Meeting of the Parliament 10 June 2015
I welcome this debate on health. At a time when we often take a narrow focus and address only separate elements of the NHS, I believe—as the Royal College of Nursing does—that it is time to develop a clear vision for a future NHS that is truly sustainable.
The recent joint statement by the Royal College of Surgeons, the RCN and the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges on the need to re-examine and to develop the sustainability of the healthcare system highlights the fact that the debate is long overdue.
For a long time, we have called for a more robust and overarching strategy that listens to experts and puts patients first. We do not want to go in the direction of making marginal and piecemeal changes in things such as workforce development, access to psychological treatments for children and adults, and primary care for the population. Spending money without recognising the important links between the different parts of the NHS system will lead only to further segmentation of services, to increased pressures on staff and, eventually, to breaking point.
We know that health inequalities exist in Scotland and that they are not just a matter of who has better access to a hospital. Those inequalities can be shaped by housing conditions, by the education and employment opportunities that exist in all parts of Scotland, and by the support that a person can access when those issues lead to depression, to self-harm, and to increased risk of dementia and many more ills in terms of mental health. I highlight once more the Lib Dems’ call for equal treatment for mental health and physical health. In the discussion about strained budgets and an ageing population—the biggest challenges that the NHS faces—the inclusion of mental health is crucial to any way forward.
We cannot begin to address problems when almost one person in four—including NHS staff—is living with mental ill health at some point in their lives. I note the important work that is done by organisations and campaigns—for example, the see me programme—to end mental ill health discrimination, but even with that work the fight against stigma is still a long way from being sorted. The inability of so many people to express their need for support affects their productivity at work and can, in turn, touch on other aspects of their lives, including socialising and family relationships. It can also lead to self-harm and, at worst, to suicide, if there is no support.
Our future NHS needs a serious commitment from the Government to address the need for parity of esteem in respect of mental health and physical health. Instead, we have seen a decrease in the mental health research budget, barely an increase in the children and adolescent mental health services budget, and a continued vagueness about a pledge for parity of esteem for mental health and physical health.