Image source, bbc

Prof. Chris Ponting says we don't know what the causes and are we need to find out.

SNP MSP Rona Mackay asks about a centre of excellence and whether that has been raised with the health secretary.

Ms Shorter's mother Janet Sylvester explains she contacted the health centre but did not raise the issue of the centre of excellence with her.

Prof Ponting says we need to "fire the starting gun on research" in Scotland.

Parents are often blamed for the children remaining ill for so long because healthcare professionals do not understand ME, Ms Shorter suggests.

She calls for the curriculum and training materials for teachers to be updated.

Ms Shorter also calls for more biomedical research, welcoming some investment from the Scottish government so far but adding "I hope this is just the start".

ME research has been underfunded for decade around the world she argues.

Prof Chris Ponting says the amount of funding for a PhD is about £1 per person with ME per year for three years.

This compares to, for example, MS which receives about 20 times more funding per person he adds.

Image source, Millions Missing

• ME - also called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - is a medical condition characterised by profound and disabling fatigue
• Symptoms include: loss of muscle power, debilitating pain, difficulty sleeping and cognitive dysfunction affecting memory and concentration
• The cause of ME is unknown, but many patients contract it after a viral infection
• Women are four times as likely to have ME than men
• The NHS guidelines on ME treatment are currently being revised, external

Image source, bbc

Ms Shorter tells the committee she started at the clinic which was really helpful at the start, but it turned into saying all the symptoms were the manifestations of her emotions.

As she got sicker and sicker, she was told this was the moment where you push through and you get better.

Ms Shorter says she ended the clinic needing a wheelchair and was told congratulations that she had recovered.

She explains that she had deteriorated during this treatment only to be told by the consultant "did you ever think that you just had not tried enough".

Ms Shorter asks for CBT therapies and treatments graded exercise therapy (GET) to be to be removed and for care to be provided.

There is only one specalist ME nurse in Scotland in Fife, she says.

We are asking for education of health care professionals, the illnesses is compounded by the disbelief of doctors, explains Ms Shorter.

SPICE briefing, external: The petition calls on the Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to review the level of support for people with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) in Scotland with a view to:

• Investing in biomedical research and creating a centre of excellence for ME
• Ensuring healthcare professionals' training and education materials reflect the latest scientific evidence
• Providing specialist care for patients and discontinuing the harmful treatments graded exercise therapy (GET) and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

Image source, Millions Missing

ME stands for myalgic encephalomyelitis. It is also sometimes referred to as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). However, there is some debate about the term used for the condition1 and it is often referred to as ME-CFS.

ME-CFS is a long-term illness with a wide range of symptoms.

The most common symptom is extreme tiredness. ME-CFS is more common in women and in patients aged from 35‐55 years. However, it can affect men and women of any age and any ethnic group. Epidemiological evidence is lacking in Scotland but a population prevalence of at least 0.2‐0.4% is widely accepted and it is thought that over 20,000 people in Scotland may be affected.

Read more here., external

Petitioner Emma Shorter begins by warning the committee that her speech may deteriorate throughout the committee, at which point she will signal to her father and leave the room.

Ms Shorter explains there are over 20,000 people with ME in Scotland and it "turns fit and active people into ghosts".

It leads to teachers who can't teach, children who can't play and parents who cannot hold their children, she tells the committee.

I was diagnosed with ME 5 years ago when I was in my first year at St Andrew University, and I went from hillwalking and hockey to struggling to lift a glass of water Ms Shorter states.

She says she was lucky in that her condition was diagnosed quickly.

The campaign says she was told that the people who do not recover in two years year "take the illness on as part of their personalities".

Image source, bbc

The Public Petitions Committee, external will now take evidence on a petition calling for a review of ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) treatment in Scotland.

Committee convener Johann Lamont introduces:

• the petitioner Emma Shorter, a campaigner for ME Action Scotland
• Ms Shorter's mother Janet Sylvester
• Prof. Chris Ponting, chair of medical bioinformatics at Edinburgh University and deputy chair of the UK CFS/ME Research Collaborative.

The petition, external, brought by Emma Shorter on behalf of ME Actiion in Scotland calls for investment in research, more training for healthcare professionals and more specialist care.

