Hansard

The Convener: Lab

I welcome our first oral submission this afternoon. Petition PE1057, by Andrew Billson-Page on behalf of the Save our NHS Group, calls on the Scottish Parlia...

Andrew Billson-Page:

Thank you.An overview of endometriosis is perhaps unnecessary, given the Scottish Parliament's previous discussions on the issue. The Parliament's research n...

The Convener: Lab

You have done so slightly, but do not worry about it.You raised a number of issues in your petition and your statement. Members have debated what the Governm...

Robin Harper (Lothians) (Green): Green

I ask Andrew Billson-Page to clarify a comment that he made towards the end of his statement. Did he say that currently no research is going on in Scotland?

Andrew Billson-Page:

That is what Malcolm Chisholm said in 2003. He referred to a one-off donation of £201,000, which the Scottish Executive had made in 2001. There was no regula...

Robin Harper: Green

Forgive me, but I am not clear about how things are done. Does the CSO commission research or does it respond to and fund research proposals from universitie...

Andrew Billson-Page:

My understanding, which is limited, is that a research proposal would have to come from the academic institutions. That is the difficulty. Endometriosis is a...

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): Lab

Have you asked scientific institutions whether they are willing to do the research that you talk about and to bid for funding for it? Do you know where they ...

Andrew Billson-Page:

I am a medical student, so I have a medical understanding. When I put the petition together, I spoke at length with Dr Jean Turner when she was an MSP. Her t...

Rhoda Grant: Lab

Are you aware of research that is being done in other countries?

Andrew Billson-Page:

Research is being conducted in Iceland, but it seems controversial. Organisations in other countries refute some of the evidence that is claimed to have been...

Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con): Con

I am not sure of the up-to-date position. I was first involved in the issue of endometriosis when I became an MSP in 2003. I was in contact with people in Ab...

Andrew Billson-Page:

Some research is still going on. My main point is that central Government has cut funding by a third. That is a concern, because the amount of research that ...

Nanette Milne: Con

On a slightly different tack, I was under the impression three or four years ago that an application might be made to the Scottish intercollegiate guidelines...

Andrew Billson-Page:

I am aware of nothing of note since 2002, apart from the rather speculative claim from Iceland that endometriosis is exclusively genetic.

Tricia Marwick (Central Fife) (SNP): SNP

Do any self-help organisations in the United Kingdom deal with endometriosis?

Andrew Billson-Page:

Obviously, there are many self-help groups for women generally, but two major organisations deal with endometriosis: the Endometriosis UK foundation and the ...

Tricia Marwick: SNP

Does either of those organisations fund research? I know that the Multiple Sclerosis Society has funded much research into MS. Is research being done through...

Andrew Billson-Page:

The National Endometriosis Society has a stated aim of researching endometriosis. Unfortunately, it concedes that because of the economic restrictions that i...

Robin Harper: Green

I take your point about Iceland. Iceland's population is quite small—it is roughly that of Aberdeen—so the sample is rather too small to draw conclusions fro...

Tricia Marwick: SNP

I was present in the chamber when Annabel Goldie led the members' business debate on the subject in 2001—a lot of women MSPs were there. Part of the purpose ...

The Convener: Lab

Andrew, you mentioned that you are a medical student. Is the condition part of the area that you are specialising in, or is it just an issue that you feel st...

Andrew Billson-Page:

I have been strongly affected by it. I would like to have children, but my wife is not able to. That is not an endometriosis issue but, from there, I came in...

The Convener: Lab

That is fine—I am not criticising that. If such a number of women are affected, why have we not been able to get key players to give the condition more prior...

Andrew Billson-Page:

When the public think about health, they mainly think about hospitals, as I am sure you, as MSPs, will appreciate. The public tend also to focus on life-thre...

The Convener: Lab

With that discussion and those suggestions, I have now heard from members on the matter. We would like to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellb...

Rhoda Grant: Lab

The National Endometriosis Society was mentioned as a voluntary organisation interested in the scientific research. It would be good to write to it for infor...

The Convener: Lab

Do members have any other suggestions?

Nanette Milne: Con

I raised the SIGN guidelines issue because I knew that there were no guidelines for dealing with endometriosis. There is a process to follow, which I thought...

The Convener: Lab

More will happen at the next stage, but those are good and sensible suggestions from members—I hope that the clerk noted all of them. We will write to those ...