Committee
Public Petitions Committee 08 February 2011
08 Feb 2011 · S3 · Public Petitions Committee
Item of business
Current Petitions
Silicone Breast Implants (PE1378)
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 having a breast replacement or breast surgery, because it is a time of extreme distress for them. My recollection is that there was not a huge amount of that. At the Western general hospital in Edinburgh, I had the benefit of a breast cancer nurse sitting down with me and going through the various options, but that was more than 10 years ago and I do not know whether that service is available at all centres in Scotland.It strikes me that there is insufficient information available to the committee to decide whether it should close the petition. It seems to me that the committee is of the view that it should seek further information on the incidence of rupture. To find that information out, we may have to write to health boards ourselves but, in the first instance we should ask the Government whether it can get the information if it does not have it. It might also be worth while contacting the UK Government to seek its view on the matter.
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...