The final item of business today is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-12136, in the name of Linda Fabiani, on Marie Curie Cancer Care’s 2015 great daffodil appeal. The debate will be concluded without any question being put.
Motion debated,
That the Parliament welcomes Marie Curie’s Great Daffodil Appeal, which runs throughout March 2015; applauds what it considers the substantial contribution that this makes toward the over £4 million raised in Scotland every year by Marie Curie to support its services across Scotland; understands that the charity supports over 7,000 terminally ill people in Scotland to get free care at home with the help of Marie Curie nurses or in the community in their Glasgow or Edinburgh hospices; recognises the vital role that volunteers play in supporting the work of the charity; acknowledges the launch of the charity’s new five-year strategy, which will see Marie Curie increase the number of people it supports in Scotland, and welcomes its vision of a better life for people with a terminal illness and their families.
17:29
It is pleasant that, after the two contentious debates that we have had this afternoon, in which no agreement was reached, we are now talking about a subject on which everyone will be in accord. We all recognise the great work that is done by the charity that is Marie Curie, and we welcome the 2015 great daffodil appeal. It is a great pleasure for me to have been given the privilege of leading the debate, as I am a huge supporter of the work that the charity carries out.
It is fascinating how much money the daffodil appeal makes—it has really caught the public imagination. We are all going about with daffodil badges on, and there is a host of golden daffodils sitting up in the public gallery—I am sure that those people have not just wandered in off the street; I am pretty certain that they are our volunteers, and I look forward to welcoming them all at the reception later. I hope that my colleagues will also be able to come along to the reception. Since it first started in 1986, the appeal has raised more than £80 million across the United Kingdom, so it is a very worthwhile annual initiative. The money supported 30,000 hours of nursing care and emotional support in 2014.
I think that everyone knows what Marie Curie does. It provides expert care and emotional support, research and guidance, a helper service, an information service and bereavement support. I deliberately left out the word “cancer”, because people automatically assume that Marie Curie’s services are all about cancer. That is the case to a large degree—we all know how many people are affected by cancer in life—but a lot of people do not realise that Marie Curie nurses and the charity’s services are for any terminal illness, and people with all different kinds of conditions and troubles are helped by Marie Curie.
Marie Curie has come out with a new five-year strategy, part of which is about raising awareness of exactly what the charity does. It sets out how to reach more people who are living with a terminal illness to offer vital care and support. It is about new services, caring for more people through the services and hospices, research, the development of health policy and significant investment in the infrastructure so that the care and support can be more extensive, both indirectly and directly.
There are certain key issues relating to terminal illnesses in Scotland. Since the early days of the Scottish Parliament, in lobbying—in the best sense—members of the Parliament, Marie Curie has spoken about the issues relating to dying in Scotland. One of the first campaigns that made me aware of Marie Curie was its campaign on the right to die at home, and that important campaign is still going. I do not want to dwell on the figures, but more than 54,000 people die in Scotland every year and that figure will rise. Close to 60 per cent of people die in hospital, yet the vast majority of people would prefer to die at home, so the Marie Curie campaign is on-going. It is something that we should all bear in mind. Surely, if people want to die at home we should give them all the necessary support and palliative care to allow that. After all, we have an ageing population.
It often seems that there is inequality of access to palliative care of the type that the suffering person wishes to receive and their family wants them to get. Support is not just given to the person who requires palliative care; it goes wider than that and is given to the family and friends of that person as well. The Scottish Government has committed to publishing a new strategy—a national framework for action—and it would be good if that strategy could address the inequities that exist in care across diseases and settings. We need to get a clear picture of what is required through the publication of data and the setting out of a plan to help people.
The Scottish Government’s 2020 vision, which is generally agreed to be a good document and a good strategy and vision to be aiming for, has no reference to terminal illness, dying or death. The plan is being refreshed, so I would ask that the minister, when she takes that back to her colleagues, ensures that that point is taken on board and considered. We need honest and open conversations about death and dying; we need to tackle the taboos. We must also give support to initiatives such as good life, good death, good grief, which is about supporting and seeing carers and family members as an integrated unit.
