A tenacious father has been campaigning tirelessly to draw attention to the increasing occurrences of individuals developing blood clots, a plight that has finally gained the attention of MSPs who have committed to taking necessary action.
Since his daughter, Katie, tragically died from thrombosis in 2003, Gordon McPherson has spearheaded efforts to get ministers informed and engaged in raising public consciousness of this life-threatening condition.
On Wednesday, his petition on this matter was brought before a parliamentary committee in Glasgow, who openly questioned why more action hadn’t been taken to address this growing issue.
MSP Fergus Ewing of the SNP vehemently agreed with the necessity of this issue, advocating for direct communication with health secretary Neil Gray to discuss the government’s stance on this matter. Ewing also voiced the need for a concise record of the number of people affected by this condition.
Ewing also highlighted the conflicting information between McPherson and the Scottish Government. McPherson believes around 11,400 cases of thrombosis exist, a figure vastly larger than the one provided by the Scottish Government. If McPherson’s figures are correct, Ewing stated, a significant increase in action is urgently needed.
Gordon, a 69-year-old resident of Langbank, Renfrewshire, expressed his continued resolve to raise awareness of this disease, saying: “I’m genuinely thankful that our family’s voice is finally echoing through the halls of authority in Glasgow after striving for 21 years to get their attention. My primary objective is to ensure that everyone knows how to identify the symptoms of this serious medical condition so that no one else has to experience a tragic loss similar to our daughter’s.”
Katie was a 23-year-old occupational therapy student when she became the victim of this illness. She had initially reported experiencing pain in her lower leg, unfortunately, after repeated visits to the doctor and multiple hospitals, her blood clot – a condition known as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) – remained undiagnosed, leading to her too soon demise six days later, leaving her family grieving and shocked.
