Chamber
Plenary, 26 Jun 2003
26 Jun 2003 · S2 · Plenary
Item of business
Carers
I am grateful to Irene Oldfather for securing the debate and allowing us all to make our contribution to the on-going debate about carers. Irene and I are both from North Ayrshire, so we know that an awful lot of people there, such as health-care professionals and social workers, put an awful lot of work into supporting carers
Other members have said that carers do not recognise themselves as carers, but see themselves as doing the natural thing. They are looking after someone they love, despite the fact that that means a 100 per cent commitment and giving up their own lives, simply because they want to. That is the role that carers play, even though they do not see themselves as carers.
We all acknowledge that circumstances have improved in recent years, in no small part because of the work of the Scottish Parliament. I am aware of the work that the Health and Community Care Committee did in the first session on setting up an investigation into community care. My good friend and previous employer, Kay Ullrich, played a substantial part in that and she will be pleased to see some of the changes that were brought about by the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002. Those changes have improved the lives of many carers. Carers now have more rights and more recognition, for which I am sure they are grateful.
Everything is relative. Given the low starting point, perhaps the new reality of caring in Scotland is not quite as good as it seems when we see how the legislation translates into helping people who care for those with ill health.
Most of us accept that unless someone is involved in the caring services or the health service, they do not think about someone they love developing a degenerative illness. It is something they put to the back of their mind until it happens and they are confronted with the stark reality that the person they love is ill and will not get better and that they will have to care for them. But when it happens and people have to take on that role, they do it.
It is a natural human reaction for people to start caring 100 per cent for the person in their family or their friend who has become ill. It is when that happens that we discover the vital role that carers play and how important it is to start supporting carers.
I ask the minister to address a particular issue in his summing-up speech, because there is a point where the system breaks down. Mary Scanlon alluded to it when she said that people do not want what they perceive to be strangers in their home. It is difficult to persuade some people that they have to accept help. They say that in the future they will reach the point when they know that they need help, but they do not realise that that point has already arrived. Perhaps the minister can help me by outlining how we get round that block and get people to accept the help that exists.
I know of one such case. It is heartbreaking to see a family watch their elderly mother, who herself is ill, make herself very ill by caring for their father and not looking after her own physical well-being to the point at which the family fear that the mother will, as they put it, "go" before the father, because she has given up her life. How do we get round that block? I know that it is a difficult issue, but I would be grateful if the minister could address that point.
Other members have said that carers do not recognise themselves as carers, but see themselves as doing the natural thing. They are looking after someone they love, despite the fact that that means a 100 per cent commitment and giving up their own lives, simply because they want to. That is the role that carers play, even though they do not see themselves as carers.
We all acknowledge that circumstances have improved in recent years, in no small part because of the work of the Scottish Parliament. I am aware of the work that the Health and Community Care Committee did in the first session on setting up an investigation into community care. My good friend and previous employer, Kay Ullrich, played a substantial part in that and she will be pleased to see some of the changes that were brought about by the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002. Those changes have improved the lives of many carers. Carers now have more rights and more recognition, for which I am sure they are grateful.
Everything is relative. Given the low starting point, perhaps the new reality of caring in Scotland is not quite as good as it seems when we see how the legislation translates into helping people who care for those with ill health.
Most of us accept that unless someone is involved in the caring services or the health service, they do not think about someone they love developing a degenerative illness. It is something they put to the back of their mind until it happens and they are confronted with the stark reality that the person they love is ill and will not get better and that they will have to care for them. But when it happens and people have to take on that role, they do it.
It is a natural human reaction for people to start caring 100 per cent for the person in their family or their friend who has become ill. It is when that happens that we discover the vital role that carers play and how important it is to start supporting carers.
I ask the minister to address a particular issue in his summing-up speech, because there is a point where the system breaks down. Mary Scanlon alluded to it when she said that people do not want what they perceive to be strangers in their home. It is difficult to persuade some people that they have to accept help. They say that in the future they will reach the point when they know that they need help, but they do not realise that that point has already arrived. Perhaps the minister can help me by outlining how we get round that block and get people to accept the help that exists.
I know of one such case. It is heartbreaking to see a family watch their elderly mother, who herself is ill, make herself very ill by caring for their father and not looking after her own physical well-being to the point at which the family fear that the mother will, as they put it, "go" before the father, because she has given up her life. How do we get round that block? I know that it is a difficult issue, but I would be grateful if the minister could address that point.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Trish Godman):
Lab
The final item of business is a members' business debate on motion S2M-110, in the name of Irene Oldfather, on valuing carers.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament recognises the hard work and dedication of Scotland's 115,675 unpaid carers, a workforce comparable to the total NHS workforce in Scotlan...
Irene Oldfather (Cunninghame South) (Lab):
Lab
I thank all the members who signed the motion and those colleagues who have stayed behind in this final meeting of Parliament before the summer recess. The m...
Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP):
SNP
I congratulate Irene Oldfather on securing the debate and on highlighting the fact that around 116,000 people in Scotland are unpaid carers—a fact of which m...
Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con):
Con
I am grateful to my ex-colleague on the Health and Community Care Committee, Irene Oldfather, for raising the issue of carers. She mentioned a lady whose son...
Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD):
LD
We have heard three excellent speeches from members who have real experience of this subject, know what they are talking about and care about it. I want to u...
Campbell Martin (West of Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
I am grateful to Irene Oldfather for securing the debate and allowing us all to make our contribution to the on-going debate about carers. Irene and I are bo...
Mrs Nanette Milne (North East Scotland) (Con):
Con
I apologise for not being in the chamber at the start of the debate, but I did not get the message about proceedings being ahead of schedule. My comments wil...
Irene Oldfather:
Lab
The figure of almost 116,000 refers to unpaid carers who undertake more than 50 hours a week of work, which is comparable to a job in the health service. The...
Mrs Milne:
Con
I thank the member for that clarification. I was going to seek an explanation. I wondered whether the different figures reflected the lack of accurate knowle...
John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP):
SSCUP
It was not my intention to speak in the debate, but it has been a privilege to listen to the compassion that has come from members on all sides of the chambe...
The Deputy Minister for Health and Community Care (Mr Tom McCabe):
Lab
I thank Irene Oldfather and congratulate her on securing this debate. There has been a great deal of positive discussion on this issue, both here this evenin...
Meeting closed at 17:25.