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Meeting of the Parliament 17 March 2011

17 Mar 2011 · S3 · Meeting of the Parliament

Item of business

Chronic Pain Services

Craigie, Cathie Lab Cumbernauld and Kilsyth Watch on SPTV

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in the debate. I thank Mary Scanlon for bringing the subject to the chamber and I acknowledge her long involvement in the issue, which dates back to the first parliamentary session. I am grateful to her for reminding us of Dorothy-Grace Elder’s work on chronic pain. I thank both of them for their work.

A great many people in Scotland suffer from chronic pain. It is worrying that some patients are being forced to cross the border to receive care that should be available here in Scotland. Sending patients to England for care not only puts pressure on the public purse but can be painful and inconvenient for patients, for whom travelling such a great distance is stressful.

In the first six months of 2010-11—the motion contains some of this information—21 Scots were treated in the centre near Bristol. Eight of the 14 Scottish health boards referred patients to the royal national hospital for rheumatic diseases, which cost almost £207,000. That is a lot of money. There is no doubt that the facility in Bath is highly specialised, but the Scottish Government and we as a Parliament should do all that we can to invest in services in Scotland, so that our constituents do not have to travel such a great distance.

In its briefing for the debate, the Long Term Conditions Alliance Scotland reminds us that chronic pain is a long-term condition. As well as suffering chronic pain, people suffer the effects of other long-term conditions. It is a concern that patients are not treated nearer home.

I know that I need not tell members about the debilitating effects that people who live with chronic pain suffer. It affects families as a whole. Christine Grahame mentioned her constituent who has sleepless nights. If someone who has sleepless nights lives as part of a family, it is not only that person who suffers from walking the floorboards, because the rest of the family will be up, too. As Mary Scanlon said, people lose their jobs and cannot work because of chronic pain, which means that they lose the confidence and self-respect that work can provide.

Chronic pain is a serious matter. As Mary Scanlon said, 20 per cent—one in five—of the population suffer from chronic pain. The number of people who go to their GP for support and advice is eye opening.

Various projects across Scotland offer patients support but, when we take account of the figures, more needs to be done. Mary Scanlon’s point about spending to save is important. If we invest in local community pain-management services and support groups closer to patients’ homes, that will pay dividends not only for individuals but for taxpayers in the future.

I very much support the work that is being done and which Mary Scanlon and the cross-party group on chronic pain have done to highlight this serious issue. We should improve the services in Scotland and deliver them here, where patients want them.

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