§ 7 pm
§ Mrs. Linda Gilroy (Plymouth, Sutton)I wish to present a petition that has been signed by 110,000 people, both in my constituency and from surrounding constituencies. Mrs. Sue Sellis, chairman of the friends of the hospital trust and a patient of the transplant unit, has led a campaign, with magnificent support from the Plymouth Evening Herald newspaper, the community health council and the health authorities that purchase services from the hospital. The petition was prompted by a Royal College of Surgeons report on the nation's transplant services that appeared to cast a shadow over the future of Plymouth's unit. The magnitude of support for the petition may best be understood by considering the position of a patient in the Isles of Scilly who would have to travel the equivalent of the distance from Carlisle to Bristol for treatment were the unit to close.
The petition states:
To the House of CommonsThe Petition of the Friends of Plymouth Derriford Hospital Kidney UnitDeclares that the renal transplant unit of Plymouth Derriford Hospital provides a vital local service greatly valued by people in Plymouth and across Devon, Cornwall and Dorset.The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Secretary of State for Health to recognise this in respect of any discussions which take place between his Department and the Royal College of Surgeons in respect of their recent report on transplant services.And the petitioners remain etc.To lie upon the table.