Committee
Public Petitions Committee, 23 Oct 2007
23 Oct 2007 · S3 · Public Petitions Committee
Item of business
New Petitions
Endometriosis (Research Funding) (PE1057)
Andrew Billson-Page:
Watch on SPTV
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-threatening illnesses. They want money to go into cardiac or cot death research. To be honest, endometriosis is not considered particularly sexy. It does not kill people. Most women suffer in silence, and it is not something that people want to know about. Annabel Goldie started something very useful in 2001 when she lodged her motion. It was the first time that the condition had been debated in any Parliament in the UK, and there was widespread empathy with what she was trying to do. The National Endometriosis Society has done a great deal to raise awareness of the problem. The new grant that we received from the European Union in May this year will help to raise the profile of the condition throughout Europe, at least in some respects. Most of the money has gone to academic institutions and self-help groups. That in itself is not enough, however. It is a good start that people now know about a problem that has been hidden for so long. It is a bit like mental health problems—years ago, we knew that they existed, but we did not want to address them. There is a similar problem with endometriosis. If the public become more aware of the condition, they will start to demand answers, solutions and money.
In the same item of business
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 ...