Chamber
Plenary, 05 Mar 2008
05 Mar 2008 · S3 · Plenary
Item of business
Wheelchair Users <br />(Human Rights)
I thank Trish Godman for initiating this debate on an issue that is significant to all those who depend on wheelchairs to live their lives in as dignified and independent a manner as possible.
Last week, I had the privilege of sponsoring an event in the Parliament on behalf of Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People, which was entitled "Handle With Care" and was about the moving and handling issues that young people with disabilities and their carers encounter. Almost all the attendees where wheelchair users, and all of them had experienced problems in ensuring that they had the best chair for their disability. Given their ages, that will continue to be an issue for some time, as they grow, but all wheelchair users—regardless of age and whatever their disability—require the best wheelchair that can be provided to allow them the maximum possible social inclusion. Disability or not, we are talking about people who have hopes, aspirations and ambitions. They also have abilities, which their disabilities often overshadow for the able-bodied who, when they see someone in a wheelchair, see the chair, not the person sitting in it.
It is hard for people who are able bodied and who take mobility for granted to imagine how a person in a chair feels if they are dependent on it for their comfort and mobility. We should think, if we can, about what it means if the seat causes sores—the person is confined to bed for a long period while the chair is sent away and a new body mould is made. They are socially isolated for a long time and find themselves at a severe disadvantage that none of the rest of us, if we were feeling ill, would expect to have to put up with. As Trish Godman suggested, lacking a wheelchair in that way is a health issue.
Minor repairs to chairs, even just to a foot rest or a neck rest on a self-guiding chair, require two or more weeks to carry out. During that time, the person has to sit in a chair that is not made for them and, in most cases, is not suitable for them. Although the use of a supervised manual chair is a way of getting round that situation, it robs the person of the limited independence that they normally have. If we think of those frustrations, we can understand how wheelchair users feel every day when their chair has broken down or requires a repair. That point was emphasised to me by the visitors from Quarriers, whom I was pleased to meet and speak to earlier today—some of them are in the public gallery. It is a pleasure to see them here. I hope that we will have good news for them as soon as possible.
It is imperative to consult wheelchair users when formulating policy, right from the very start. We should listen to bodies such as the Scottish Disability Equality Forum and Quarriers, which have the expertise of disabled people and their carers. They have stated that disability issues have for too long been at the back of the queue when allocating resources. Quarriers and the Scottish Disability Equality Forum are not-for-profit agencies with great expertise in providing services to adults and children. They cover the whole range. I know that we are all grateful to them for their input and for providing us with facts and figures, which I hope the minister will examine to guide her response to this debate on the needs of wheelchair users.
Last week, I had the privilege of sponsoring an event in the Parliament on behalf of Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People, which was entitled "Handle With Care" and was about the moving and handling issues that young people with disabilities and their carers encounter. Almost all the attendees where wheelchair users, and all of them had experienced problems in ensuring that they had the best chair for their disability. Given their ages, that will continue to be an issue for some time, as they grow, but all wheelchair users—regardless of age and whatever their disability—require the best wheelchair that can be provided to allow them the maximum possible social inclusion. Disability or not, we are talking about people who have hopes, aspirations and ambitions. They also have abilities, which their disabilities often overshadow for the able-bodied who, when they see someone in a wheelchair, see the chair, not the person sitting in it.
It is hard for people who are able bodied and who take mobility for granted to imagine how a person in a chair feels if they are dependent on it for their comfort and mobility. We should think, if we can, about what it means if the seat causes sores—the person is confined to bed for a long period while the chair is sent away and a new body mould is made. They are socially isolated for a long time and find themselves at a severe disadvantage that none of the rest of us, if we were feeling ill, would expect to have to put up with. As Trish Godman suggested, lacking a wheelchair in that way is a health issue.
