Meeting of the Parliament 06 January 2015
I have only three minutes left, so I am sorry, minister.
I am glad that Richard Simpson mentioned human rights because I am concerned that guardianships are being used more and more for people who have learning disorders, but I will leave that for another day.
However, not having quality services in suitable surroundings compromises individuals’ recovery, which in turn compromises their health and their future. In addition, we rely on the expert knowledge of mental health officers for the most serious cases. It is therefore hugely worrying that there is an inadequate number of mental health officers for the demand, and that because of that there has been a 5 per cent fall across Scotland in mental health officer consent for emergency detention in hospital. People should not be detained without that consent unless to do otherwise is totally impractical, but 42 per cent of detentions had no mental health officer consent. We therefore back the calls by the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland for an urgent recruitment and training strategy for mental health officers, and we thank the commission for highlighting that need.
Campaigns such as see me, which many members have mentioned, have gone some way towards addressing the stigma that is attached to mental health, but it still exists—nine out of 10 people who suffer from mental ill health have experienced discrimination. That is unacceptable, so we must do more.
We look forward to the issuing of a revised mental health strategy this year. I hope that the minister will listen carefully to what has been said during the debate and to what those who are involved daily in mental health services have raised as issues in their meetings and briefings with us. We cannot make progress unless we deal with the concerns and the failings.
I reiterate the Scottish Liberal Democrats’ call for it to be set out in law that mental ill health and physical ill health deserve equal recognition. I believe that that will help to ensure that improvements in treatment are made for people who have mental ill health, and to address stigma where it exists. I was a bit surprised that, despite making a thorough critique of the lack of progress on the mental health strategy, Mary Scanlon supports the Government’s motion, which I believe does not go far enough.
Today’s debate is a welcome step, but it is a small step. We must keep working to improve the situation, and I am happy to do so in a consensual manner. I offer my whole-hearted support for, and thanks to, those who work in the NHS, local authorities and the third sector to provide mental health treatment. We know that, without them, individuals would be lost and the picture as a whole would be a lot darker. Those individuals are calling for real action now: we must listen to that call and act on it.
17:11