In the short time that I have left, I want to say how delighted I am that this evening we have with us so many Marie Curie volunteers from right across the country. Each year, more than 4,000 people in Scotland volunteer. They help to raise and collect funds, help patients, act as patrons and advisers, support services in hospices and work in shops.
I have a group in East Kilbride that started only a few years ago. I do not know whether its members are here this evening; I hope that they are. It seems as though they have been there for ever, working away hard. They are always saying, “You can come and do this or do that.” Some of it seems really hard. When I look through the Marie Curie fundraising booklet, I see all the things that people are doing, including marathons, treks and walks, and I think, “My goodness—I do not want to do anything like that.” Can I say that with the volunteers here? I quite fancy the tea party. I certainly do not fancy standing in East Kilbride shopping centre in one of those big yellow top hats like my friend, the Minister for Public Health, did in her constituency last year, although I understand that she helped to raise lots of funds.
I say directly on behalf of myself and my colleagues—even the ones who are not here, because many members would like to be here but have others matters to which they must attend—a massive thank you to those who volunteer on behalf of Marie Curie. They do so on our behalf as they do for everyone else in the country. Thank you very much. [Applause.]
17:37
I congratulate Linda Fabiani on securing the debate. I add my welcome to hers to all the volunteers and the staff who are with us for this evening’s debate and reception.
It was a great privilege to attend the new Marie Curie hospice’s official opening in Springburn following its completion in 2010, because many of us who live in the north of the city have reason to be grateful for the work of the Marie Curie staff and for the services that they provide at the hospice and in the community.
Last year alone there were 1,076 new referrals to the Glasgow hospice. It occurred to me when I was researching for the debate that talking about 1,076 referrals or 146 outpatients would not do justice to the approach of the Marie Curie staff, so I thought that we should look at the matter in another way. Put simply, the Marie Curie organisation helps people at some of the most difficult times any family ever has to go through.
Some people stay at the Marie Curie centre and are looked after by a team of caring professionals who know exactly what is needed by that individual. The care includes help to manage pain, emotional and spiritual support, physiotherapy and complementary therapies. Those who do not need to stay in the hospice might access day care, discuss their care needs or get help with their benefits. Of course, others are cared for in their own homes with support and care provided to them and to their loved ones.
For the next year at least, a new service will also be available: the child and young people’s bereavement support project. The project, which is funded by the Margo Young Foundation, will offer care and support to young people who have suffered a bereavement. The foundation was established by Margo’s son, Alan Young. Margo sadly died when Alan was just 14, and he felt that he had little or no support at that time. The project aims to make the situation better for children who will become bereaved in the future. It is an extremely important project, and it is a fitting tribute to Margo Young.
It is estimated that between 35,000 and 40,000 people who die each year could benefit from palliative care, but not everyone who needs it gets it. Indeed, eight out of 10 non-cancer patients with a terminal illness either do not get palliative care or access it very late in the development of their condition. That chimes with what Linda Fabiani said about Marie Curie being associated mostly with cancer. There is perhaps the idea that palliative care is something that is provided only to cancer patients, which is not the case.
I understand that the Scottish Government will publish a new strategy this spring, which of course is to be welcomed, but if it is to be helpful, it must focus on addressing the inequalities in care that exist across diseases, which Linda Fabiani mentioned, and it must ensure that data is collected in a way that allows progress to be tracked and adjustments to be made.
As we know, Marie Curie hospices care for people with a range of terminal illnesses such as cancer, dementia, motor neurone disease, heart disease and renal failure—to name but a few. They do so with great care, great compassion and real professionalism. The Marie Curie hospices are funded by a combination of NHS funding and generous donations from the public. That is why we are celebrating daffodil week.
