Parliament Workbench
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Official Report · Committee

Current Petitions

Sleep Apnoea (PE953)

Tuesday 18 December 2007 Public Petitions Committee Petitions 6 contributions · 4 speakers

Speakers

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The record

6 contributions
Frank McAveety Lab The Convener · Glasgow Shettleston
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Item 2 is current petitions. The petitions that we will discuss were lodged and discussed either before the election or since the current committee was established.The first current petition is PE953, from Ms Jean Gall, on behalf of the Scottish Association of 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. Members have copies of the written submissions on the petition and other papers that we have had in the past on the issue. Do members have suggestions on how we should deal with the petition? I understand that Scottish intercollegiate guidelines network—or SIGN—guidelines have been produced. Is that sufficient?

Rhoda Grant Lab Highlands and Islands
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I understand that SIGN 73, which covers the matter, is to be updated. If that is the case, we can close the petition and let the matter take its course.

Nanette Milne Con North East Scotland
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I cannot remember exactly, but the issue was raised with me a considerable time ago by a constituent. I think that it was put to me at that time that there is significant variation between health boards in the way in which the condition is dealt with. I wonder whether we should contact COSLA and ask whether the health boards are implementing the guidelines.

John Wilson SNP Central Scotland
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The third paragraph in the response from the Government says:"Responsibility for planning services for those with obstructive sleep apnoea rests with NHS Boards, which are expected to fund them from their general allocations in order to meet the needs of their resident populations."It does not give us any detail of what instructions or guidelines are being issued to the boards or what is happening at a local level. As Nanette Milne said, the difficulty is that, if boards do not treat the illness with the seriousness that it deserves, we could find that—as other petitions that we have received have pointed out—there is great disparity in how the illness is dealt with in different NHS boards. The consequences of its not being dealt with properly could be quite severe for the individuals concerned. It would be useful to tease the matter out slightly and write to the NHS boards or to NHS Scotland to find out what instructions are being provided to the boards and what the boards are doing to alleviate the problems that exist.

Frank McAveety Lab The Convener · Glasgow Shettleston
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That is not an unreasonable suggestion. The fact that the guidelines have been updated addresses one of the issues in the petition, but there is also the issue of the allocation of resources to the different health boards. We can write to the Scottish Government and health boards about the support that boards are given. That will, hopefully, resolve some of the issues that have been raised in the petition. Is that agreed?Members indicated agreement.

Frank McAveety Lab The Convener · Glasgow Shettleston
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Thank you for your patience.

In this meeting

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