Our next petition is PE953, from Jean Gall, on behalf of the Scottish Association for Sleep Apnoea. It calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Executive to increase awareness of the health problems that are associated with obstructive sleep apnoea, to promote proper diagnosis and treatment, and to provide sufficient resources—including resources for adequately funded sleep centres.At its meeting on 26 June 2006, the committee agreed to seek views on the petition from the Sleep Apnoea Trust, the Edinburgh Sleep Centre, NHS National Services Scotland, NHS Health Scotland and the Scottish Executive, and then to seek the views of the petitioner when responses were received. We received responses from most of the organisations and from the petitioner. Do members have any comments?
Official Report · Committee
Current Petitions
Sleep Apnoea (PE953)
Speakers
Choose an MSP to read only their contributions- Michael McMahon Lab 5
- John Scott Con 4
- Christine Grahame SNP 4
- Rob Gibson SNP 1
- Jackie Baillie Lab 1
The record
15 contributionsChristine Grahame has an interest in the petition.
Christine?
I am sorry—I do not know what responses you have received.
The petitioner highlights the cost effectiveness of treatment. She also mentions the positive impact that effective treatment has on sufferers, whose quality of life is improved, and on non-affected partners and family members. She stresses the benefits of mandibular repositioning devices—which Christine is probably an expert on. I take it that that device is a kind of face-mask.
It is.
The organisations that wrote back have made suggestions, and the Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care has identified a number of services that the Executive provides. However, questions were raised about NHS Health Scotland's position, and it was suggested that it had no useful part to play at present.If all those services are out there, and if organisations are looking into the issue, I would have thought that NHS Health Scotland would have taken a position. The committee might want to write back to it to ask whether it will consider its answer in the light of the other responses that we received.
This petition is very important indeed, as 55,000 people are affected by the condition. We therefore have to await the findings of the chief scientist on the project that is looking into sleep apnoea, and then see what ministers say thereafter. We should keep the petition open, and acknowledge Dr Renata Riha's expertise in the field and the help that she gave us when she came to the committee to give evidence.
Petition PE953 is a very important petition. I heard what was said about the figures but, of course, that is the tip of the iceberg. We are unable to determine the number of fatalities on our roads that are caused by people falling asleep at the wheel. A post mortem cannot tell us whether someone was asleep; we can only surmise that. The cost to the public purse of a fatal accident is around £1 million. We need to think of the costs involved in fatal accidents that are caused by people falling asleep on our roads or at work. Lorry drivers can suffer from sleep apnoea. I got my biggest scare when I found out that a chap—I cannot remember what he is called; I must be sleeping myself this morning—who brings in the planes at the airport—
The pilot?
The air traffic controller?
He was an air traffic controller—thank you, team—who also had sleep apnoea. He was given priority treatment. We are talking serious stuff here. I would be happy to take forward the petition. Mrs Gall and others—including Dr Riha and the Edinburgh Sleep Centre—have been fighting for years to get sleep apnoea taken more seriously.
I remember that we discussed the subject when we met in the Borders. The discussion that we had at that time was important.
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When a national service is changed to what is essentially a local service, the matter gets handed over to individual health boards. We have no idea about the consistency of provision in one or other part of the country. In his response, the deputy minister names a number of health boards, all of which are doing different things. I note that my health board, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, is not included.Based on the view that there is a need for consistency and the fact that the chief scientist office reported on the matter in August 2006, we should go back to the minister and say, "We understand that the matter is under review. However, given that we are now seven months on, what are you going to do to take this forward? Are you going to produce guidelines for health boards to follow?" The Executive is to be commended for setting up the Scottish sleep forum, but there is still a lack of a framework for health boards to take this forward. Perhaps we could pose those questions.
We should ask those questions. Is that agreed?Members indicated agreement.
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