I want to pay my own tribute to all those who fundraise for Marie Curie. The people who organise and arrange the fêtes, the dances, the marathons, the bingo nights and the bake sales all do a remarkable job. Last week, I had the opportunity to visit the Springburn Marie Curie shop. It is a lovely bright and welcoming place. It was truly inspiring to hear the manager Caroline Costello and her staff and volunteers talk so passionately about what they do, and to see the excellent relationship that they have with their customers.
The staff of the Marie Curie hospices do a marvellous job and we can never thank them enough, but I am sure that they would be the first to say that they could not do their job without people such as Caroline, her team of volunteers and staff, and everyone who raises money during daffodil week and throughout the year. Let us hope that this year’s fundraising is successful and that it allows the staff of the Marie Curie hospices to continue the great work that they have been doing in communities such as mine for more than 60 years.
17:42
I thank Linda Fabiani for lodging the motion. I greatly appreciate having the chance to speak about Marie Curie Cancer Care’s great daffodil appeal, and I welcome the representatives and volunteers from Marie Curie.
Marie Curie is a charity like no other. In 2014, it supported 7,400 terminally ill people in Scotland in their homes or in one of its hospices in Edinburgh or Glasgow. Because of the hard work that it does throughout the year, it is of great importance that we take time to honour its achievements.
Marie Curie aims to
“deliver the right care, in the right place, at the right time.”
To deliver the right care, the organisation works constantly to improve services by involving patients and getting feedback from families who use its services. It has recently made £1 million available for research that aims to enhance communication around terminal illness, prognosis and dying; bereavement; and symptom control.
The right place is often a patient’s home. That is the environment in which the terminally ill usually feel most comfortable. In a survey in 2012, 81 per cent of respondents stated that they would prefer to die at home, but only 23 per cent were able to do so.
Supporting those who are suffering from a terminal illness is no easy task. Marie Curie takes pressure off carers and family members while aiming to provide high-quality care. It does so at a time when it is crucial not only to help to relieve pain for those who are terminally ill, but to ensure that they are provided with quality end-of-life care.
The future will bring greater demands, given that people are expected to live longer with more complex illnesses. Marie Curie works constantly to enhance its services. An aim of the organisation’s strategic plan is to raise £20 million by 2020, and it will invest substantial funds in research. The helper service, which provides terminally ill people with companionship and emotional support, is now running in eight areas, and it is projected to run in four more areas in the future. In addition, a new website that is easier for patients, families and volunteers to access was launched in December last year.
Of course, one of Marie Curie’s biggest successes is the annual great daffodil appeal. Last year, the countrywide campaign raised £8.26 million. The 2015 daffodil appeal will be even bigger. Marie Curie aims to raise £8.7 million, which will amount to an additional £500,000 compared with 2014. Considering that, for every £20 collected, the organisation can provide one hour of nursing care to a patient, those numbers are tremendous.
However, it is important to remember that Marie Curie’s work and the great daffodil appeal would not be possible without the dedicated help of many volunteers. This year, the organisation has set itself a target of recruiting 26,000 voluntary staff. Collector recruitment started in January through social media channels, and volunteers are now able to register online with the help of the new campaign management software.
I extend particular gratitude to all Marie Curie volunteers in my constituency of Kirkcaldy in Fife. During the 2014 great daffodil appeal, collectors from Perth, Kinross, Fife and Stirling raised an incredible £44,179, which allowed Marie Curie to care for 856 terminally ill people in Mid Scotland and Fife. Every March, it is my pleasure to join volunteers in their fundraising activities, and it is truly inspiring to see their tireless commitment. I also look forward to holding another tea party, as I did last year, to raise funds for the organisation.
In addition to this year’s great daffodil appeal, Marie Curie has been selected as a charity to benefit from the swimathon the world’s biggest annual fundraising swimming event, which will take place in April. As of last week, 13,866 people had signed up throughout the United Kingdom to participate in the event. Earlier this year, I was fortunate enough to be able to assist local Marie Curie fundraising co-ordinators in promoting the swimathon, and I am positive that it will be a great success.
