Petitioner: Janey Cringean and Lorraine Murray on behalf of Tick-borne Illness Campaign Scotland
Status:
Lodged
Date Lodged:
28 June 2017
Calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to improve testing and treatment for Lyme Disease and associated tick-borne diseases by ensuring that medical professionals in Scotland are fully equipped to deal with the complexity of tick-borne infections, addressing the lack of reliability of tests, the full variety of species in Scotland, the presence of 'persister' bacteria which are difficult to eradicate, and the complexities caused by the presence of possibly multiple co-infections, and to complement this with a public awareness campaign.
The petitioner has collected 47 offline signatures
Summary:
14 September 2017: The Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government, the UK Government, Scottish Natural Heritage, Lyme Disease UK, Lyme Disease Action, NICE, NHS boards, the Royal College of General Practitioners, the British Veterinary Association, National Farmers Union Scotland and Scottish Land and Estates. Link to Official Report 14 September 2017 (538KB pdf)
21 December 2017: The Committee agreed to write to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. The Committee also agreed to consider a note by the clerk at a future meeting on options for taking oral evidence on the petition once the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines have been published. Link to Official Report 2017
26 April 2018: The Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government, and to invite the petitioner to make a written submission. The Committee also agreed to take evidence on the petition at a future meeting, to delegate to the Convener decisions on the format of the meeting and the organisations or individuals who will be invited to provide evidence. Link to the Official Report 26 April 2018
12 September 2019: The Committee agreed to reflect on the evidence heard at a future meeting. It also agreed to write to the Scottish Government and the Royal College of GPs. Official Report of Meeting 12 September 2019
20 February 2020: The Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government and the Royal College of GPs. Link to Official Report of Meeting 20 February 2020
8 October 2020: The Committee agreed to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport. It also agreed to write to Dr Cruikshank and Professor Lambert. Link to Official Report of Meeting 8 October 2020
16 December 2020: The Committee agreed to invite the Minister for Public Health, Wellbeing and Sport and the Chief Medical Officer to give evidence at a future meeting. Link to Official Report of Meeting 16 December 2020
Written submissions:
What is your view of the current testing and treatment regime for Lyme Disease and associated tick-borne diseases? Have you been failed by inadequate current treatment?
Do you agree that it is essential to improve testing and treatment and to ensure that guidance and training are developed for medical professionals?
Please add any other comments you feel will contribute to highlighting this issue.