Read the committee papers here., external

Douglas Fraser
Scotland business & economy editor

Image source, Getty Images

For 10 years under Rob Woodward's leadership, STV navigated the stormy waters of recession, the slow pick-up, upheaval in advertising and audiences shifting from conventional media.

It's been innovative, launching the Scotland Tonight programme at 22:30 on weeknights.

It took the experiment in local TV, ensuring that no-one else encroached on its advertising turf by taking franchises for Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen and Ayr.

With disappointing figures for local, it re-shaped them into a digital Scottish channel, STV2.

It made local nightly news programmes for the main cities, and beat the BBC to a long-discussed project of broadcasting news integrating Scotland, the UK and the world.

• STV2 axed as broadcaster cuts 59 jobs
• Read more here

Image source, STV

On-air presenters at STV led staff from the broadcaster's Glasgow-based HQ in a demonstration of defiance over plans to make 59 job cuts.

Bosses said loss-making STV2 would shut next month with investment shifting to the main channel and online streaming.

Political editor Bernard Ponsonby, news anchor John MacKay and sports presenter Raman Bhardwaj were first to walk out to the outdoor meeting.

Union official John Toner told the BBC that staff were "extremely angry".

The Scotland organiser for journalism union the NUJ said: "We are horrified and extremely angry at the decisions that have been taken by management and the way that the decisions have been communicated and by the lack of information surrounding the announcement that has been made today.

"We are angry and we want to do something about it."

Read more here.

The committee agrees to pursue issues around the petition and seek the Scottish government's response.

Image source, Getty Images

Tory MSP Brian Whittle suggests an inquiry with young people about how they access mental health services may be useful.

Ms Lamont expresses "disappointment" at the minister's response to the committee's questions.

She is interested as to whether GPs feel they do not have enough time to help patients beyond prescriptions.

SNP MSP Rona Mackay agrees that navigating the system is complex and also backs an inquiry.

Tory MSP Rachael Hamilton asks why looking into these services have to be such a long process.

The change between youth to adult services is also a major issue, adds Mr Whittle.

The committee agrees to request a paper from the clerk's about a potential inquiry, with some scoping work to be taken forward by the committee.

STV's chairwoman has defended the "golden hello" given to chief executive Simon Pitts as "usual practice".

There has been controversy over the £853,000 welcome package after Mr Pittsunveiled plans to cut 59 staff.

Baroness Ford wrote to MSPs defending the "strategic review" under way at the broadcaster, which will see STV2 shut down after the channel lost £800,000.

She said it was "a pity that some commentators have tried to conflate the issue of Simon's pay" with the changes.

And she said the "one off payment" was to compensate Mr Pitts for his shareholding at ITV, which she insisted was "usual practice in public companies when very senior executives transfer from one company to another".

• Read more here
• Former STV chief to chair Met Office

Public Petitions Committee convener Johann Lamont highlights requests from local MSPs to keep PE1591, external open for a further six months until recommendations from the National Review of Primary Care Out-of-Hours Services are implemented.

The committee agrees with this approach.

Image source, Scottish Parliament TV

STV chief executive Simon Pitts says this is not a strategy to prepare STV for sale. If that was the case they would not be investing in it, he suggests.

Mr Pitts says local TV has struggled right across the UK hence the closure of STV2.

He says the STV news team deliver the best news coverage in Scotland and the intention is not to ask them to do more with less.

Change like this is never easy, Mr Pitts explains.

Convener Johann Lamont highlights a recent submission from the petitioner, particularly with reference to the lack of information around epilepsy, which many learning disabled people suffer from.

SNP MSP Rona Mackay suggests the committee needs to "tease out" what work is being done around epilepsy.

Tory MSP Brian Whittle wonders about the financial consequences of inadequate or inappropriate care.

The committee agrees to ask the Scottish Learning Disabilities Observatory for more information on its work around these issues.

Image source, bbc

Meanwhile..........the Culture Committee will shortly take evidence from the chief executive of STV Simon Pitts, who will be asked to justify plans to make more than 50 staff redundant, while he remains in line to receive a remuneration package worth more than one million pounds.

Staff at STV are currently balloting on taking industrial action.

We'll bring you reports from the committee from our intrepid political reporter Philip Sim from around 9.50am.

Or you can watch the evidence session live here on Scottish Parliament TV, external.

Image source, Scottish Parliament TV