Apart from those fantastic fundraising activities, the helpers programme, which was launched in Fife in 2014 by the Minister for Public Health, now delivers additional services to patients and their families. Terminally ill people are visited for several hours a week by specially trained volunteers who offer one-to-one support, ranging from helping with small tasks to making a cup of tea.
I have talked about Marie Curie’s remarkable accomplishments in Scotland, including in my local area, but I want to raise awareness of the work that is still necessary to meet the challenge of the future. People will live longer: 1.2 million people will surpass 90 years of age by 2033, and the number of people dying will increase by 5 per cent over the next 15 years. Simultaneously, people will be faced with more complex illnesses.
Given those statistics, it must remain a priority to ensure that everyone receives the care that they deserve. Scotland, in partnership with organisations such as Marie Curie, needs to ensure that terminally ill people and their families and loved ones will continue to receive the care that they deserve. To use Marie Curie’s words, we must deliver
“the right care, in the right place, at the right time”.
Finally, I want to encourage all fellow Scots to wear a daffodil and show support for Marie Curie’s invaluable services to our country.
17:48
As a long-time patron of Marie Curie Cancer Care, I congratulate Linda Fabiani on securing today’s debate, in which I am delighted to participate. I well remember the fun that I had a few years ago compiling a book of MSPs’ favourite recipes, which eventually raised some £18,000 for Marie Curie. I never had any complaints about any of the recipes either, thank goodness.
I am pleased that our Parliament is taking the opportunity to highlight this month’s annual daffodil appeal, and I encourage constituents to support it and wear their daffodils with pride. The money raised in the 2014 appeal funded more than 30,000 hours of nursing care and emotional support. I have a collection box in my office if anyone still needs a daffodil.
It is also right that we pay tribute to the excellent work undertaken by Marie Curie staff in Scotland—nurses, doctors, hospice staff, campaigners and policy staff—and that we commend all the volunteers and fundraisers who are the bedrock of the charity. Marie Curie’s dedicated and caring nurses offer invaluable practical and emotional support to so many of our terminally ill constituents across the country, and to their families and friends.
In my region, the Highlands and Islands, in 2013-14, Marie Curie carried out 12,675 visits to 2,518 constituents with terminal illness. Its support ensured that the vast majority of terminally ill patients in the Highlands and Islands were able to die in the place of their choice. I support the charity so that it can help to ensure that every patient is able to make that choice.
Nurses in my region often have the additional challenge of covering a wide geographical area. Staff such as Marie Curie nurses Phyllis McKirdy, who does sterling work in Bute and Cowal, or Nadine Archibald from Strathy, who works across Caithness and Sutherland, regularly travel 100 miles for a shift. They are an example to us all, and I am delighted that, in 2013, they both won a prestigious Peacock nursing award in the above and beyond category for always going the extra mile.
Like other members, I welcome Marie Curie’s new strategy for 2014 to 2019, which sets out plans to reach even more people living with a terminal illness. The strategy deserves the backing of all MSPs and the Government. We need to face the reality that Marie Curie Cancer Care’s services will be needed more than ever in the future, as the number of people aged 75 and over is expected to increase by 86 per cent by 2057.
In previous debates on the subject, I have referred to the extraordinary bravery of Marie Curie and her husband, who were pioneers in radiation and sacrificed their own lives so that others could benefit from the scientific advances that they developed. It is right that her name lives on through the charity. It also lives on through the European Union’s Marie Sklodowska-Curie research funding, which I noted—slightly to my horror—from a recent European and External Relations Committee briefing faces a cut of €100 million.
I have checked with Marie Curie Cancer Care and am relieved that the cuts to that EU funding stream will not affect the charity’s vital funded research. However, it seems a retrograde step for the EU to cut back on support for research when it is of such importance not only to human health but to the EU’s economy. Investment in cutting-edge medical research is crucial if the EU wants to maintain competitiveness in the face of international challenges from India and the far east.
