Meeting of the Parliament 21 November 2024
I thank Roz McCall for bringing this significant issue to the attention of the Parliament. This is an important debate, and I am sure that many members will be able to speak about personal experiences, as it is estimated that more than half of Scotland’s adult population have a close personal connection to someone who has had a stroke.
Given the time constraints, I will not make some of the remarks that I was intending to, as many members have given the reasons why urgency is so important. It is critical that public awareness campaigns that focus on identifying stroke symptoms are supported and, of course, adequately resourced. It will be good to hear what the cabinet secretary has to say about that in his closing remarks.
The national FAST stroke awareness campaign, which is led by Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, offers a chance to increase awareness of the importance of seeking medical help as soon as possible when people experience stroke symptoms. In the event of a stroke, timing is critical. The treatments of thrombolysis and thrombectomy are time sensitive, so awareness of symptoms is important. In my region, 10 patients received such treatment quickly in a local hospital in the NHS Ayrshire and Arran health board area, so I understand that it is important to invest in public awareness campaigns so that people get to hospitals whenever they can.
Public awareness campaigns are imperative not only in promoting health behaviours but in providing greater awareness of symptoms and the link with improved health outcomes. It is imperative that the Government invests in prevention to improve health outcomes across Scotland, especially in our most deprived communities, because people living in those areas are more likely to have experienced a major cardiovascular event, such as a stroke.
A key aspect of prevention is awareness raising, so the Scottish Government must recognise the importance of health awareness campaigns and listen to charities that are calling on the Government to deliver the priorities that are set out in the “Stroke Improvement Plan 2023”.
We have heard about the very important FAST campaign. Although strokes are generally more prevalent among the older population, the number of younger people who are experiencing strokes is increasing, so we need to make such campaigns accessible to that generation.
Roz McCall’s motion mentions the BE FAST campaign, and I absolutely recognise what she has said in promoting the effectiveness of that campaign. It is encouraging to hear about it, and I urge the Scottish Government to explore the campaign’s effectiveness and to consider how we can add it to our prevention and awareness campaigns.
I hope that the main message from the debate is clear: we need action as soon as possible, and we all want this to be a priority. Therefore, I ask the cabinet secretary to respond favourably.
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