Committee
Public Petitions Committee 08 February 2011
08 Feb 2011 · S3 · Public Petitions Committee
Item of business
Current Petitions
Silicone Breast Implants (PE1378)
Mairi Johnston is a constituent of mine, and she has come to see me regarding this matter on a number of occasions. From what I can tell, the committee has been given various thoughts on the issue. It is clear that medical devices do not face the same rigorous testing as medicines; it is also clear that Mairi Johnston has suffered really poor health because of the silicone that is within her system. She is not alone in that. Just because there appears to be no science to back it up, she is having to pay for treatment to alleviate her symptoms, whereas others would receive such treatment free on the NHS.More work has to be done on the matter, including research on silicone poisoning. I notice that such implants are already banned in America, Japan, Canada and France, and not without reason. We need to investigate what is going on there, and why such implants are banned. We should ascertain whether there is a way for people who are suffering the illness now to access treatments that alleviate their symptoms without having to pay for them themselves.
In the same item of business
The Convener
Lab
Our last petition is PE1378, by Mairi Johnston, on silicone breast implants and rupture awareness. Rhoda Grant is at the committee, and I invite her to say a...
Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab)
Lab
Mairi Johnston is a constituent of mine, and she has come to see me regarding this matter on a number of occasions. From what I can tell, the committee has b...
The Convener
Lab
I seek views from committee members. We asked the question:“What statistics do you have regarding the number of ruptures of silicone breast implants?”The Gov...
Cathie Craigie
Lab
The Scottish Government has stated that it has no plans to raise the matter with the UK Government. I do not think that there is anything stopping the commit...
Nanette Milne
Con
Do we have any knowledge of the timescale according to which the Scottish Government is preparing to consult on a proposal to change the time bar for medical...
The Convener
Lab
Do we have any information on that?
Fergus Cochrane
We were told that it would be in the near future.
The Convener
Lab
We could clarify that. Is it the committee’s view that there is more work to be done on the petition?
John Wilson
SNP
Convener, you raised the question of the Scottish Government saying that no information was held centrally on the number of incidents of ruptured silicone br...
Rhoda Grant
Lab
I agree with that. Mairi Johnston told me that she had numerous visits to her GP before she was referred to a plastic surgeon. I think that the patient pathw...
John Wilson
SNP
The other issue that has been raised by Rhoda Grant’s question is whether the information that the local health boards gather, which we want the Scottish Gov...
Rhoda Grant
Lab
That is useful. Perhaps the Government should also review what advice and guidance on the possible issues people are given before they have implants inserted...
The Convener
Lab
I speak from personal experience when I say that it is really important that somebody sits down and takes time with the patient when they are faced with havi...
John Farquhar Munro
LD
It is significant that, as Rhoda Grant pointed out, implant surgery is banned in some of the major countries. There must be a justifiable reason for that bla...
The Convener
Lab
It may be worth finding out whether there is guidance from the World Health Organization and what other international health regulation and advice there is o...