I am delighted to take part in the debate and wish the great daffodil appeal a record success in 2015. I encourage everyone to give generously to support the appeal and back the world-class efforts of our Marie Curie nurses.
17:52
I, too, thank my good friend Linda Fabiani for securing the debate and, importantly, for bringing it to my attention that somewhere on the internet there might be a picture of the minister dressed as a daffodil. I will certainly be away to look at YouTube later on.
The timing of the debate is opportune. It allows us to acknowledge the phenomenal fundraising effort that goes into the daffodil appeal, which is central to allowing Marie Curie to do what it does on behalf of terminally ill people and their families. The briefing from Marie Curie suggests that in 2014 the money that was raised in Scotland funded more than 30,000 hours of nursing care and emotional support.
It has been said already, but I record my personal thanks to Marie Curie, its staff and volunteers, many of whom are in the gallery. They all wandered in just as I was preparing to deliver my closing speech in the debate on mental health, so for a moment I thought that I might be more of a crowd puller than I am generally given credit for. The work that they do nationally, regionally and locally really deserves credit and our gratitude.
Colleagues will be aware of my support for the Assisted Suicide (Scotland) Bill. It came up in the debate on mental health and it is worth putting on record again the fact that I have always made it clear that I do not see any contradiction between my support for that bill and my absolute commitment to ensuring that we invest properly and progressively in palliative care. It is not an either/or situation.
I am conscious that in debates such as this members can cover a lot of the same ground, so I will hastily retreat to my constituency and describe what is happening in Orkney, where Marie Curie is a relatively recent arrival. The challenges that the charity faces are significant. There is an ageing population—that is the case everywhere else, but it is particularly so in the islands. There are also the complex illnesses and the complexity of delivering such services across a dispersed island population. The charity is also dealing with the challenge of perception, which it faces everywhere. There still is a bit of a lag effect in understanding that its work goes beyond simply treating people who are affected by cancer.
I am delighted to see Dr Andy Trevett and the Stromness practice taking a lead in delivering services, alongside their colleagues in the Dounby practice, through the west mainland of Orkney. The patient numbers are relatively small, but the impact has already been significant. The feedback to date from patients and their families has been hugely positive.
The support from the wider community—reflecting what we see nationally—has been unbelievable. Last year, £21,000 was raised in Orkney, which represents more than £1 for every man, woman and child in the constituency. I would like to acknowledge major contributors including Giffy Leslie and the West End hotel, through a production of “Sound of Music” and a vintage car rally, but there are many contributors, so it is perhaps invidious to draw out just those two examples.
I thank Barbara Todd for her efforts. I had a missed call earlier, during the afternoon debates, which suggests that she might not have been able to make it down from Orkney, which would be a real shame. Her efforts in supporting the group of volunteers and making the case for rolling out Marie Curie services in Orkney have been truly phenomenal. Discussions are on-going with NHS Orkney about a possible roll-out. I know that it is not straightforward and that the board will wish to be reassured about the impact on other services. However, the work that has already been done demonstrates the value of the service, so I hope that progress can be made on that.
I congratulate Linda Fabiani once again and offer my thanks and gratitude to all the Marie Curie nurses and staff, and, of course, the volunteers, whom I look forward to meeting later this evening at the reception. I thank them for the truly wonderful work that they do, which allows people to die with dignity and in the place of their choice.
17:57
I, too, congratulate Linda Fabiani for securing the debate, which marks the start of the great daffodil appeal and pays tribute to the work of Marie Curie Cancer Care, which provides care at home or in one of its hospices to more than 5,500 patients who are suffering from terminal illnesses in Scotland. I have seen first-hand the wonderful work that Marie Curie does in supporting family members and in looking after their terminally ill relatives. I and my family are very grateful for that.
I want to use my time tonight to highlight the need for palliative care to be made available and accessible to everyone who has a terminal illness. Palliative care is not included in the Scottish Government’s 2020 vision for health, so it is important that we get it included as soon as possible because too many people are dying in hospital—almost 50 per cent. In many cases, hospital is an inappropriate place for them to die. It is really sad that people who are in the last weeks or months of their lives are in hospital wards, when they should be at home or in a homely setting, with their family and loved ones around them, living their last days to the full and savouring every minute.
