Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 17 June 2020
17 Jun 2020 · S5 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Mental Health Transition and Recovery
Provision of mental health services has continued throughout the pandemic, albeit with adjustments to accommodate Covid-19 restrictions and to timescales for delivery. As I said earlier, urgent and emergency cases continue to be prioritised.
That said, certain aspects of service delivery have necessarily been paused over the period due to restrictions that have been imposed through Covid-19 related limitations, such as physical distancing. Those aspects include group work, day and respite services, assessment and review for dementia, autistic spectrum disorder and neurodevelopmental assessments, medication reviews for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and some inpatient detox services. Where that has happened, we have been assured by boards that efforts are being made to support patients and their families by other means—for example, through telephone contact or domiciliary visits, when they are essential.
Health boards are also working with each other and with the Scottish Government to find safe and effective ways to deliver group interventions—which I referenced in my answer to Monica Lennon—and neurological assessments remotely.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Christine Grahame)
SNP
Interruption. Sorry, this is just like being at home, cleaning the bunker—although nobody knows what a bunker is, do they? The next item of business is a st...
The Minister for Mental Health (Clare Haughey)
SNP
The mental health impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic have brought new and significant challenges as we all continue to adapt to this unprecedented situation. M...
Miles Briggs (Lothian) (Con)
Con
I thank the minister for advance sight of her statement. The latest waiting times figures show that fewer than two thirds of children and young people who ar...
Clare Haughey
SNP
I thank Mr Briggs for his question. I have said on many occasions that our position has been that long waits for mental health treatment are unacceptable and...
Monica Lennon (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I thank the minister for advance sight of her statement. I was pleased to hear confirmation that there are now 17 emergency mental health assessment centres...
Clare Haughey
SNP
Monica Lennon has raised the pertinent issue of bereavement support. Anyone who has been bereaved during the pandemic has had a bereavement like none that an...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
Before I call Emma Harper, I remind members to press their request-to-speak button if they want to ask a question. I ask for succinct questions and, although...
Emma Harper (South Scotland) (SNP)
SNP
Will the minister provide an update on what mental health services have been paused or stopped altogether during Covid-19, such as CAMHS physical attendance ...
Clare Haughey
SNP
Provision of mental health services has continued throughout the pandemic, albeit with adjustments to accommodate Covid-19 restrictions and to timescales for...
Brian Whittle (South Scotland) (Con)
Con
I know that the minister is aware of the huge contribution that the third sector makes in tackling mental ill health, through organisations that offer specif...
Clare Haughey
SNP
Over the course of the pandemic, as previously, we have acknowledged the work of the third sector. Mental health services are about much more than a national...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
Ten minutes remain, and 10 members want to ask questions, so we might have to get a bit swifter at this.
Clare Adamson (Motherwell and Wishaw) (SNP)
SNP
How will the Scottish Government ensure that parents and carers are made aware of the mental health support that is available for children, and what specific...
Clare Haughey
SNP
The Scottish Government is working with a range of partners to support children and families, in order to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the...
Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
A time will come when we will debate how prepared we were for this pandemic, but we must now prepare for the pandemic that we know is coming. Isolation, shie...
Clare Haughey
SNP
We have been working very closely with NHS boards and others, as I have said, through the mental health delivery board, to ensure that we monitor the impact ...
Alison Johnstone (Lothian) (Green)
Green
Delivery of maternity services has necessarily been altered; for example, there are restrictions on who can attend scans and appointments. There is an increa...
Clare Haughey
SNP
In August last year, as Alison Johnstone might remember, we invested £225,000 in third sector organisations to support families and mums in the postnatal per...
Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh Western) (LD)
LD
Earlier this month, we learned of the extent of waits for child and adolescent mental health services in the year up to the start of lockdown. The official s...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
Thank you.
Alex Cole-Hamilton
LD
—we had more children waiting over a year than ever before.
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
Point made. I call the minister.
Clare Haughey
SNP
As I have said in my answers to other members’ questions, we anticipate increased demand for mental health support as we move through the phases of recovery....
James Dornan (Glasgow Cathcart) (SNP)
SNP
The minister mentioned the national wellbeing unit. Will she provide an update on use of the unit and say how she sees it, going forward?
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
I do not think that the minister heard that. Will you repeat the question, Mr Dornan? I am sorry.
James Dornan
SNP
Yes, I will do so happily. The minister mentioned the national wellbeing unit. Will she provide an update on use of the unit and say how she sees it, going f...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
We heard that.
Clare Haughey
SNP
The national wellbeing service that we have developed for our health and social care staff, third sector staff and unpaid carers is a resource to provide the...
Annie Wells (Glasgow) (Con)
Con
Will specific services be designed for people, especially the elderly, who are required to continue shielding or are self-isolating?
Clare Haughey
SNP
Annie Wells raises a really important point. We have asked people to do something that is quite extraordinary. We have asked them, essentially, to lock thems...