Meeting of the Parliament 04 December 2018
I, too, think that it is important that we pay tribute to the petitioners and thank the Public Petitions Committee for giving Parliament the opportunity to again debate this important issue. It is particularly important to pay tribute to Lorraine Cleaver for her relentless campaigning on the issue, as well as to past and present members of the committee for their work since 2012 to highlight the serious concerns about the quality of patient care for and treatment of hypothyroidism.
It is also important to note Elaine Smith’s personal interest and consistent work in the Parliament on this issue. It is important that we take up the concerns of individual constituents, but the passion that Elaine Smith has brought to the issue, and to all members across the political spectrum, is important to highlight, too.
As other members have done, I welcome and commend the work of the British Thyroid Foundation, which provides advice and support to people with thyroid conditions throughout the UK. A number of my constituents asked me to make that point.
Hypothyroidism affects hundreds of people in every constituency in Scotland, and they have been waiting too long for action. As David Torrance and Rachael Hamilton mentioned, the risk of initial misdiagnosis can be significant, because some of the common symptoms mirror those of numerous other conditions.
The petition urged the Scottish Government
“to take action to ensure GPs ... are able to accurately diagnose thyroid and adrenal disorders and provide the most appropriate”
care. We all share that aim, but as Jackie Baillie has stated, I do not think that we have seen enough action and the progress that is needed.
Early access to accurate blood tests is vital, and I welcome the minister’s points about the report. It is important that that is taken forward. The lack of specific and formal Scottish guidelines on the diagnosis and management of hypothyroidism is a key issue that was raised by many patients ahead of the members’ business debate and this debate. Indeed, I received emails from constituents on the issue ahead of this debate.
I welcome what the minister said about the development of care pathways, but we need to see the timescales for that and hold the minister to his word on what the Scottish Government has said that it will do.
I will touch on the cost of drugs, which was mentioned by the committee convener and Jackie Baillie. The Competition and Markets Authority’s work on the cost to the NHS is important. Where companies have been found to breach competition law, the NHS should seek damages and invest that money in patient care and front-line services. Most recently, the manufacturer Concordia has been provisionally found to have abused its position in order to overcharge our NHS. Where companies have been conclusively found to have breached competition law, the Government should seek damages and invest that money in our NHS.