We also need to provide good-quality palliative care throughout our communities, especially in rural areas. It is difficult to access such care if people are away from core services unless a lot of thought is put into how that care can be delivered. I know that Marie Curie supports that ambition and also helps to design rural services. It is important that services meet the needs of patients and are deliverable where patients live.
It is also important to acknowledge the work of community nurses and general practitioners in remote communities because they are often at the forefront of delivering such care and in many cases work very hard to support people at home. However, care should not be delivered in a way that is dependent on the good will of those dedicated staff—they need flexible back-up to assist them in providing those services. That back-up is something that Marie Curie provides.
Research has shown that 65 per cent of those who suffer from a terminal illness would prefer to die in their own homes, but only 25 per cent of them do that currently.
Palliative care at home is often not seen as an option for many terminally ill patients. There is an urgent need to consider new and improved models of care, especially for people who live in rural and scattered communities. All over Scotland, too many people are receiving palliative care packages far too late, usually in the last eight weeks of their lives. As Patricia Ferguson said, as many as eight out of 10 people who have a non-cancer terminal illness do not receive any palliative care at all.
Marie Curie Cancer Care provides care to as many terminally ill people as possible. We need to support the great daffodil appeal, and help Marie Curie to continue that valuable work, but we also need to work with the charity to design palliative care services in every community. We should aspire to deliver high-quality palliative care to everyone who has a terminal illness.
18:00
I thank Linda Fabiani for bringing the debate to the chamber. I recognise the great work of Marie Curie and its volunteers, who we can see are in the public gallery in great numbers tonight.
I wanted to speak in the debate for a couple of reasons. One reason is very personal, and the other one—if you will indulge me, Presiding Officer—is a very Paisley-centric reason, because when it comes to fundraising, no buddie does it better. [Laughter.] Do members see what I did there? That was quite good.
This is my debate, and it is people from East Kilbride who are up in the public gallery tonight.
Along with the representatives of Scotland’s largest town, Paisley.
My personal reason for wanting to speak in the debate is that my mum died of a cancer-related illness a couple of years ago. That maybe shows that I was, am and always will be a bit of a mammy’s boy.
Traditionally, as has been said, Marie Curie supports families like mine. It did so in my mum’s case, and the idea was that she would have her last days in her space in the world: in her house, with her things and her family round about her. Unfortunately for us, things moved on a bit faster, but the fact that we had the opportunity—as other families can have the opportunity—to spend time in our own wee place in the world made all the difference.
I will never forget the conversation that took place when the doctor said that my mum was dying. We said, “Mum, you’re dying,” and the first thing that she said was, “When am I getting home, son?” All that she wanted to do was to go back to her place. The support that is offered in that respect by charities such as Marie Curie is extremely important to families throughout Scotland.
I mentioned the fundraising, which is really about the people who are involved in it. The daffodil days, or weeks, are just one aspect of the many fundraising events that take place throughout the country all the time. Only a couple of weeks ago, I did a fire walk: I walked over fire. I have not quite got as far as water yet, but fire is okay.
It was great seeing everyone together at that event—all the people involved, including those whose families had used Marie Curie’s services—raising funds and ensuring that they could make a difference and get that extra bit of money.
So far, £9,000 has been raised from that one event: the fire walk. The Marie Curie representatives from Paisley who are in the public gallery are probably here to chase me up for my money, because as yet I have not given it all in. I will be getting round every member in the chamber tonight to ensure that they give me some sponsorship money for the time that I spent walking on fire, because it was quite difficult.
The guy who ran the event said something quite funny. He said, “George, I can tell you’ve done it before, because you started taking your time as you walked over fire. That’s quite dangerous—don’t do that again.” That is just one example of all the fun events that are held throughout the country and the money that is raised.
