Hansard

As I mentioned back in December during the stage 1 debate, the Scottish Liberal Democrats welcome plans to help many people live healthier lives, with better guidance and better support, through better and bolder health initiatives.

I was glad to see the Scottish Government’s response to the Health and Sport Committee’s stage 1 report ahead of the debate and the commitments set out for increased spending on health research.

I return to the points that I raised at stage 1 about the importance of basing the bill’s provisions and the regulation of NVPs on substantial and robust evidence. Although more research is being carried out on NVPs’ effects on health, there are more issues that we have to consider, as many members said, such as the marketing and messaging around NVPs. We must ensure that such products are presented as an alternative for people who want to quit smoking and not in a way that entices non-smokers to take them up.

I am encouraged by the commitments that the Scottish Government gave in its response to the stage 1 report. The Government said that NHS Health Scotland and the Scottish directors of public health are revising their position statements to reflect current evidence, and that consistency among national health service stopping-smoking services is a priority.

I remind members that the member’s bill that I introduced, the Smoking Prohibition (Children in Motor Vehicles) (Scotland) Bill, which was passed in December, aims to protect children’s health. I would not like counterproductive measures to be brought in that introduced children to new ways of inhaling nicotine and other harmful substances. I hope that the measures in the bill will be taken forward productively.

At stage 1, I also voiced concern about the balance between the use and necessity of the duty of candour and the new responsibilities that the bill places on health and social care organisations. The imposition of a legal requirement must be accompanied by the right education and support for our hard-working NHS staff. The Royal College of Nursing has said that it is crucial that staff have the required knowledge and skills and that they receive adequate training and support on the duty of candour.

I welcome the application of the duty of candour provision to organisations rather than individuals. That will help to manage the risk better and will lead to more effective learning. However, the views of professional organisations such as the British Medical Association must be considered and taken into account, as always.

No practitioner wants their patients to be harmed or to receive a level of care that is not as good as the service that patients deserve to receive. However, there are instances of ill treatment and wilful neglect, and health and social care actors should recognise their responsibility and be held to account.

I was recently contacted by a constituent who was misdiagnosed with a minor infection—the problem was actually cancer. Despite repeated visits to the hospital, my constituent’s concerns were dismissed and insufficient checks were made of their medical history. That caused the cancer to develop into an incurable one. The person is now trying to buy as much time as they can to spend with their family, because of that mistreatment.

By going a step further and putting in place the right protections for not only staff but patients, we increase the humanity of our health service and recognise that people need to be treated holistically and not in some medical silo.

We support the bill and look forward to voting for it at decision time.