Below is the transcript of my debate in the House of Commons earlier today on NHS rationing in Devon, and which has forced a u-turn on some of these rationing decisions, although the fight is not over yet.

Below is a letter from the Chief Executive of the NHS Trust Development Authority about the relationship between Northern Devon Healthcare Trust and NEW Devon CCG.

Just an hour before my debate in the House of Commons on NHS rationing in Devon, NEW Devon CCG wrote to inform me that they are dropping plans to block operations for smokers and the obese. Below is the letter outlining the changes.

Below is a statement from the Royal National Institute of Blind People speaking out against plans to ration treatment for people losing their sight in Devon.

The Royal College of Surgeons' "open letter" to NEW Devon CCG about "unacceptable" NHS rationing is available to read online here.

The UK’s largest hearing loss charity has condemned plans to cut hearing aids in Devon.

The doctors' professional body, the Royal College of Surgeons, has condemned plans to ration care in Devon due to growing financial crisis .

In a Westminster Hall debate yesterday, I spoke about the crisis facing our bass stocks and what the Government needs to do to address this. The full debate can be found here and my contribution is below.

Below are the latest proposals from Devon NHS for cuts and rationing of services because of what they describe as the worsening financial deficit. For those who haven’t followed this in detail, my first reading of it is that they are tightening the restrictions of operations for people who smoke or who are overweight and extending it to all operations not just hips and knees. It will be interesting to see what the Royal College of Surgeons has to say about this given their strong condemnation of the original less severe proposals.

Health bosses seem to have backed down from their proposal to stop all IVF treatment. (NICE guidance says infertile couples should be able to expect at least 3 courses). They have also backed down on their proposed restrictions to Caesareans. They appear to be proceeding with other restrictions including providing cataract operations and hearing aids to just one eye or ear.
The Government are still in total denial about the crisis in the NHS in general and in Devon in particular, as my exchange with Jeremy Hunt this week in the Commons on the scandal of the young girl with mental health problems locked in a police cell in Devon shows.

In a Westminster Hall debate yesterday, I spoke about the importance of not ignoring the South West in plans to improve the Exeter - Waterloo line.