Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 30 September 2020
30 Sep 2020 · S5 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Family Care Givers
For me, the biggest tragedy of the Covid pandemic—an outrage, in fact, for which we must all account—was the treatment of older people, particularly in the early days of the crisis. In my opinion, in the early days we lost our basic humanity. Do not resuscitate notices were hastily issued; families were so distressed. In the early days, doctors told me personally that over-65s would not be admitted to hospital.
I asked the Minister for Older People and Equalities in committee whether she knew who made those decisions; she said that the honest answer was that she did not know. The guidance did not change.
The minister said that, at the beginning, many thought that the NHS would be overwhelmed. Perhaps she is right, but I hope that we would all agree in looking back that we must account for those decisions and, even if that was the case, we cannot justify having a policy—or any suggestion of a policy—that operates on the basis of the arbitrary age of 65 ever again. We must know how those decisions were made in the early days.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Christine Grahame)
SNP
The next item of business is a debate on motion S5M-22860, in the name of Monica Lennon, on recognising the importance of family care givers. I invite membe...
Monica Lennon (Central Scotland) (Lab)
Lab
I am grateful for the opportunity to open, on behalf of Scottish Labour, this debate on recognising the importance of family care givers. I know that member...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
If you had had 13 minutes, I would have given you 13 minutes. I had better tell members how much time they have. I call Jeane Freeman to speak to and move a...
The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport (Jeane Freeman)
SNP
As members across the chamber well know, we are in the middle of a global pandemic. To give some context to what I am about to say, it is perhaps worth remin...
Neil Findlay (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
Will the cabinet secretary take an intervention?
Jeane Freeman
SNP
I will do, in a moment. Given that, I hope that Mr Cameron will understand that I cannot support his call for a separate public inquiry into only one aspect...
Neil Findlay
Lab
We know that a public inquiry will come, but the cabinet secretary has been asked on many occasions when she first knew that people were being discharged to ...
Jeane Freeman
SNP
We were initially alerted to the situation by reports in the national press on what was happening south of the border. That was when we began to investigate ...
Donald Cameron (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
I am grateful to Labour for bringing the issue to the chamber. There is much in its motion and in the Scottish Government’s amendment with which we agree in ...
Jeane Freeman
SNP
I am sure that Mr Cameron will appreciate that Public Health Scotland’s reason for not publishing at the end of September, as it and we had hoped, is that it...
Donald Cameron
Con
I acknowledge that those were the reasons that were given, but the cabinet secretary can be under no illusions: the delay represents more heartache and distr...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
We now have no time in hand, so members must absorb interventions. I am sorry. 15:56
Alison Johnstone (Lothian) (Green)
Green
I thank our wonderful care staff, who have done incredible work in often extremely difficult conditions throughout the pandemic. They have been a source of c...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
I am sorry, but you must conclude.
Alison Johnstone
Green
I will conclude my remarks there.
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
I am very sorry. I was trying to signal to you. I now call Alex Cole-Hamilton. Please watch the pen, Mr Cole-Hamilton, and I will not have to interrupt you....
Alex Cole-Hamilton (Edinburgh Western) (LD)
LD
I will never ignore the pen, Presiding Officer. I thank Monica Lennon and the Labour Party for lodging this important motion. Monica Lennon and I attended a...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
I remind members that, if you wish to speak, you must press your request-to-speak button. I call Anas Sarwar, to be followed by Angela Constance. 16:08
Anas Sarwar (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
I welcome the debate and all the contributions that have been made so far. I say, too, that it is important to acknowledge context. Covid has changed not jus...
Angela Constance (Almond Valley) (SNP)
SNP
I very much welcome the debate, because the pandemic and the national response have reminded us that, often in life, the hardest decisions are those that we ...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
SNP
I can tell members that interrupting all these wonderful speeches is not a happy task, but I have to do it. 16:22
Jeremy Balfour (Lothian) (Con)
Con
Along with other members, I thank Monica Lennon and the Labour group for bringing the debate to the chamber. There is a consensual feel to the debate, and I ...
Stuart McMillan (Greenock and Inverclyde) (SNP)
SNP
I welcome the debate, and I note the importance of 1 October as the international day of older persons. There will be a vast amount on which we will agree t...
Pauline McNeill (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
For me, the biggest tragedy of the Covid pandemic—an outrage, in fact, for which we must all account—was the treatment of older people, particularly in the e...
Jeane Freeman
SNP
I am grateful to the member for taking an intervention because it allows me to clarify again for the record that there was no policy to issue do not resuscit...
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Lewis Macdonald)
Lab
Ms McNeill, you will get your time back.
Pauline McNeill
Lab
Thank you. It is a really important point. I accept everything that the cabinet secretary says, but I spoke to doctors who believed that they got guidance f...
James Dornan (Glasgow Cathcart) (SNP)
SNP
I welcome the international day for older persons, purely for personal reasons, because my younger brother is elderly. Many of the stories that we have hear...
Edward Mountain (Highlands and Islands) (Con)
Con
This is going to be a hard winter for families and their loved ones who live in care homes. Like many MSPs, I have been asked by a constituent to try to imag...
George Adam (Paisley) (SNP)
SNP
I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate, because health and social care has long been my focus both in my time as a councillor and now in my time as...