Hansard

I thank parliamentary colleagues from across the chamber for their overwhelming support in signing the motion.

Cell therapies, including stem cell transplantation and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell—CAR-T—therapy, represent one of the most significant breakthroughs in modern medicine. Stem cell transplantation involves replacing damaged or diseased bone marrow with healthy stem cells, often following intensive chemotherapy or radiotherapy. CAR-T therapy involves collecting a patient’s immune cells, re-engineering them in a laboratory to recognise and attack cancer cells and then reinfusing them into the patient. These treatments are often complex, lengthy and physically demanding. They can involve prolonged hospital stays, isolation from loved ones and a lengthy recovery period that extends far beyond discharge from hospital. While they offer hope and, in many cases, a cure, they can also bring immense psychological strain for patients and their families.

I thank the Anthony Nolan charity, and all its staff and volunteers, for their invaluable work in supporting patients, families and donors. The organisation was founded in 1974 by Shirley Nolan to find a stem cell donor for her son, Anthony, and it has grown into a world-leading charity that has transformed transplant services and donor registries. For decades, the charity has been at the forefront of research, patient advocacy and clinical support, and Scotland’s transplant community owes a great deal to its dedication.

The charity’s June 2025 report, “How we can improve the mental health and wellbeing of cell therapy patients”, presents compelling evidence that mental health must be treated as an integral part of the overall care experience. The report highlights that almost half of all patients experience anxiety prior to transplant; more than a third experience depression during treatment; and a fifth develop post-traumatic stress disorder. Those figures remind us that survival alone cannot be the only measure of success.

The emotional toll extends well beyond the patient to families, carers and others, who often face exhaustion, anxiety and significant financial pressures, with families losing on average around £30,000 in income during treatment and recovery.

One patient described how

“Mental health support, particularly during and following treatment, would be a very welcome addition to patient care”,

as

“the ongoing risk of return affects mental health and family relationships going forward.”

Another added:

“Mental health is sadly overlooked; patients aren’t given the support urgently required when given a blood cancer diagnosis.”

Those voices must guide our response.

The evidence clearly shows that mental health support remains inconsistent across Scotland. Currently, only NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has access to a specialist bone marrow transplant psychologist, despite transplant centres also operating in Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh. As new CAR-T centres open and patient numbers increase, specialist psychological provision has not, unfortunately, expanded at the same pace.

In several national health service boards, there is as yet no specialist oncology psychology support at all, which means that patients leaving hospital are often left to navigate general mental health services, which may not fully understand a patient’s complex clinical experience.

Certain groups are particularly vulnerable. Patients who are undergoing treatment for non-malignant conditions, such as sickle cell disease and thalassaemia, frequently fall outside oncology pathways, despite facing identical treatment burdens. Families, carers and siblings, who often experience their own trauma and distress, rarely receive structured psychosocial support.

The recommendations that Anthony Nolan has set out are both practical and achievable. The charity calls for every cell therapy patient to have access to a specialist transplant psychologist throughout their treatment journey. It emphasises the importance of training all patient-facing staff so that mental wellbeing is recognised and supported at every stage of care. Crucially, it highlights the need to extend psychological support to families and siblings, recognising that serious illness affects entire households, not only individuals.

It is, however, important to acknowledge the progress that is already being made in Scotland. The Scottish Government’s “Mental Health Strategy: 2017-2027” sets out an ambitious national framework, and the “Cancer Strategy for Scotland 2023-2033” recognises that psychological care must be a fundamental part of cancer treatment. Those strategies are very welcome, and I believe that they demonstrate the Scottish Government’s commitment to holistic healthcare. I also welcome the continuing engagement and support from the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and from ministers, who have shown genuine interest in addressing the mental health challenges that are associated with advanced therapies.

Alongside thanking Anthony Nolan for the work that it does, I thank the NHS-Macmillan psychological support project for its valuable mapping work, and Blood Cancer UK. I also thank Myeloma UK for its innovative support projects, such as its peer buddy service, which matches people with a trained peer buddy for one‑to‑one support from someone who has experience of high‑dose therapy and autologous stem cell transplant—HDT-SCT—and its myeloma support groups, which provide the opportunity to meet other patients, carers and family members to share experiences and information in an informal and supportive setting. I am encouraged by those and other initiatives, and by the collaborative approach that is emerging across the sector.

On that particular note, I am very pleased to be hosting a round-table event alongside the Anthony Nolan charity next Thursday lunchtime, on 12 February, on the issues that we are discussing today, bringing together the Scottish Government, clinicians, charities and patient representatives. The meeting will represent an important opportunity to build consensus and accelerate progress, and I hope that many members will consider joining us on the day.

Scotland has rightly earned a reputation for excellence in clinical innovation and compassionate healthcare. As cell therapies continue to evolve and save more lives, we must ensure that mental health care evolves alongside them. Patients who undergo those treatments demonstrate extraordinary courage and resilience, and they, and their families, deserve the support that reflects the full reality of their experience.

I urge all those who are involved in delivering cell therapies—Government, NHS boards, clinicians, charities and Parliament—to commit to working together to implement the Anthony Nolan report’s recommendations. By doing so, we can ensure that every patient in Scotland receives not only cutting-edge medical treatment but the psychological support and the dignity that they deserve.