Less Survivable Cancers

Patrick Hurley Excerpts

Tuesday 6th January 2026 Westminster Hall

[Patrick Hurley (Southport) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. Less Survivable Cancers Awareness Week is an important marker in the calendar, but I want to talk about another important marker when it comes to these cancers—one that is important for me and my family anyway—because this year marks 20 years since I was made unavoidably aware of the devastation of oesophageal cancer. In May of that year, my father developed the classic symptoms: difficulty swallowing, feeling like food was getting stuck, heartburn and weight loss. He was diagnosed in August and died on 23 December: from becoming symptomatic to losing his life was just seven months. The rapidity of the decline was overwhelming. Barely had he been diagnosed than he was given a terminal diagnosis. I must admit, though, that I was not giving my father my full attention during that time. In almost any other circumstances I would have been a much more dutiful son, but my own focus was elsewhere that year. On 1 August 2006, my wife Susan also became symptomatic with oesophageal cancer. She was diagnosed on 11 September and died on 14 November.

The speed with which I read that sentence reflects the speed with which Sue died. There was barely any chance to understand what was happening, to seek help or for the family to manage. That is not unusual with these sorts of diseases. It is the sort of story that thousands of us know. Crucially, for my Southport constituency, it is also a story that disproportionately impacts people from the north-west and from north Wales. For my family, there was not any long fight or slow decline—only shock, confusion, urgent decisions and death. That is what a less survivable cancer looks like.

May I make a clear ask of the Minister today? I am asking for a personal commitment, and a commitment across Government, to drive up survival rates for all these less survivable cancers, but most urgently—for my personal history and for the geographical distribution that shows that my part of the country has higher levels than elsewhere in the UK—for oesophageal cancer. That could mean things such as early diagnosis, recognising that one size fits all does not work. It could mean fast-track treatment pathways once suspicion is raised. Above all else, it should include serious investment in experimental and pre-symptomatic techniques, finding ways to detect cancers before symptoms even appear. These are difficult cancers to deal with, and that is why they need targeted action. I am here today because two people I loved did not get the help they needed, so I urge the Government to help other families avoid that same fate.

Defibrillators

Patrick Hurley Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd September 2025 Westminster Hall

[Johanna Baxter (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Bishop Auckland (Sam Rushworth) for securing this debate, because it could not be more important.

Cardiac arrest can strike at any time and in any place, and when it does, every second counts. We know that defibrillation within three minutes can increase survival chances by more than 70%, but those odds fall by 10% for every minute without access to a defibrillator. A cardiac arrest is one of the most terrifying experiences that anyone, or their loved ones, can face. It often comes without warning at the very moment we least expect it.

The harsh reality is that, in rural Scotland, delays in ambulance response times can mean the difference between life and death. It cannot be right that people in rural communities face lower survival chances simply because lifesaving tools are out of reach.

[Patrick Hurley (Southport) (Lab)]

First, I add my voice to those calling for VAT to be removed from defibs. That appears to be an easy win for the Government at the coming Budget.

Secondly, a lot of Members have spoken about voluntary groups and charities in their constituencies that do good work. The Southport Saviours charity in my constituency does sterling work to raise funds and awareness and to put defibrillators into parks and on to the streets. The charity organises the annual “Defib Dash” fundraising run, which takes places later this month and which I have, perhaps in an ill-advised moment, signed up for. Will my hon. Friend commend charities across the country and give her support for the work they do?

[Johanna Baxter]

I absolutely commend the work that charities such as the Southport Saviours are doing to raise money for this vital equipment.

If anything, the lack of emergency services makes it all the more vital that defibrillators are readily available, yet too often they are not. In my constituency, our vibrant villages are at the very heart of our cultural identity. Kilbarchan is a village of 3,500 people, with one of the oldest populations in Renfrewshire. It has a proud and active community council, which recently undertook public CPR projects, hosted training sessions and ran a thorough consultation on this issue. The findings were clear: the village did not have enough public access to defibrillators for its size and layout.

Kilbarchan needed three more devices to bring it up to the recommended standard. The cost? Just £3,800. Despite its fundraising efforts, it fell a little short and applied to the SNP-run Renfrewshire council for support through the villages investment fund. The council’s response, delivered last week, was to grant only £1,600—less than half of what was required. One of Kilbarchan’s brilliant local councillors, Gill Graham, described that decision as “stingy in the extreme”. I have to say that I wholeheartedly agree with her. For the sake of £2,200, the council chose not to ensure that the village has the lifesaving equipment it needs.

Is it any wonder that trust in politics is so low when communities are met with that kind of penny-pinching? This is about not just the message it sends but the lives it risks. What makes it even more incomprehensible is the broader context: last year, the Labour Government provided the Scottish Government at Holyrood with the highest funding settlement they have ever had in the history of devolution. It is therefore unacceptable that communities in Scotland are being forced to rely on fundraising and charity drives to secure something as basic and essential as a public defibrillator.

The truth is that the SNP Government in Holyrood are not funding defibrillators themselves and have underfunded local authorities, which could provide the money, year after year. That chronic underfunding has forced councils into incomprehensible choices where, unbelievably, public safety and survival are being sacrificed. That is indefensible and I urge the Minister to raise this issue with her counterparts in the Holyrood Government.