Meeting of the Parliament 18 January 2017
I will treat that with the disdain that it deserves. [Interruption] Thank you. One of the key preventable conditions is poor mental health. However, I keep hearing of the need for more mental healthcare professionals. Surely what we need is a strategy that prevents the fall into poor mental health? The Scottish Association for Mental Health has quite clearly stated that tackling poor mental health requires inclusivity and regular physical and mental activity. CenterStage in Kilmarnock uses music to bring people together, Morven day services uses art, and SAMH is collaborating with Scottish Athletics to develop a positive mental health intervention.
What we have to consider is that preventing health problems is not a medical intervention; rather, the drive for a healthier nation will require an educational lead. According to the British Medical Association and the digital health and care institute, among others, we need a shift from medical intervention and a move to a community-based wellbeing approach. The truth of the matter is that the biggest impact on the long term health of Scotland must come from the education portfolio.
The key question is: what are the behavioural drivers that lead to an active and healthy lifestyle and how do we ensure that those pathways are available to all? Educational initiatives and interventions in a long-term preventative health strategy must begin pre-school. The blueprint for health and activity is basically set by the time that our children reach primary school age. The neuromuscular system, proprioception, the cardiovascular system and bone density are all pretty much set in pre-school years. The baseline pathways for balance, co-ordination and eye tracking are predominantly embedded at that age. The older a child gets, the more difficult it is to rewire the system and to impact on their physical ability.
We all support the introduction of 30 hours of free childcare for three and four-year-olds. Although the Scottish Conservatives would like intervention at a younger age, that at least should offer us the opportunity to deliver a basic active play framework. If members want to see that in action, they should visit the nursery that Ruth Davidson and I went to when we launched our long-term health strategy. Those kids put us to shame as they performed quite complex movements and exercises, and they had fun doing that.