Amanda Hack

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Alec. I thank John, Lyla’s father, for starting the petition. It was signed by 227 of my constituents in North West Leicestershire, and I would like to share as many of their experiences as I can in the time available. Throughout these stories, I heard over and over again the four Ts —“toilet”, “thirsty”, “tired” and “thinning”. In all the emails I have received on the matter, the one consistency has been families having to advocate for their children to get the care that they so obviously needed. Jade, mum of Harry, said: “Harry is not your ordinary child, he has a long list of disabilities, and he is nonverbal autistic. Harry could not tell me how he was feeling…but he lost so much weight.” After weeks of trying to see a GP, she finally managed to get a doctor to take his blood sugar levels. Harry’s blood sugar was at 30 millimoles and he was in DKA, with ketones so high that he was on the verge of cardiac arrest. Jade said that day will haunt her forever. Mark’s story with his daughter Katrina is similar. Katrina was diagnosed at two and a half years old. Although, unlike Harry, she did not suffer from DKA, it was a traumatic experience. Katrina was a healthy child, and when she started having night terrors, waking up drenched in sweat with heavy nappies and craving pasta at 11 pm, they knew that something was desperately wrong. The nurse recommended a urine test, and Mark got a phone call while his daughter was in nursery asking him to take her to the hospital immediately. She was admitted for 10 days in hospital. A third constituent shared that her son was diagnosed with type 1 in May last year, just weeks before his seventh birthday. Fortunately, he was diagnosed early, and it was a non-emergency situation. It should not be a life-threatening situation just to get a diagnosis. Too often, healthcare professionals miss the key symptoms. When symptoms are missed, sadly, children like Lyla have their lives cut short. Screening for type 1 is crucial in infants so that we can help save lives.