Meeting of the Parliament 04 June 2019
Like colleagues, I congratulate Richard Lyle on securing this important debate and on the work that he leads on in the cross-party group on dementia. I looked on the Parliament’s website, and a long list of individuals and organisations are involved—well done to them all. I thank Alzheimer Scotland for its report, which we are debating tonight. The report gives us a much-needed and valuable insight. I also thank Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland for its briefing.
There are more than 90,000 people living with dementia in Scotland, and the number is rising. There will be few families whose lives remain untouched by the disease. We have just heard about Kenneth Gibson’s family experience, and I know that the debate will be important to many people in my Central Scotland region who are living with dementia or caring for a loved one with the disease.
There has been fantastic work in recent years on living well with dementia. That is welcome and positive for people who have been diagnosed recently with the disease. With the right support, people with dementia can live well for months and years in their community and with their loved ones. However, when the disease becomes advanced and increasingly complex care needs develop, it is important that people are given the care and support that they need. Sadly, as we know from the Alzheimer Scotland report, that is not happening for people with advanced dementia.
It is simply unacceptable that people in Scotland are not getting the healthcare that they need, particularly for this terminal disease. Access to healthcare is not something that people living with dementia—or their families—should have to fight for. Everyone should have equal access to healthcare, free at the point of need. That is why Labour established the national health service more than 70 years ago. I agree with colleagues that the Scottish Government must do everything that it can to ensure that people always receive the specialist care that they need.
I know from my work as a councillor, when I held surgeries in Lanarkshire Carers Centre in Hamilton, and from working with organisations, that friends and families care for their loved ones for as long as possible, but with a progressive terminal disease such as dementia, there usually comes the difficult point when more support is needed from social care services. The impact of that decision for carers should not be underestimated; it can be truly heartbreaking for carers and families.
Social care can provide additional support or round-the-clock care when required, and that gives families lots of comfort, but it is not right that social care is being used when healthcare should be. Aside from the negative impact on health, it also means that people with dementia face a disproportionate financial burden compared to people with similar conditions. It is telling that one of the most common issues Alzheimer Scotland is asked about is the cost of care. As Richard Lyle described, social care charging policies can be confusing and lack transparency, and they vary across the country. That is understandably worrying and frustrating for families.
As we know, social care is quite a fragile and complex sector. There is a big role for the third sector and local authorities, but we find that they are surviving on short-term and often decreasing funding models. Social care needs a robust, long-term plan with real investment for a service that is increasingly needed across Scotland by our ageing population.
I thank Richard Lyle again for securing the debate. I believe that we all agree that urgent action must be taken in response to the findings in Alzheimer Scotland’s report. Seventy years on from the establishment of the NHS, it is unacceptable that one of the most vulnerable groups in our society is missing out on the healthcare that it needs. Scottish Labour believes that there should be equal access to healthcare, free at the point of need. That especially applies to those with long-term terminal conditions.
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