Dr Simon Opher

Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy

I thank the hon. Gentleman for bringing this really essential debate to the House. My constituent Emma Taylor tragically lost her daughter at the age of 19 and she now campaigns tirelessly for SUDEP Action as a policy champion. Does the hon. Gentleman agree with her on the need for the Government to promote proper first aid seizure training?

Public Baths and Lidos

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Peterborough (Andrew Pakes) for securing this debate. Lidos are important to us all—particularly to me, because I learned to swim in Grange-over-Sands lido, which is a saltwater lido that is currently closed but will hopefully be reopening shortly, and my first job was in south Oxford at the Hinksey open-air lido. Lidos mean a lot to me. We are in crisis in Stroud: last week, we found out that our lido in Stratford Park is not going to open for a number of m

Social Enterprises and Community Ownership

The new community right-to-buy model has been transformative, and community ownership is at the heart of what we do in Stroud. What I have noticed, and other Members have already pointed out, is that each organisation has to go through the same learning process to get funding. And the other thing I have noticed is that a lot of local people are willing to put funds into community ownership, but they need some sort of guarantee that those funds are safe. There is a role for some regional support

GP Contract

I declare an interest as a working GP in the NHS. I probably would not be standing here if general practice had not been decimated over the last 14 years. I welcome the £485 million of extra funding, and I also welcome the fact that the capacity and access money is being channelled back into emergency GP action, so increasing the number of appointments, and increasing continuity of care by bringing back the family doctor. May I have some reassurance that the processes of advice and guidance and

Gaza Healthcare System

My hon. Friend is spot on. Rather than evacuating children to the NHS, which was the right thing to do while war was raging, it is better to build up facilities in the area and start training doctors and other health professionals to look after people there. We are training some Gazan medical students—I have met some of them—but the future lies in building up medical training in the area.

Gaza Healthcare System

Indeed, and many of us have campaigned on the medical evacuation of young people. The Minister has delivered on that, although there have been some problems recently, which he may address. A key issue in Gaza to which I will return is that currently the medical evacuation of anyone to East Jerusalem, which is still in the occupied territories, is not allowed. East Jerusalem has some well-functioning hospitals with capacity, and that is one of the issues we need to address.

Gaza Healthcare System

I thank all the speakers who have contributed to what has been a very passionate debate. I have spoken to many British doctors who have worked in Gaza, and what we are presenting here—the sabotage of the healthcare system—is real. It is going on now, and we must deal with it rather than brushing it under the carpet and blaming Hamas.

Gaza Healthcare System

I absolutely agree. We must get to the bottom of those things because they must not be allowed to happen again. I propose that the Minister talks to Ministers in the Department of Health and Social Care about us, as a nation, providing healthcare to people in Gaza as much as we can. That is something that I have discussed with that Minister. We must be positive here and try to relieve the suffering of Gazans, because everything I have heard has been appalling. I thank all Members and the Ministe

Gaza Healthcare System

I thank my hon. Friend for a point well made. It is even more basic than that: we need to allow medicines into Gaza, which are not currently being transported. Other items such as prosthetic limbs are also very important, so the border needs to open up. Humanitarian aid, not just medical aid, is needed in Gaza. We need to open the borders and allow relief in. In a sinister development, snipers seem to be targeting specific areas of the body, such as the brachial plexus, damage to which causes lo

Gaza Healthcare System

The hon. Gentleman is spot on. The most important thing is peace, so that we can build a healthcare system. Although there has been a ceasefire, a lot of Palestinians are still dying. We first need to make a stable environment, and we need to be pragmatic. While there are functioning hospitals in East Jerusalem, we should be able to take people out of Gaza and get them treated there. As I have outlined, the healthcare facilities in Gaza have been severely damaged. I will come later to the possib

Gaza Healthcare System

I thank my hon. Friend for that timely intervention—I know she uses her professional skills in Parliament. It is important that we support the healthcare system in Gaza, and I know the Foreign Office is keen to do that.

Gaza Healthcare System

I absolutely agree. War is traumatic on so many different levels, and mental health is a key part of holistic care and must be covered in any rebuilding of the healthcare system. We also need to start to look at training people in the Gaza strip and the occupied territories, because it is better to train them than to import them.

Gaza Healthcare System

I beg to move, That this House has considered Government support for the healthcare system in Gaza. It is a privilege to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Jeremy, and I thank the Minister for attending. I also thank the Backbench Business Committee and the co-signatories of my application for the debate. I place on the record my thanks to Médecins Sans Frontières UK and Professor Ramzi Khamis for their assistance in my preparations. This debate could not have come at a more crucial time for hea