Hansard

Jackie Baillie is to be commended for allowing the Parliament the opportunity to put on record our support for the see me campaign and to raise some of our worries about on-going issues around mental health in Scotland.

In a way, the debate shows up one of the weaknesses of the Parliament—consider when we are debating it and the number of MSPs involved. This comment is not directed at any one party, but is it beyond our collective wit to take part of the Government’s time for its debates to address issues such as this, rather than some of the nonsense that we debate to very little purpose? If we did that, members such as Anne McLaughlin would be able to put on record what I thought was a very human and a very pertinent contribution about the issues surrounding mental health. It is a shame that we do not accord issues such as this more status in the Parliament; we should not leave them to members’ business debates at the tail end of the day.

Other members have eloquently highlighted the fact that mental health problems do not affect just a small number of people in the community—they can affect anyone, irrespective of social background, status or economic circumstances. Probably all of us have friends or family who have suffered mental health problems. We have probably struggled to cope, frankly, with what it has meant. It manifests itself in different ways. Suddenly, the person behaves differently. That can be stressful. We do not know whether to distance ourselves or get closer—many of us just do not know how to cope and how to respond. That in turn makes the person involved feel more awkward and can drive them into further isolation.

It is heartbreaking to see someone going through severe mental health problems. Dealing with constituents asking for help, and perhaps complaining about doctors, can be heartbreaking. One constituent spoke to me about their son. They spoke about their frustration: they wanted to talk to the doctor but the doctor—understandably—cited issues of confidentiality. Their son was an adult, and there were things about the son’s illness that the doctor could not disclose. That illness sometimes manifested itself in aggressive and violent behaviour. My constituent was at their wit’s end trying to get the help and support they needed to assist their son. Help would kick in only when their son was arrested, but it should not have been necessary to get to that point—earlier intervention could have made a difference. Mental health still poses major problems and challenges for us.

Antidepressants have been mentioned. The Public Audit Committee recently commented on the prescribing of antidepressants, which is inconsistent across the country. That is something we should reflect on. We should see what more can be done either to avoid antidepressants being prescribed inappropriately or to support people to come off them when that is the right thing, rather than just leaving people on antidepressants because it is easier for society to cope with people if they are being medicated.

There are some good organisations in the community. I put on record some of the commendable work that happens in my area and across Scotland. Specifically, I can mention the Renfrewshire Association for Mental Health, which is a first-class organisation that does a lot of good work. It is involved in the Scottish mental health arts and film festival across Renfrewshire during the month of October, when some imaginative and exciting events are held. The association has produced a directory of mental health services in Renfrewshire. The festival includes a see me photography competition. RAMH is branching out its work across the Clyde into Jackie Baillie’s area—it is developing youth counselling services in schools in West Dunbartonshire. Last year, that service supported 204 young people in secondary schools. RAMH received a near-perfect score from a recent inspection by the Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care. There are good things happening.

The worry that RAMH and others have is that the funding situation is beginning to impact severely on the work of voluntary organisations. We could face real problems if organisations such as RAMH suffer because of a lack of funding. We need to support the very commendable work that the voluntary sector in Scotland is doing in this regard.

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