Hansard

I place on the record my thanks and congratulations to Gil Paterson on securing this evening’s debate to mark, as we have heard, the 25th anniversary of the Scottish Cot Death Trust. I also recognise the work of Fiona Brown, the director of the trust, and her colleagues, who have made such an incredible difference to the families who have faced such a terrible tragedy.

The key objective of this evening is to raise awareness of cot death and the work of the trust during the past quarter of a century. As we have heard, one baby dies every nine days—29 children have died so far this year. Over the past 25 years, more than 1,500 children have died suddenly and unexpectedly, and no definitive cause of death can be found.

My youngest son Liam died from cot death in 1991. He was eight months old. I remember the horror and the trauma of the moment; it has never left me. A series of images are frozen in time: the ambulance; the faces of the doctors and nurses at accident and emergency; the police; and, later, the cold and remote manner of the pathologist during the post-mortem. All that contrasted with the support of friends, family and neighbours, the phone calls and visits, and the hundreds of cards of condolence.

Many other bereaved parents have told me of the tremendous support that they received from the Scottish Cot Death Trust during the crucial first few months after their loss. That was certainly my experience.

As we have heard, the number of deaths has declined since the 1990s. They are now recorded as “sudden unexpected death in infancy”. Such deaths can occur in every part of Scotland and in all social strata. Of course, most occur within the first year of the child’s life, and can occur whenever an infant is sleeping. Twice as many boys die as girls, and second or later-born children are more at risk, as are pre-term, low-weight babies.

What can the trust do? It has invested £3 million in research and development and has educated thousands of parents and professionals about cot death and how to reduce the risk. It has a range of resources, providing support, home visiting, counselling and befriending services. I particularly highlight the important work done with apnoea monitors and resuscitation training for parents.

Of course, every bereaved parent reacts differently. Some may want contact support to last longer than others. When I met parents through the Scottish Cot Death Trust, they told me that, having received support, they were better able to support their surviving children and to search for help elsewhere, through a general practitioner or private counselling. At times of acute grief, it is easy to forget about surviving children, grandparents, aunts and uncles and, with older children, those children’s pals.

I praise the trust for its case review study, commissioned in 2000, which called for a multidisciplinary approach, getting all the agencies to work together to minimise distress to families. I understand that NHS Quality Improvement Scotland will attempt to roll that out throughout Scotland.

Losing a young, healthy baby is one of the greatest traumas that parents could ever face. For 25 years, the Scottish Cot Death Trust has been counselling, supporting and educating parents, as well as supporting the professional agencies that work with the families. Let us never forget its pioneering research work. We owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to all who are involved with the trust—the befrienders, the fundraisers and the health professionals. The work that they do is truly outstanding and makes a real difference to many families. We honour their contributions and commitments here today.

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