Hansard

I, too, thank Bob Doris for lodging the motion for the debate, and I thank members in the chamber for their contributions. Mr Doris has been a champion of our palliative care for many years now, as is evident in his role as co-convener of the cross-party group on palliative care alongside Miles Briggs, and through his tireless work inside and outside the chamber to support Marie Curie and other hospice services.

I agree with the many members who have said that it is poignant to be here today having this debate. It would also be remiss of me, particularly given my role as the minister for women’s health, if I did not pay tribute to the woman who made all this possible, Marie Curie herself. Her life was dedicated to science and advancing our knowledge of medical physics. She is an inspiration to me and, I know, to many women across the world. Like the organisation that bears her name, we have much to thank her for.

If you might indulge me, Presiding Officer, I will quote Marie Curie:

“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”

That is particularly poignant, given the subjects that we are talking about in the debate.

I congratulate Marie Curie on its achievements over the past 75 years, and the staff and volunteers who have pioneered palliative and end-of-life care. Marie Curie has provided invaluable support to people and their families at the most challenging points of their lives, as well as supporting other health and social care services and teams delivering palliative care and end-of-life care.

I note Ben Macpherson’s point about the importance of Marie Curie’s policy team supporting the Social Security (Scotland) Act 1998, and I know that it has a lot to engage with on palliative care.

Many colleagues across the chamber have reflected how much Marie Curie’s services mean to them, their families and their constituents. That highlights the broad scope and reach of Marie Curie’s work, and why it is so important. As Carol Mochan says, it is delivered in hospices, in communities and in people’s own homes.

Bob Doris’s motion highlights the increased need and complexity of palliative care that is projected by Marie Curie research up to 2040. We reflected on that during Sue Webber’s members’ business debate earlier this month, and in the debate that we had on the cost of dying. Those issues were discussed in the context of sustainable hospice care to meet future need. As Bob Doris said, Marie Curie is well placed to help with that challenge. In 2022-23 alone, Marie Curie has delivered care and support to more than 8,000 people across Scotland. Therefore, it is vital that we learn from the wealth of experience that organisations such as Marie Curie bring to inform our work and support the development of sustainable, high-quality palliative and end-of-life care services.

As I have said before, I have made it a priority to meet or visit a number of hospices, as well as convening the round-table event on 5 December with Marie Curie, among all the other independent hospices in Scotland, and health and social care partnership chief officers.

Discussion at that meeting was open, frank and valued by participants, who noted that that was the first time that such a dialogue had been opened. They were grateful for the chance to discuss those important issues, even though the financial situation remains challenging. I recognise the £15.5 million gap. I will strive to help where I can. Because health and social care partnerships are responsible for planning and commissioning adult palliative care services, we have been engaging with them to explore solutions and options for longer-term sustainable planning and funding for hospices.

At the meeting, colleagues also welcomed our wider work on the development of a new palliative care strategy. There are real opportunities to address the commissioning of independent hospice care through wider consideration of national and local leadership, responsibility and accountability by the strategy steering group, which was established to oversee the development and delivery of the new strategy.