Ruth Jones
Main Page: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West and Islwyn)Westminster Hall is an alternative Chamber for MPs to hold debates, named after the adjoining Westminster Hall.
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Ruth Jones (Newport West and Islwyn) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Efford. I was a bit anxious, because I do not think I have ever followed the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) before, and people are normally leaving as he sits down. But there we are.
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket (Peter Prinsley) on securing such an important debate. He clearly demonstrated why he was the best person to bring this issue forward, given his years of experience.
I declare an interest: I was a physiotherapist for 32 years. I was also used to dealing with long-term neurological conditions such as stroke, MS and Parkinson’s, and respiratory conditions such as asthma and COPD. They are all really important. Of course, I also dealt with long-term musculoskeletal conditions such as arthritis.
For the sake of balance, I should say that my daughter is a resident doctor. I had to mention her, otherwise she would tell me off. As people can imagine, we have a very balanced debate about whether a doctor does better than a physiotherapist. We have a lot of interesting debate about that.
I must thank Versus Arthritis, representatives of which I met earlier this week to talk about various conditions and the economic impact of arthritis. They reminded me about this debate. I was late asking to speak because it had completely passed me by.
It is really important that we acknowledge the fact that, as other hon. Members have said, there are many people in this country living with long-term conditions and living very successful lives. We must make sure that we enable them to carry on in that way.
Arthritis impacts over 20 million people in this country, which is a lot of people. Whether it is osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis, nearly one in six of us is living with arthritis. Arthritis affects all ages, not just the elderly, as we tend to assume, and effects children, too. Juvenile chronic arthritis is well known, and at least 10,000 children are currently living with that condition.
The issue is not only diseases and the way they affect people’s mental health, or other factors, but the economic impact, as we have heard clearly from other hon. Members. Some 2.8 million people may be economically inactive due to long-term conditions. After mental health issues, musculoskeletal issues are the second biggest reason why people are economically inactive. That means a tremendous loss of revenue to the Treasury.
There is also a feeling of worthlessness, and people’s mental health going down and down. One of my ladies had MS. She said: “What really creases me is my children have to help me, instead of me helping them.” That really affected her mental health. Reliance on others is one of the biggest issues. There are lots of aids, gadgets and gizmos that can help people to live independently, but they need to know about them. There can be long waits for assessment, treatment or surgery, during which time people’s long-term conditions can deteriorate. We need to ensure that we educate people with these conditions; knowing what their condition is makes it is all the more easy to manage. Knowledge is power here.
We need individual, tailored help. It is not enough to say, “You have osteoarthritis of the hip—you do this.” We have to tailor the programmes to ensure that the individual is very much a part of them, as my hon. Friend the Member for Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket said. It is all about putting the person at the centre of the care plan. They are the most important person.
Obviously, I am going to say that exercise and management of the physical condition is key—I am a physio, so I would, wouldn’t I?—but it is important that people do not just curl up in a ball in the corner and think, “That’s it; my life is over.” They can still go on to have worthwhile lives with a long-term condition.
Osteoarthritis happens to the best of us. I look at people’s hands and I can see that they are a bit arthritic-y; I look at the way people walk and can see that, yes, they have a hip or knee problem. Having the disease does not make it inevitable that our function goes down. It is important that we manage the outcome and ensure that people can exercise and maintain their physical fitness.
The Minister will be pleased to know that, as a Welsh MP, I am not going to be making asks of her—I do welcome her to her place and congratulate her—but I hope that she listens to the asks made by my English colleagues and talks to her colleagues in the Department. As the hon. Member for Strangford mentioned, the PIP changes are coming, and we are hearing about welfare reforms. Those are important, and I understand the need for reform, but at the same time we must take account of the variability of people’s conditions, and the assessment process must be done correctly first time. We save an awful lot of time and money on appeals if we can get it right first time, and that is what everybody wants.
Finally, long-term conditions are here, but they can be managed, in partnership between the individual and the services all around. Bring it on.