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Plenary, 25 Nov 1999

25 Nov 1999 · S1 · Plenary

Item of business

Carers Strategy

Ingram, Adam SNP South of Scotland Watch on SPTV

I welcome the opportunity to debate this extremely important issue in Parliament. I will use my time to draw attention to the needs of the valuable people who care for those with mental illness.

I would like to make three points. First, I wish to flag up the difficulties that exist in identifying carers of the mentally ill. Secondly, I wish to highlight the different needs of carers of people with mental illness from other carers. Thirdly, I wish to draw attention to the fact that the special needs for this group of carers are not met and not properly addressed in the strategy document.

One in four people in Scotland will suffer from mental illness at some point in their lives and 14 per cent of the adult population have significant mental health problems, yet many people who suffer from mental health problems never have contact with the health service and many are cared for in their own homes by carers, family members or friends. The extent to which that happens is difficult to estimate. Mental illness is a taboo subject; many will admit neither to being cared for, nor to being the carer.

Many carers suffer alone or in silence. Margaret Paton, of Trust: a Carers Connection, which operates in Ayrshire, has experience of just that situation. Her adult daughter was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic at the age of 21. That is when Margaret's nightmare began. She went to hell and back in an attempt to get her daughter the help she needed, in a community where her daughter's condition was misunderstood and stigmatised. So horrific was her experience that she has gone to extraordinary lengths to ensure that no one else has to go through it. Singlehandedly, she set up a support group at Ailsa

hospital in Ayrshire, which meets once a month. That has now extended to six support groups throughout Ayrshire. An office in Ailsa hospital has been set aside for Margaret, in which she deals with carers' problems. She does all that entirely voluntarily, providing a support service and advocacy for people who receive no support from elsewhere, least of all from the public agencies.

Carers of mentally ill patients save the Government £280 million every year through the services they provide, yet local authorities provide only £54 million for people who are recovering from mental illness; that is less than 20 per cent of the estimated need. Unofficial carers provide the rest of the care.

Nowhere in the national carers strategy are carers of the mentally ill, and their special needs, referred to specifically. Carers of mentally ill people have different needs and different priorities. Those to whom I have spoken are not looking for benefits or respite care. They want information and support, recognition of their loved ones' illnesses and medical care to address them. They want their loved ones to see the same psychiatrist and to have continuity of care; they want the chance for relations to build up between patient and psychiatrist. They want information to flow freely between patient, carer, psychiatrist and GP. In short, they want rights and they want their opinions to be considered.

The national carers strategy, like many of the Executive's announcements, is a step in the right direction, but there is not enough money to fund it and there are important omissions from it.

Mental illness can affect one in four of us. Many of those who are affected are cared for at home. Carers of the mentally ill have different needs from other carers, and people such as Margaret Paton deserve our recognition and support.

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Plenary, 25 Nov 1999

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