Meeting of the Parliament 01 December 2015
I disagree with the comments of my esteemed colleague from Aberdeen. We can see a pattern over the years in how tobacco companies have tried to get new markets using new products and advertising, and exactly the same process is being used today with e-cigarettes. Tobacco companies are buying up e-cigarette companies and producing their own e-cigarettes, and they are not doing that out of the goodness of their hearts to get people off tobacco. We should be extremely cautious about these new products, and we should be careful about seeing them as a panacea to stopping smoking. Tobacco companies and big tobacco are not on our side when it comes to e-cigarettes.
Although the NHS in Scotland has a smoke-free policy across all its grounds, there is no sanction that can be applied if someone refuses to comply. The bill proposes a designated no-smoking area around buildings in NHS hospital grounds, with a fine—as members have said—of up to £1,000, which can be applied to anyone who breaches the rule. That will mean that the areas where people congregate to smoke—such as the entrances to hospitals, which we all know are notoriously busy with smokers—will, I hope, become smoke free. People who are being admitted to hospital will not have to breathe in second-hand smoke as they are taken inside, and the measure will benefit visitors and NHS staff, so I certainly support it. I am aware that the measure will be welcomed by the general public, as Government research that was commissioned in 2014 showed that 73 per cent of Scottish adults supported the proposal that smoking on hospital grounds should be stopped.
I turn briefly to the other two proposals in the bill, which place a duty of candour on health and social care organisations and establish a new criminal offence. As we know, the NHS in England has been hit by a number of scandals and as a consequence there have been a number of reviews into poor care and patient safety there. Those reviews recommended a need for honesty and candour with patients when things go wrong.
The Scottish Government has therefore decided to give a duty of candour to responsible persons. Without revealing personal details, I will say that my family has experienced a mistake that was caused by NHS staff. All we sought was an apology and an explanation—and honesty. At the time, however, the NHS was concerned only about whether we were going to sue. That is why it is important that we get a duty of candour into the structure.
Finally, I welcome the proposal to create a new offence of ill treatment and wilful neglect, as it will provide protection for some of the most vulnerable people in our society. In light of the fact that we have an ageing population, more of us are going to use care services, so the measure will ultimately benefit us all.
I will be delighted to support the bill at decision time.
15:20