Minor repairs to chairs, even just to a foot rest or a neck rest on a self-guiding chair, require two or more weeks to carry out. During that time, the person has to sit in a chair that is not made for them and, in most cases, is not suitable for them. Although the use of a supervised manual chair is a way of getting round that situation, it robs the person of the limited independence that they normally have. If we think of those frustrations, we can understand how wheelchair users feel every day when their chair has broken down or requires a repair. That point was emphasised to me by the visitors from Quarriers, whom I was pleased to meet and speak to earlier today—some of them are in the public gallery. It is a pleasure to see them here. I hope that we will have good news for them as soon as possible.
It is imperative to consult wheelchair users when formulating policy, right from the very start. We should listen to bodies such as the Scottish Disability Equality Forum and Quarriers, which have the expertise of disabled people and their carers. They have stated that disability issues have for too long been at the back of the queue when allocating resources. Quarriers and the Scottish Disability Equality Forum are not-for-profit agencies with great expertise in providing services to adults and children. They cover the whole range. I know that we are all grateful to them for their input and for providing us with facts and figures, which I hope the minister will examine to guide her response to this debate on the needs of wheelchair users.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Alasdair Morgan):
SNP
The final item of business is a members' business debate on motion S3M-1028, in the name of Trish Godman, on Scottish wheelchair users and their human rights...
Motion debated,
That the Parliament commends The Herald for alerting the public to the ofttimes severe distress and denial of human rights inflicted upon Scottish wheelchair...
Trish Godman (West Renfrewshire) (Lab):
Lab
At one point in a training session, I had to spend half a day in a wheelchair. It was an experience that I will not forget. I remember not so much what I cou...
Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab):
Lab
I commend Trish Godman for encouraging and facilitating this important debate. I hope that she will join me in welcoming to the Scottish Parliament my consti...
Trish Godman:
Lab
I could not have put it better myself.The consensus is that the wheelchair service in Scotland is underresourced. The review of the service made 40 recommend...
Bill Kidd (Glasgow) (SNP):
SNP
I thank Trish Godman for initiating this debate on an issue that is significant to all those who depend on wheelchairs to live their lives in as dignified an...
Jim Tolson (Dunfermline West) (LD):
LD
I am delighted to speak in this important members' business debate, and I commend Trish Godman for securing it. As a Liberal Democrat, I am absolutely commit...
Jackson Carlaw (West of Scotland) (Con):
Con
This is one of those occasions on which the motion seems to say it all. Trish Godman lodged a comprehensive statement summarising the issue at hand and spoke...
Johann Lamont (Glasgow Pollok) (Lab):
Lab
Members have already indicated that this is an important debate. If Mr Carlaw was hesitant about following Trish Godman's speech, he should consider how I fe...
Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD):
LD
Johann Lamont's concluding remark about setting the debate within the context of human rights is exactly right, and my remarks will be within that context. I...
Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab):
Lab
The member raises an important point. Does he agree that people who work in public services should get disability awareness training? Such training is import...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
SNP
Before the member responds, I say that I have been fairly relaxed, but the motion is fairly specific and it is not really about access issues. I ask the memb...
Jamie Stone:
LD
The motion's title is about wheelchair users and their human rights. If I am incorrect to address my remarks to that issue, I will—
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
SNP
We are debating the motion. The fact that it has a title does not mean that we do not debate the motion. I ask the member to refer in his remarks to the moti...
Jamie Stone:
LD
Very well. With that guidance from the chair, I conclude my remarks by saying that disabled access to bus travel in Caithness and the north of Scotland leave...
Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP):
SNP
I am a member of the Equal Opportunities Committee, and I was also a member of the committee in the previous session, when Cathy Peattie was the convener. We...
Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab):
Lab
I join others in congratulating Trish Godman on securing the debate. Wheelchair services have been the subject of motions—Trish Godman has run with several i...
The Minister for Public Health (Shona Robison):
SNP
I congratulate Trish Godman on securing the debate. I assure her that I will of course take cognisance of what has been said and of members' views. The issue...
Trish Godman:
Lab
Will the extra money to health boards be ring fenced? We want the money that is being provided to go exactly where it should go. Perhaps some things could be...
Shona Robison:
SNP
I am coming to that.I realise that people who use the services now want real progress. Service providers are considering and implementing several recommendat...
Meeting closed at 17:43.