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Ms
Dari Taylor (Stockton, South)
(Lab): I feel privileged to have the opportunity to bring my Bill to the Floor
of the House for the consideration of Members and Ministers from the Department
of Health. I realise that I am lucky to have secured the fifth position on the
private Members' Bills list. Many Members have congratulated me, wished my Bill
good passage and told me how lucky I am. Many have been in the House for 20
years and more yet have never surfaced in the selection process, despite their
reputation and considerable knowledge of specific policy areas. It is indeed a
privilege to have the opportunity to put on the record the fact of sudden death
in the young, and the medical knowledge and experience that could—and I
believe should—inform medical practice through screening.
The
short title of my Bill is Cardiac Risk in the Young (Screening). Its substance
refers to the tragedy of sudden death in the young from a variety of cardiac
problems. If diagnosis of the condition had taken place—the condition is
clearly visible through screening and its symptoms are known—its potential to
be fatal would have been recognised by a cardiac specialist. A different
lifestyle, drug support, a small surgical operation known as an ablation, or the
fitting of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator device could have been
suggested and might have resulted in a life being saved.
Before
I outline the detail of the Bill, I should say why its substance—the knowledge
and experience of cardiac specialists and their research teams that in some
cases inform the medical response to sudden death—is important to me. The
inspiration for the Bill was a tragedy. Two years ago, just after new year, the
son of a very close friend of mine died. Levon Morland was 22 years old—young,
athletic, a keen sportsperson, in a demanding job, and showing no sign of a
health problem that could be fatal. In fact, Levon and his family knew that he
had a heart condition: Wolfe-Parkinson-White syndrome. He had been screened and
had visited a cardiac specialist. An operation to correct his condition was
available, but it was nasty, so as the specialist suggested that his condition
was no more than a nuisance, Levon was more than keen to just get on with his
life. He no longer has a life to get on with.
Levon's parents, Jeff and Sandra Morland—a friend to many in the House—his
twin brother and the rest of the family were and remain grief-stricken. They
never stop feeling guilty, saying again and again, "What if? What if we'd
done . . .?" The critical fact for me and for the Bill is that it was not
up to them to do anything. The potentially fatal condition should have been
clearly and factually explained. A lifestyle package of drug support,
radiofrequency ablation or a pacemaker—various treatments could have been
prescribed to control the problem or reduce the risk. Levon's first-degree
relatives should have been given a clear understanding of the nature of his
condition. As it was genetic in his case, they too were at risk. He should have
been reassured that all that could be done medically was being done. He should
have been led to understand that even without warning symptoms,
Wolfe-Parkinson-White syndrome could be fatal
continues......
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