Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group Annual Report 2015 1 Greater Manchester Asbestos Victims Support Group Annual Report 2015 Contents 1. Introduction. 2. Advice and support for asbestos victims. 3. GMAVSG activities. 4. Support Group. 5. Meetings and events. 6. Donations and financial report. 7. Acknowledgements. 1. Introduction Despite earlier predictions of the mesothelioma epidemic peaking around 2015, numbers appear still to be rising. New mesothelioma referrals continue to comprise nearly half of our casework load, continuing the pattern of previous years. Government figures have revealed more than 2,500 new cases of mesothelioma in each of the last two years in the UK. Predictions for the epidemic peaking are now being pushed back to 2020, or later, in this country. The continuing trade in asbestos in some parts of the world, and in particular developing countries, will see new epidemics unless we are able to put a stop to this trade. 2015 saw a new Conservative government elected. The Asbestos Victims Support Groups’ Forum UK (the Forum) launched its Charter for Justice, outlining key demands for reform, including fairer treatment on social security benefits; a compensation scheme for other asbestos victims, similar to the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payments Scheme, where former employers or their insurer cannot be traced and sued; and for Government to ensure that more money is found for mesothelioma research. It is fair to say we are not pushing at an open door with the new Government but we will keep pushing nonetheless. Despite the unpromising political landscape there have been a few significant achievements and improvements in 2015. Firstly, in February 2015, compensation from the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payments Scheme was increased from 80% of average civil compensation awards to 100%. GMAVSG members had been prominent in the Forum’s ‘100% Justice’ campaign that had argued for compensation to be paid at this rate from the outset. It is a shame that the Government did not listen to us earlier and that so many (over 300) of the earlier applicants to the scheme had been short-changed. Secondly, the Ministry of Defence announced in December 2015 that they were going to introduce a new lump-sum payment of £140,000 for military veterans who had contracted mesothelioma following exposure to asbestos in the armed forces. The Royal British Legion and several naval veterans had campaigned for improvements to the status quo. Veterans are unable to sue the MoD for asbestos exposure prior to 1987, cannot claim compensation 2 from the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payments Scheme and previously had no analogous scheme which would pay compensation. The new lump sum will be offered as an alternative to receiving a War Disablement Pension. It will not be the right choice for everyone, but at least offers some choice where none existed before. The Government initially announced the new lump sum would only be payable to veterans diagnosed after 12 December 2015, but after an outcry from veterans and others, extended the scheme to all veterans with a diagnosis of mesothelioma. Lord Alton and Mike Kane MP have kept the debate about funding for mesothelioma research alive in Parliament. Lord Alton introduced another amendment in the House of Lords in December calling on insurers to be levied to fund research. BBC Breakfast News covered the story and interviewed Trevor Barlow, a member of our ‘Living Well with Mesothelioma’ group (see below) and Kim Harrison, a solicitor with one of our panel firms. The interview was live and the presenters announced that there had been such a positive response to what Trevor had said that they would repeat the interview an hour later and put a video clip up on their website. This year we welcomed a new member of staff, Rob Rayner, who joined us at the end of February. Rob was taken on to help with the increasing workload which had previously been difficult to manage when one of the two staff members was on leave. Rob works three days a week and his appointment has allowed Jeff Eaman to reduce his working days from 5 to the three he had originally been engaged to work (Jeff had increased his days to help deal with the workload). Rob had previously worked at Tameside Welfare Rights and currently also works part-time at Salford CAB. He has brought a good background of advice work experience with him and has sharpened up our technological and social media output (not a difficult job, admittedly). October 2015 also saw the establishment of the ‘Living Well with Mesothelioma’ support group for patients and carers/partners. This is a joint initiative between GMAVSG and Lorraine Creech, Mesothelioma UK Specialist Nurse at Wythenshawe Hospital. This is a welcome development and a much needed resource. 