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Plenary, 26 May 2005

26 May 2005 · S2 · Plenary

Item of business

National Health Service<br />(Age Discrimination)

Swinburne, John SSCUP Central Scotland Watch on SPTV

I welcome the debate on Shona Robison's motion. Sadly, it reflects the lack of basic respect for the elderly that exists in our society and which manifests itself in many forms throughout the country in this new 21st century.

In my opinion, no one should misconstrue the motion as an attempt to criticise any political party. I believe that it is an honest endeavour to gain cross-party consensus in the Parliament on the need to deal with problems that have been sidestepped or ignored for far too long. I must point out that my speech was written before I had the opportunity to read the ministerial statement that Andy Kerr made yesterday, which addresses many of the problems that I highlight in the rest of my speech and to which many other speakers have referred.

The genuine needs of the most vulnerable people in Scotland have been—and are continuing to be—addressed as a result of such welcome measures as the establishment of the care commission, which is led by Mary Hartnoll. Sadly, it is impossible for the care commission to deliver for the Parliament the level of care to which we all aspire. Although it can carry out checks a few times a year, as the relatively recent exposé by Annie Brown in the Daily Record emphasised, the claims of abuses of basic human rights—such as the right to nourishment and life—which were highlighted by the three deaths of elderly patients in Edinburgh recently show that unacceptable standards of treatment are still being inflicted on some of our elderly citizens in some hospitals and care homes. That should result in an outcry from the public and politicians.

I feel very strongly that an independent inquiry should be set up to ascertain the extent of the problem. Its remit should give the inquiry reporters unlimited access to care homes and—sadly—even hospitals, to ensure that the correct acceptable standards are being applied. We read and hear about starvation in some of those establishments, where assistance is not forthcoming to enable elderly people to eat their lunch or dinner.

Help the Aged has reported that, on average, older people lose 5 per cent of their body weight while they are in hospital—Stewart Maxwell mentioned that issue. That means that someone who weighs 10 stone will lose around half a stone, which is a considerable amount. The organisation believes that that indicates that older people's dietary needs are not being met, which may be a sign of a wider lack of appropriate care and attention. Help the Aged welcomes the commitment of ministers and the chief medical officer

"to make older people the core business of the NHS in Scotland."

However, that commitment was made a few years ago and the relevant policies are still not being implemented to a fully acceptable standard. That is why I support the motion's attempt to empower an independent inquiry to report on the true extent of the problem in 2005 and to give Parliament its urgent recommendations. That said, I welcome and give my full endorsement to what the Minister for Health and Community Care said yesterday in his statement, which was forward looking.

Scotland should be proud of the fact that free personal care is provided in the home and in the community. More people who are being treated in our hospitals could benefit from receiving the same standard of care in their own home, but that would require a vast increase in the number of district nurses, health visitors, chiropodists, physiotherapists and home helps. They should be offered more pay to provide a bit more assistance in the home. As well as being a better option for the patient, that would be far more cost effective than hospitalisation.

To sum up, an independent inquiry should be set up to reveal the true extent of the problem of discrimination against the elderly in the health service. Care in the community services for the elderly should be established and properly funded. We should return to the days of the green ladies and give more responsibility to home helps and their colleagues. The problem is urgent; let us have less self-justifying rhetoric and more positive action.

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Plenary, 26 May 2005

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