Hansard

I thank all the members who supported the motion and those who have stayed back on this very late evening in the chamber.

This is an historic day for the Parliament, given that we have reached an agreement in principle with the United Kingdom Government on the fiscal settlement for the devolved powers. I am sure that that will take the headlines tomorrow, but I sincerely hope that what I am about to say will at least be reported at some point and will remain on the agenda of the next Scottish Government.

There has been a great deal of movement on eating disorders over the past five years. That is due partly to the debates that we have in the Parliament and partly to the Scottish Government’s commitment to taking eating disorders seriously. Accepting that eating disorders are mental illnesses and looking at them from a different perspective than was the case before now has helped to bring us much further on.

I reflect on where we were and where I was five years ago. Five years ago, on 25 February, my daughter Caroline died because of an eating disorder. I felt the pain then and I feel the pain now, but the pain that I feel now is perhaps slightly different. It is not just grief. I miss Caroline very much, as do Ann and Caroline’s twin sister, Fiona. Of course we miss her, but we continue to try to establish a pathway so that other people do not have to go through the pain and anguish that we have gone through.

We have made significant gains. However, when I look at the various websites on eating disorders, I am confused. When we think about providing the best possible care for people with eating disorders, confusion arises because the statistics and the way that we measure eating disorders are all over the place. For instance, if we look at statistics from Beat or the London School of Economics or various other eating disorder statistics, we have to ask whether one woman in 100 or one in 250 has an eating disorder.

Regardless of the statistics, the fact remains that eating disorders are on the increase. We need to be careful about that and recognise the fact that they are on the increase within our younger population and that we must address that. I am not saying for one moment that anorexia or bulimia are on the increase—they seem to be fairly stable—but eating disorders with a non-specific diagnosis, including binge eating, are certainly on the increase.

We recognise that peer pressure is a factor. I was interested in a phrase on one of the sites that I read, which said that eating disorders seemed to have become a socially transmitted disease. I wondered what that meant and, when I looked into the facts, I found that it was about the fashion industry and body image. It is about how we see ourselves and how other people perceive what we should be. We can probably address that. The Governments in Scotland and in the United Kingdom can look at how that imagery is presented and what influence it has on our young people.

I say to the minister that if we are going to do the best that we possibly can for our young people with eating disorders, we must be clear about what an eating disorder is, we must be able to detect it in the early stages and we must be able to provide the best possible treatment and therapy. The relapse rate for people with eating disorders—regardless of whether they have had therapy—is somewhere between 60 and 70 per cent. That is not good. Young people are still dying, and although the number has stabilised, it is not good.

If we are going to make a difference and do the best that we possibly can, we should think about what we can do. I ask the minister whether we can have a system whereby we record eating disorders and whether we can look at the therapies available. Family-based therapies are available and they are certainly the most effective, but we do not have enough trained specialists. Perhaps some of the money that is coming across for mental health could go towards education, to give people expertise in family-based therapies and the treatment of eating disorders in the community.

I still get emails and correspondence from people who are struggling with eating disorders, or whose children are struggling with them, because they do not know where to turn. We should establish a Government website, for example. The groups that are out there are coming forward. This Friday, I will hold another eating disorder conference in Parliament.

Scotland can perhaps lead the way. There is no magic bullet and we cannot stop people having eating disorders—we will always have that. However, my daughter’s legacy is important to me, and it is important to every person with an eating disorder. We need a quality service that is meaningful to those young people and is there to help the families. Family support is essential and I hope that we can focus on that. I sincerely hope that in the next parliamentary session, the Government will consider having a debate specifically on eating disorders, and perhaps a committee could look at how we best provide services for those with eating disorders.