Hansard

I, too, thank Linda Fabiani for lodging the motion, which once again recognises Marie Curie Cancer Care’s great daffodil appeal, and I should say that the debate follows a debate that I sponsored last September on Marie Curie Cancer Care’s signpost to palliative care.

It is now getting on for 30 years since the great daffodil appeal was launched and I am sure that in two years’ time we will have a great celebration to mark that anniversary. As we have heard, the appeal has raised more than £70 million across the UK, with £4 million a year raised in Scotland alone.

Each March, many of us wear the distinctive daffodil that is the symbol of Marie Curie Cancer Care. I do not mean to be disparaging when I say that, apart from the poppy that I wear in November, I do not tend to wear any other badge that signifies a charity. That does not mean that I do not support other organisations or charities, but I have a particular affinity with the tremendous work that Marie Curie nurses perform.

At the core of Marie Curie Cancer Care is an emphasis on helping people to remain in their own homes for as long as possible or on providing the right environment in which palliative care meets the needs of individual patients. We are fortunate in Scotland to have two excellent Marie Curie hospices, one in Edinburgh and one in Glasgow, that cater for a range of people who are facing the end of life because of cancer or other terminal illnesses.

I am aware of the huge work that Marie Curie undertakes in my North East Scotland region and was fascinated by some of the statistics that Richard Meade, the head of policy and public affairs for Marie Curie in Scotland, gave me. A remarkable 88 per cent of patients looked after by Marie Curie Cancer Care who live within the NHS Grampian area and a further 91 per cent of people in NHS Tayside were able to die in their preferred place of death, whether that was at home, in hospital or in a hospice.

The 24/7 provision of planned Marie Curie nursing care and the rapid response team that covers Aberdeenshire are a testament to the dedication of its staff, and it is also worth noting that, last year, the 1,700 Marie Curie patients in the north-east received 9,559 visits from Marie Curie nurses, who provided more than 25,000 hours of support and care to patients in the Grampian region.

Of course, we cannot forget the community fundraising groups right across Scotland and particularly, for me, in the north-east that raise so much money for Marie Curie Cancer Care. In my region, those groups stretch from Ellon and the Garioch in rural Aberdeenshire to the heart of the Mearns in Angus—and I should say that I see two friends of mine from upper Deeside sitting in the gallery.

In the debate that I led on Marie Curie Cancer Care’s work, my motion specifically focused on what I described as a difficulty in discussing death and dying. I reiterate what I said at the time: we should not be afraid to talk about death and particularly about cancer-related illnesses and the consequences of the devastating news that a condition is terminal.

I will finish by mentioning my friend and former colleague, David McLetchie, who as we know succumbed to cancer last year. His bravery in dealing with his illness is well known and the fact that he attended the Parliament almost until the end of his life has been acknowledged by many members across the chamber. The care and dedication given to cancer sufferers at St Columba’s hospice in Edinburgh, where David spent his last days, is recognised throughout Scotland, and we are very grateful for its work.

Like many charities, Marie Curie Cancer Care plays a very important role in dealing with the effects of cancer and other terminal illnesses. However, despite the many families that have had to deal with this kind of devastating diagnosis, we are still inclined to avoid talking about its consequences.

I am grateful to Linda Fabiani for bringing this debate to the chamber, to Marie Curie for its tremendous work in supporting the patients and families who have to cope with the multiple problems of terminal illness and to the loyal fundraisers who raise so much money for the organisation.