Meeting of the Parliament 12 November 2024
Yes, of course.
I return to my point about unhealthy life expectancy. Not only do our poorest neighbours die younger, they live life in a much poorer state of health for longer. That plays out for women in many ways. They live in poor health, and they care for others in poor health. It is often the case that a heavy weight is placed on the women in our population.
As is the case for other areas that impact directly on women, the issue of rural maternity services has been debated in the chamber many times. However, that has been in members’ time rather than in Government time. The Government’s inadequate response to that cannot be overstated. The health of pregnant women in rural areas is in particular peril, because they are often transported multiple miles at various stages of pregnancy or labour. That must be a women’s health priority in Scotland. Despite the genuine concerns of patients and staff throughout the country in communities such as Wishaw, the Scottish Government has continued with its policy of downgrading key neonatal units at the heart of our most deprived communities. The impact of that on women should be a concern for us all.
In waiting times for cancer treatment, hysterectomies and reproductive healthcare, women in Scotland are waiting far too long to receive the support that they need. We often hear of the lack of training opportunities for staff, which limits development in our services.
Inequality is most pronounced when it comes to cancer screening. As we know, women from the most deprived areas are less likely to attend breast screening—about 20 per cent less likely. The rates of women who are up to date with their cervical cancer screening continue to fall. I am sure that I do not need to remind the Government of the importance of improving those statistics. Many lives will be lost if we do not get on top of that. Again, we cannot debate the issue without some reference to the significant lower uptake of screening by women from more deprived areas.
Although I do not want to dwell too much on this, I cannot contribute to the debate without mentioning the impact of strong cross-departmental working on women’s health services and outcomes. It is absolutely imperative that the Government does better on that. I have raised the issue before in the chamber. All Government departments must see women’s health inequalities as a priority, but there is no clear evidence that that is currently happening—or certainly not in the way that it should.
In many ways, no matter how many iterations of the women’s health plan are brought before Parliament, I argue that a lack of Government willingness to acknowledge its own responsibility plays a big part in the on-going suffering of many women across Scotland. I am glad to hear the minister acknowledge that responsibility here today; that is very welcome.
The lack of urgency from the Government compounds that and it is not unfair to say that the Scottish Government appears to believe that publishing a policy paper completes a task and that it places very little importance on the delivery or outcomes of its plans. We must address that significant issue together. Without serious reform and a change of direction—which we have heard that the First Minister is not committed to—delivery in this policy area will remain largely untouched, and if we debate this again in another three years, we will find the same challenges still being faced by women up and down the country.
Therefore, although the Government will concentrate on the areas where it considers that progress has been made—as we saw in the opening speech—I urge serious caution. The Government is supporting our amendment, which we welcome, and should use that to show that it can be serious about setting out a route to delivery.
I say that because, as all parties will say today, health inequalities still have a stubbornly high impact on women. When it first published its plan, the Scottish Government referred to a British Heart Foundation report that said:
“in Scotland there are inequalities at every stage of a woman’s medical journey”.
As we review the plan and look towards its next iteration, we must ask ourselves whether that has really changed.
The next women’s health plan must set out not only targets but the action plans that will achieve those targets. I look forward to playing my part in making that happen and I know that my party is committed to doing that so that we can change the health outcomes, and the health inequalities, that are seen by women in Scotland today.
I move amendment S6M-15382.2, to insert at end:
“; is concerned by the slow progress in addressing stubbornly high health inequalities experienced by women, and calls on the Scottish Government to ensure that the next plan sets out concisely when and how each of its actions will be fully implemented across Scotland.”
15:27Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.