Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 09 March 2022
I must carry on.
Today’s debate is not about the reasons as to why so many died in our care homes—that will be for Lady Poole’s public inquiry to determine—but we know that Common Weal described the situation in our care homes as
“possibly ... the single greatest failure of devolved government ... since the creation of the Scottish Parliament.”
Families need closure so that they can properly mourn those who passed away. Anne’s law could help them to move on and to remember those who died.
We should also remember the heroic efforts of the staff who work in the social care sector, who were often there when residents passed away. In the early days of the pandemic, Covid ripped through care homes indiscriminately, killing our friends and family members, so it is understandable that steps were taken to protect staff and residents from infection. Many staff struggled to access personal protective equipment. Staff went to work not knowing whether they would return home infected with Covid. They formed small armies of infection control. However, the decision to prevent all access to care homes created what has been described as potentially “dangerous closed institutions”, where families could not act as the eyes and ears of homes and residents.
Leading public health experts back Anne’s law and recognise the care that it will provide. In its own consultation, the Government was clear in its objectives. It recognised that families and friends play an essential role in the health and wellbeing of people who live in such homes, and it admitted that prolonged isolation from family and friends is likely to be detrimental to the welfare of the resident.
All that campaigners are seeking is to ensure that people who live in adult care homes have rights to see and spend time with the people who are important to them and who often care for them. As Natasha Hamilton said,
“There are no silver bullets for Covid, we need to learn to live with it. That can’t mean separating families. That’s just cruel and barbaric.”
Anne’s husband, Campbell Duke, is a retired social worker. Before Covid, he previously spent 40 hours per week by his wife’s side at her care home in East Kilbride. Speaking before Anne died, he said:
“Families need each other more than ever but they’re being let down ... What we need is for the human rights of care home residents to be guaranteed in emergency legislation. I believe there would be a majority in Parliament for this.”
I believe that there is a majority in the Parliament for Anne’s law, and it is clear that now is the time to act.
I move amendment S6M-03492.1, to insert after “Anne’s Law”:
“and to explore extending its scope to include those receiving care in other health and care settings such as hospitals and residential care facilities,”.
16:29
Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.