My constituency resides within the South Eastern health and social care trust, which offers both midwifery-led and consultant-led care, with a fantastic focus on personalised support for mothers through their pregnancy and after labour. The trust also provides antenatal clinics, home visits and care options for expecting mothers.

Back home in Northern Ireland, in October 2024, an independent review concluded that a co-ordinated system-wide change is needed to radically improve maternity care. There are problems with maternity care not just here on the mainland, but with us back home. The Minister does not have a responsibility for that, but she has an interest in all things pertinent to Northern Ireland. Whatever the subject matter, and whenever I ask her for help, as I always do, she always responds in a positive fashion, and I appreciate that.

There are clear inequalities in services across Northern Ireland. It is no secret that the health service has witnessed extreme difficulties over the last couple of decades. More must be done to support staff and to ensure safe and quality care, so that women and families feel supported through their journeys during pregnancy and labour.

One of my constituents gave birth to her first baby just last week, and I want to record what she said, because I think that that is important. Her experience was made by the incredible student midwives who supported her and held her hand the entire way. When my three boys were born—that was not yesterday—I was there with my wife. She held my hand, and the blood circulation in my hand got less and less as my dear, loving wife’s pain increased. I say that because we have to give some credit to the student midwives who are there for what they do.

The Department of Health and Social Care has increased the number of commissioned pre-registration nursing and midwifery university places from 680 in 2013 to 1,335 in 2023. Those are good figures, but unfortunately, due to budgetary constraints, the number of places returned to the baseline of 1,025 in 2023-24. So there was an increase sometime back, but the numbers have levelled out again.

Thousands of people across Northern Ireland apply to study nursing and midwifery each year. The number of midwifery training places is extremely limited, and demand often exceeds the number of available spots. The Royal College of Midwives has noticed a downward trend in midwifery applicants and has stated that that is a concern, expressing apprehension about the significant drop in the number of applicants. For the record, has the Minister had an opportunity—she probably has—to get the opinion of the Royal College of Midwives on where we are and how we could help?

We must look at why this is happening. It could be said that, because midwifery is a challenging field to get into, many do not see the point in applying directly for it. Again, what are the Minister’s thoughts on how we improve things? Additionally, some have stated that it is easier to progress in a career by going in at entry level, as opposed to starting university after school and trying to get a job after.

There must be ambitious reform of these services to ensure that we can support expectant mothers and give them memorable and positive experiences. We often hear of horror stories, and we must allow for the best start in life for babies and families.

To conclude, we have some of the best staff in our maternity wards, and their work and dedication must be recognised. They are hammered day and daily in their jobs, due to budgetary constraints and the inability to get the support they need. I look to the Minister and the Government to give a commitment to our NHS—and, more importantly, to those who work in it—that more will be done to properly fund our wonderful maternity services across the whole of this United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and to give families and parents the best possible start to their children’s lives. I request that the Minister have discussions with the relevant Minister in Northern Ireland, Mike Nesbitt, on what we are doing back home, so that we can work better together.

HIV Testing Week

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Thursday 13th February 2025 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I congratulate the right hon. Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (David Mundell) on leading today’s debate. I am my party’s health spokesperson, so I make it my business to come to health debates. Indeed, I think I have missed only one debate on HIV in the 14 years that I have been here.

Health is a devolved issue, so there may be different guidelines surrounding access to testing and to testing itself, but we all have the same goal wherever we are in this great United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. England could be the first country in the world to reach the goal, but we are currently not on track, so perhaps the Minister will tell us what action will be taken to ensure that happens.

In Northern Ireland, there has been a significant increase in testing in recent years. Efforts have been made to promote early intervention and treatment. The Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland revealed that in 2023, a record 92,635 tests were conducted. Given that the population is 1.9 million, I think that is very significant. That is a 5% rise on 2022, and it is the result of a massive commitment by us—health is devolved to us—to ensure early detection.

On the other hand, the number of new HIV cases has also risen. In 2023, there were 101 cases—67 men and 34 women—which was a 41% increase on 2021. I know the numbers are small, but the percentage is quite worrying. It is alarming that some of those cases were linked to injecting drugs, so will the Minister give us some idea of how we will address that issue? It is not just about physical exchange; it is also about the use of drugs, so what can be done to stop that? Sharing a needle is a cause of HIV for some drug users, and that concerns me.

The right hon. Gentleman referred to the ’70s and ’80s—I am of an age that I can remember them very well. Historically, HIV was a stigma, and it was Princess Diana who helped to take away some of that. I always remember that she met people with HIV, sat alongside them, shook hands with them and drank out of the same teacup, and that dispelled some of the concerns that people had, so we are thankful for that.

Testing for HIV of course must be discreet. There are numerous sexual health clinics across Northern Ireland, and indeed across the United Kingdom, that offer sexual health advice and testing. In addition, more discreet, self-testing kits are available, so we should be looking at some of those things.

Early diagnosis is key to ensuring that treatment can be started quicker. Treatment can reduce the viral load, which means that the disease becomes untransmissible. The hon. Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi) and the right hon. Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale mentioned HIV in third-world countries, and I agree with their sentiments entirely. The Elim church in my constituency of Strangford deals with people with HIV in Swaziland in Africa, and a choir comes over every year to do some fundraising. Every one of those young children with lovely voices received HIV from their parents when they were young, but the good thing is that they are now HIV-free as long as they have the drugs, so there is a way of going forward.

Charities, agencies and church organisations do their best to provide support. I have seen and understand what they can do. I very much look forward to hearing from the Minister. I hope she can work in parallel with her counterparts in the devolved nations to ensure that we tackle HIV together and meet our 2030 goals.