2. Advice and support for asbestos victims We saw just under 300 new referrals in 2015, about 22 more than the previous year. Over 45% of these were people with mesothelioma. The overwhelming majority of these referrals come direct from hospitals in Greater Manchester, with a few referrals coming from Lancashire hospitals or solicitors. A fair number of claims result in appeals or reconsiderations when Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit is wrongly refused. The most common dispute concerns Diffuse Pleural Thickening claims which must show evidence of ‘obliteration of the costophrenic angle’ (lower part of the lung) on x-ray to succeed. Claims are often refused because DWP Medical Services have failed to obtain the necessary radiological evidence (or have misinterpreted it). While most appeals are successful, delays in the process mean claimants have to wait several extra months before receiving the money they are due. 3 Case work reporting period 1 January 2015 – 31 December 2015 Disease Number % Visits per week Visits per week (all) (meso) Mesothelioma 134 45.4% 5.7 2.6 Asbestosis 64 21.7% Pleural Thickening 44 14.9% Lung Cancer 26 8.8% Lung Cancer & Asbestosis 5 1.7% Lung Cancer & Pleural Thickening 1 0.3% Asbestosis & Pleural Thickening 18 6.1% Pleural Plaques 3 1.0% Total 295 100% Number of referrals by type 2015 160 140 Mesothelioma 120 Asbestosis Pleural Thickening 100 Lung Cancer 80 Lung Cancer & Asbestosis 60 Lung Cancer & Pleural Thickening 40 Asbestosis & Pleural Thickening 20 Pleural Plaques / Unknown / Other 0 Number % 4 3. GMAVSG activities 3.1 Action Mesothelioma Day The theme of Action Mesothelioma Day in 2015 was ‘Hope for the Future’. The International Mesothelioma Interest Group (iMig) had already announced that their next biennial conference, bringing together the world’s leading mesothelioma researchers and clinicians, would be held in the UK in May 2016. Researchers were optimistic that there could be significant breakthroughs in tackling the disease on the horizon. Professor Luciano Mutti spoke at the public meeting about some of the latest research initiatives offering promising results. A panel of experts comprising Professor Mutti, Dr Paul Taylor (Consultant Respiratory Physician at Wythenshawe Hospital) and Lorraine Creech (Mesothelioma UK Specialist Nurse at Wythenshawe Hospital) answered questions from the audience. Before the public meeting, 7 local MPs had addressed a rally in Lincoln Square. The MPs who spoke in Lincoln Square were: Kate Green (Stretford and Urmston); Mike Kane (Wythenshawe and Sale East); Simon Danczuk (Rochdale); Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth); Lucy Powell (Manchester Central); Sir Gerald Kaufman (Gorton); Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde); The Dove Release was led by Tom Wyatt, who lost his dad Trevor to mesothelioma and Damara who lost her grandad Gordon Marriott to the same disease. Margaret Poole, who lost her partner Terry to mesothelioma, introduced the Dove release and the speakers. Over £20,000 was raised for mesothelioma research by our supporters’ sponsorship of the Dove Release, a fantastic effort from all those who contributed. 3.2 Living Well with Mesothelioma Group We helped set up this new support group for mesothelioma patients and carers with Lorraine Creech, Mesothelioma UK Specialist Nurse at Wythenshawe Hospital. GMAVSG Trustees agreed to fund the setting up of the group, to pay for room hire, refreshments and publicity. The group meets on the first Monday every month, from 1.30 p.m – 3.30 p.m. at the Cross Street Chapel in central Manchester. Lorraine has organised an interesting series of speakers and events, ranging from Tai Chi to medical research. The first meeting took place in October and the group has gone from strength to strength, with attendance regularly exceeding 30 people. The support, solidarity and empathy the group give to each other is truly inspiring. It is clear from the numbers attending, and the feedback we are getting, that people appreciate the opportunity to meet and share their experiences and we are optimistic that this spirit will be maintained. Lorraine is to be commended for her hard work in getting the group up and running. 5 3.3 Asbestos Victims Support Groups’ Forum UK (The Forum) GMAVSG has continued to play a full part in the networking and campaigning activities of the Forum, and hosts alternate meetings along with the West Midlands Group. Graham Dring was elected Chair of the Forum in September 2015 and also represents the Forum on the Oversight Committee of the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payments Scheme (DMPS). We continue to fight for improvements to this scheme, including paying those earlier claimants, who only received 80%, full compensation. We have called on the Government to increase the funding of the DMPS by making insurers pay the contributions they said they could afford (3% of Gross Working Premium they receive from selling Employer Liability insurance) so that the necessary reforms can be achieved. And we will continue to campaign for a similar compensation scheme for sufferers of other asbestos diseases (asbestos-related lung cancer, asbestosis and pleural thickening) who face the same problem of finding someone to sue when an employer is no longer trading and their insurer cannot be traced.