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.
Petitioner: Janey Cringean and Lorraine Murray on behalf of Tick-borne Illness Campaign Scotland
Status: Closed
Date published: 17 May 2017
Click here for the full petition
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.
Official Report of Meeting 14 September 2017
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.
Official Report of Meeting 21 December 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.
Official Report of Meeting 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.
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.
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.
Official Report of Meeting 16 December 2020
24 February 2021: The Committee took evidence from Mairi Gougeon, Minister for Public Health and Sport; Dr Gill Hawkins, Senior Medical Officer Health Protection and Public Health; and Professor Tom Evans, CMO Specialty Adviser in Infectious Diseases, Scottish Government. The Committee agreed to continue this petition and include it in its legacy paper for its successor Committee, along with a suggestion to seek an update from the Scottish Government on any progress made to address the issues raised during the evidence session.
Official Report of Meeting 24 February 2021
8 September 2021: The Committee agreed to write to the Scottish Government.
Official Report of Meeting 8 September 2021
17 November 2021: The Committee agreed to close the petition under Rule 15.7 of Standing Orders in recognition of the significant positive progress that has been made since this petition originated in 2017 namely that the Scottish Government has engaged directly with the petitioners; the establishment of the education of healthcare professionals sub-group which will look at resources being used by GPs, options for additional learning and development and the introduction of Lyme Disease Champions and the public awareness raising sub-group which will look at options for strategies to implement messaging around Lyme Disease to targeted groups and the wider public; That the Scottish Government is committed to establishing an Infectious Diseases Managed Clinical Network; and the Scottish Government will work with the Scottish Lyme Disease and Tick-borne Infections Laboratory at Raigmore Hospital which is undertaking significant research relevant to this petition. The Committee also agreed to write to the Scottish Government.
Official Report of Meeting 17 November 2021
Read any written submissions received before May 2021
Written submissions received after May 2021 are below: