Parliament’s first ‘Bionic Lord’ takes seat on red benches

Parliament’s first “Bionic Lord” took his seat on the red benches, where he pledged to raise awareness of sepsis and improve the quality of prosthetics offered to amputees.

Craig Mackinlay is the first quadruple amputee to be introduced into the House of Lords after being given a peerage in Rishi Sunak’s Dissolution Honors List.

Lord Mackinlay of Richborough wore traditional scarlet robes for the short presentation ceremony in the upper chamber, where he took the oath of allegiance to the king.

The 58-year-old was supported by Conservative peers Lord Hayward and Lord Jackson of Peterborough.

His wife and daughter were among family and friends who watched in the gallery above as Lord Mackinlay signed the members’ book with his “bionic” hand.

Others watching in the chamber included Speaker of the House of Commons Sir Lindsay Hoyle, former vice-president Nigel Evans and Conservative MP Mark François.

Lord Mackinlay told the PA news agency he “loved” his nine years as Conservative MP for South Thanet, but being appointed to the Lords gave him “a new lease of life”.

In September last year, he was rushed to hospital and placed in a medically induced coma for 16 days, and his wife was told he had just a 5% chance of survival.

Lord Mackinlay had both legs and arms amputated on December 1, 2023.

Speaking before his Lords appearance on Thursday, Lord Mackinlay said he feels “lucky” because the alternative would have been the loss of his life to sepsis.

He said of his experience of life after sepsis: “You depend on other people and you get frustrated, and I was never the most patient character, even before this. So yes, it is difficult.

“But there are two things that really keep me going: I can do more things today than I did yesterday, so I can do more tomorrow. And you have to say well, it’s better than the alternative, and I was very close to the alternative, which was death.”

He added: “Inspiration is what people say, I say no I’m not, because today there will be thousands of people diagnosed with terminal illness and they are getting worse.

“I’m on the other side, I’ve been at the bottom and I’m coming back up. So I’m lucky.”

In an episode of the Sepsis Voices with Dr Ron podcast, Lord Mackinlay described himself as the “Bionic Lord” due to his prosthetics.

Lord Mackinlay told PA he has personally tried a number of private prosthetics manufacturers, but there is a “postcode lottery” when it comes to “access to the right prosthetics at the right time” on the NHS.

He said: “That is a battle I will have with the Secretary of State.

“There aren’t many of us who are quadruple amputees, for God’s sake, you spent a fortune to keep us alive, why not just do the last part of the job properly?”

He added: “(The NHS) works to a list: in the first year you will have these blunt, rubbery instruments.

“In the second year, they might give you a body-powered thing that looks like something out of Victorian times.

“And in the third year they might start talking about the electric ones that you really wanted in the first place. So, what do you plan to do in these three years? Getting into a total mental health hole?

He continued: “All of this is very expensive. I was in hospital for seven months, that’s not cheap, but then to say ‘well, we’re not going to give you an arm you really want’, after they’ve spent a million pounds or more, seems a bit silly.”

Lord Mackinlay said he will also call for sepsis to be given “similar recognition” to stroke.

The former MP wants to see an awareness campaign that matches the NHS FAST Act, which focuses on the main symptoms of strokes.

He said: “Despite the strange, very, very bad stories that the NHS has not recognized sepsis, they are generally very good and of a reasonable standard.

“You go to any hospital and see posters for sepsis, sepsis, sepsis. But you, your family and your friends are the people who will recognize it on day two.”

He added: “The problem is there isn’t really a one-size-fits-all menu, not really, but trying to raise awareness as soon as possible, because sepsis kills 48,000 people a year, it’s a big cause of death in the UK.

“We spend a lot of time looking at other diseases, but not quite the same for this mass killer.”

Lord Mackinlay said he believes the House of Lords will be “very important in this Parliament” due to the number of new MPs.

He said: “They are young and they will raise their hand when they are told to raise their hand, they won’t be too questioning what their own government is doing because they are so young. And I suppose we’re all guilty of this in the early days.

“But the other problem is that, as the Conservative Party is down to 121 members, there are only 121 minds that could be put to consider the legislation. The bandwidth of what we have available in the House of Commons is now very reduced.

“So where is the place that will put very poor legislation into some kind of better order? And I think it will be in the House of Lords, if the Government wants to listen.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity, I really am. As I said, it will be pure politics, without some of the extras of being an elected representative.

“I loved being an elected deputy, it was a great job, but this gave me a new life.”

On his family’s support during the difficult period, he said: “I would be nothing without my wife, she has been a big part of this.

“I really expanded on the ‘in sickness and in health’ part of the marriage vows. She has been absolutely incredible.”

He added that his five-year-old daughter has become his hands in some ways, saying, “She puts things in for me, she’ll help me put my legs up. In some small jobs, it becomes my hands, little complicated jobs that I can’t do.”