Hansard

I, too, congratulate Gil Paterson on securing this debate to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Scottish Cot Death Trust, and the manner in which he opened it. Mr Paterson clearly feels very strongly about the subject and, of course, it will be hard to follow David Stewart’s personal contribution. However, I will do my best to contribute to the debate.

We usually spend a lot of time in the chamber debating the big issues of the day and agreeing or disagreeing on just about every subject imaginable. However, in this debate, Gil Paterson and Dave Stewart have given us a chance not only to share some of the pains of the past, but to talk about hopes for the future and for Scotland’s wee weans. As part of my constituency work, I have dealt with a number of families who have lost babies, so I know how devastating it can be when the parents have some explanation for their child’s death. I can only imagine how much worse it must be when the death is unexplained.

In researching the background for my speech, I found the trust’s website to be very helpful and informative. Back in 1986, in the organisation’s early days, there were 153 deaths, or 2.3 deaths per 1,000 births. As Gil Paterson pointed out, the current figure is 40 deaths a year. That represents a significant drop of about 80 per cent, and credit must be given to the work of the trust as well as to the input from bereaved families, who have helped us to understand the reasons for these sudden deaths.

Will we be able to reduce that number further? Indeed, will we eventually be able to reduce it to zero? Perhaps we will not, but at least we now know some of the high-risk factors. As Dave Stewart pointed out, males seem to be more vulnerable, with two boys being lost for every girl. Sixty per cent are lost during the winter months, particularly in areas of deprivation, and the peaks suggest that the riskiest period seems to be when the baby is around two or three months old. Armed with that information and other indicators, I will ask my local health board, NHS Ayrshire and Arran, whether it might be possible to try out some intervention to assist parents whose babies might be liable to those risks at those particular times. I do not know whether that it will be possible, but I will try. Such a move will prove to be well worth while if we can reduce the death rate even further.

A key strength of the Scottish Cot Death Trust, as with many other organisations, is that people who come to the trust for help can be sure that they are dealing with someone who has a real interest in their plight and is committed to helping. The trust’s range of services has clearly been developed in response to the needs of families who have been affected by the loss of a baby or very young child to cot death. Obviously the provision of a home visiting or counselling service the length and breadth of Scotland is financially challenging, but how else can we ensure that parents who are affected by the loss of a baby or child to cot death get to speak to a professional adviser who really understands what they are going through?

The fact that the services are provided alongside the input of dedicated volunteers means that parents can be helped in a variety of ways as they try to come to terms with their loss. I am sure that many of those who first encounter the trust as clients are gradually transformed into active participants in supporting others, both through the befriending service and by taking part in the trust’s family days. In that way, the trust’s activities bring together parents and members of the extended family who are rebuilding their lives after a devastating common experience. Those links and bonds go well beyond the support that can be provided by public services and are one of the reasons why it is so important for the public and voluntary services to work closely together.

I congratulate and thank the Scottish Cot Death Trust, commend it for the work that it has done over the past 25 years, thank my colleague Gil Paterson for bringing this very important matter to our Parliament’s attention and look forward to further work in this area that will lead to a greater understanding of the problem, and might ultimately allow more of Scotland’s babies to survive this crucial period of their young lives.

17:25