Hansard

I, too, thank Trish Godman for securing tonight's debate. As others have acknowledged, she has made a significant contribution to raising awareness of thrombosis, and deep vein thrombosis in particular. I defer to the medical knowledge of my esteemed colleagues; I will not match their grasp of the subject, but please bear with me.

My awareness of this issue was increased by my responsibilities as shadow cabinet secretary for health. Sadly, I have since departed that role. However, during that period I met Gordon and Jane McPherson who, as Trish Godman said, have campaigned passionately for increased awareness of thrombosis since their daughter Katie died in 2003. It would seem that they were failed by the national health service, which did not diagnose Katie's condition despite her own knowledge of it.

Mr and Mrs McPherson are remarkable people who communicate their case clearly and effectively. Their impact on the political world and, I would say, the medical world has been significant. I expect that to continue. I am sure that the minister will become aware of it if she is not already.

One of my last responsibilities as shadow cabinet secretary for health was to chair an event in this Parliament on thrombosis, instigated by the work of the McPherson family. It was a telling experience. It brought together a formidable array of experts—and I urge members to look at the publication that will emerge from that extremely informative event. It was also telling because of the striking facts that emerged. We should all know them.

On the same day, there had been a Labour debate in Parliament on Clostridium difficile at the Vale of Leven hospital. It was an issue of real public concern, and I think that many members who are present tonight were present at that debate too. It was a key health issue with immediate significance for the Scottish public, but I was to learn at the seminar in the afternoon that the death toll from thrombosis is five times greater than the combined death toll from MRSA and Clostridium difficile. As Jackson Carlaw suggests, that is not an argument for lessening our concern about other issues, but a clarion call for us to step up our work on thrombosis.

I was shocked, as we all should be, that so many people are dying when their deaths are clearly preventable. As Richard Simpson said, DVT has a mortality rate of 30 per cent when left untreated, but between 2 and 8 per cent when appropriate therapy is given. It is estimated that the total cost of managing DVT in the NHS would be around £640 million across the United Kingdom. That clearly gives us an imperative to try to manage the situation. The facts all insist that we should take action and give greater consideration to the work that is going on.

Trish Godman talked about the work at GP practices, which is an issue that I am sure we will all pursue. The McPherson family is deeply disappointed that their efforts have not been taken up more widely by GPs throughout Scotland.

We need to consider local protocols and changes in hospital practice, as Richard Simpson said, but we also need to raise awareness of the issues, which is something in which the Parliament has a particular role to play. NHS Quality Improvement Scotland has agreed to carry out a stocktake of health boards' DVT work and proposes to look into how hospitals are assessing patients and how they can intervene more effectively to minimise risk and encourage more effective treatment. I hope that the minister can report back to us on that.

I place on record my personal thanks for the information and support the McPherson family gave me when I was undertaking my work as health spokesperson. They have played a critical role in awareness raising and should continue to do so. There is a real place for debate on such issues, as Richard Simpson and Ian McKee have demonstrated often in the chamber. That is a debate that we should properly be having. As Trish Godman suggested, we must all step up our work on thrombosis because lives are at risk and we could take decisive and effective action. That would be an appropriate tribute to Katie McPherson.