Health plan 'must do more for ex-miners suffering in silence'

GOVERNMENT 'HASN'T GOT A CLUE' ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN PIT COMMUNITIES

- By OLIVER PRIDMORE

THE government has been told “they haven't got a clue” about what is happening in former mining communities after a plan was released to improve the health of former colliery workers.

The first dedicated strategy for men’s health was released in late November and contained a specific section about communities with a high number of former miners.

Respiratory disease is the main focus of the health strategy, which acknowledges that “communities with a legacy of industrial exposure, including former miners, require tailored approaches’

The strategy mentions directing people to smoking cessation services and investing more in them, alongside improvements in lung cancer screening.

Mick Newton was the last in a long line of miners in his family and worked at the Thoresby Colliery. Now living with all-body pain as a result of an issue with his nerve endings, Mr Newton said: “This should have happened 33 years ago in 1992, but the way they closed mines in this country was absolutely brutal.

“I'm not aware of any negotiations that have taken place between the government and the mineworkers themselves.

“They should be asking mine-workers what they can do better to improve their lives, but it seems there's been no consultation.”

Steve Yemm, the Labour MP for Mansfield, agreed that more was needed for former mining areas, but that the men’s health strategy was a good start.