Hansard

I, too, congratulate Robert Brown on securing the debate on the bicentenary of Louis Braille and commend him on his commitment to the issue. Indeed, I commend him and other politicians for their work on our cross-party groups. Given that that work is not done on the floor of the Parliament, it is unsung and few people get to hear of it.

As Robert Brown said, Louis Braille lost his sight when he was only four. It is difficult for many of us to imagine life without sight. Undoubtedly, losing his sight so early must have been tough but, as other members have said, within 10 years the young Braille was inventing the system that is still in use today. The Braille system allows blind and partially sighted people across the world to read, write and communicate to the same level as sighted people. In 2008, almost 20,000 people in Scotland were registered as blind. There is no doubt that Braille empowers people to operate as normally as possible in their everyday lives.

David Blunkett has not yet been mentioned in the debate—I thought that previous speakers would have done so. I have always admired him for participating in our profession of politics, including at the highest level when he was a minister. He may not be a member of my party, but I admire him as a fellow politician who so competently carried out his duties with the aid of Braille. That has to be commended.

As Robert Brown said, Braille was developed almost two centuries ago. Nowadays, there is no doubt that it is not being utilised to its full effect. The frustration for blind and partially sighted people is that they continue to be disadvantaged because of the underusage of Braille and other methods that could assist them.

The RNIB briefing for the debate sets out the problems that people with sight impairments have with the health service. Problems arise for them even with simple tasks such as visiting their general practitioner surgery. For example, given that many GP surgeries use automated screen-based systems to call patients for their appointment, people with sight impairments are left unaware that they have been called. Simple measures could also be used to address the difficulties that people with sight impairments have in moving around their GP surgery.

In a recent survey of blind and partially sighted people, there were disappointing results for patients' opinions on the service that they receive from the national health service. Worryingly, 95 per cent of respondents said that their preferred and requested format had never been used in GP letters, health advice leaflets or other information that they had received. Even test results had not been issued in the requested format. The NHS states that it meets the needs of everyone, but the survey makes it clear that, in many respects, it is not meeting the needs of blind and partially sighted people.

A friend of mine who has had diabetes for many years is now—and it happened suddenly—registered as a blind person. There has been a huge increase in the number of people with diabetes and that will put extra pressure on a service that is not even able to meet present needs. The provision of Braille and other communication formats needs to be improved in future if it is to meet the needs of people with diabetes who incur blindness, in addition to addressing the needs of the blind and partially sighted.

Another problem for patients arises when they leave the GP surgery. Prescriptions are produced with print that is too small for those who are partially sighted to read, let alone those who would prefer Braille. As the RNIB mentions in its briefing, patients have taken the wrong dosage, which can have serious side effects. We are talking not only about the health service; we have to ensure that pharmacies, too, understand the communication needs of those who are blind and partially sighted.

I commend Ian Rankin for his recent launch of a campaign to make more books available to the visually impaired and to raise funds for rehousing the Scottish Braille Press. I wish him success in his efforts both to increase the use of Braille format and, as Robert Brown said, to produce more books in larger print, audio books and other materials.

The invention of a talented young man at an institute in Paris in 1821 has undoubtedly benefited the lives of millions of blind and partially sighted people for generations. However, tonight we have found that more people could benefit from the use of Braille. We are in a position to ensure that they do.