I would say that everything—Marie Curie, politics—is about people. It is about people raising funds for their charities; people using the Marie Curie services; and people becoming aware of the many issues that are involved. People such as Lynn Wilson, Julie Mcguire and Jayne Evans are part of the Paisley group, which has been going only since August 2012 and has already raised £47,000 for the charity. That demonstrates the level of commitment that people have. Some of them have family members who have had to use the services, which just shows how much people want to give back at a time of need.
One of the important things that Marie Curie brought up in its briefing paper was the need to discuss as a nation how we deal with palliative care and how we talk about death when it comes to that difficult time when someone says that a member of the family is terminally ill. We have to have that discussion about what we do. As I said, my mum’s first thought was just to get back home, but she was almost kidding herself on that it was not true and was not happening. We have to deal with all that and ensure that the support mechanisms, such as Marie Curie and others, are available for families to be able to do that.
I am happy to congratulate Marie Curie on all its efforts and I am proud to be debating the issue. I am also proud of my colleagues in Paisley who have raised so much money and who are committed to the cause.
18:05
I am pleased to close this interesting and, in parts, light-hearted debate. I thank Linda Fabiani for bringing it to the chamber, and I thank Marie Curie Cancer Care for having a stall in the members’ lobby and for the reception later this evening to allow members to learn more about its work. I, too, welcome the people in the public gallery from Marie Curie Cancer Care. With their colleagues, they play a pivotal role in community settings across Scotland, working in partnership with people and their families in the final stages of their lives to provide person-centred, safe and effective care.
For Marie Curie, events such as the great daffodil appeal in March are key to raising funds to continue to provide care for families across Scotland who need support at a very difficult time. Of course, the daffodil appeal is the major part of Marie Curie’s fundraising but, as Jamie McGrigor reminded us, there is also a recipe book—I had not forgotten the book, but I had forgotten that it raises funds for Marie Curie. I did not know that George Adam had been fire walking to raise funds. I note that one of the other fundraising events is a trek in Cambodia. Linda Fabiani has not asked me to join her on that, but maybe that is because George Adam is going to undertake that as his next fundraising event. I thank the thousands of volunteers across Scotland who raise funds.
On Monday, I was in Stobhill hospital where, in the foyer, there were some grandparents with their grandchildren badgering people for funds. People across Scotland raise funds. All the members who have spoken have mentioned the fundraising and services in their constituencies. I recognise my local fundraiser, Carolyn Snedden, the community fundraiser for Marie Curie in the office in Aberdeen. As Linda Fabiani said, she badgered me to spend an afternoon fundraising at Asda in Portlethen. We raised a fair amount of money in that afternoon’s work and, yes, I will send Liam McArthur the link to the picture of me in my daffodil hat at that event.
Linda Fabiani mentioned the Scottish Government’s 2020 vision for health and social care. The Scottish Government is committed to high-quality palliative and end-of-life care for all. The need for a clear shared vision on the future of palliative and end-of-life care is widely agreed by the Scottish Government, NHS boards and the range of stakeholders in end-of-life and palliative care.
We have established a new national advisory structure, refreshed stakeholder engagement and put in place detailed plans to support our commitment to publish a strategic framework for action. The focus is on future priorities, to ensure high-quality palliative and end-of-life care for everyone in Scotland. The framework will link more clearly to the 2020 vision for health and social care and it will reflect our commitment to quality measurement and improvement. It is for that reason that we have agreed to the national advisory group’s request to extend the process in support of our strategic framework for action, to allow for a further focused period of dialogue and consultation, with a final framework to be approved by the end of this year.
We want to achieve improvement by working with people. We want to develop services that are founded on a joint agreement on what is needed and it is important that the people of Scotland understand where we are going and why. That is why the Scottish Government is dedicated to working with clinical and care professionals, the third sector and people such as those in Marie Curie Cancer Care who have direct experience of the issues that matter most when time becomes shorter due to a diagnosis of an incurable condition. The strategic framework for action will provide a concrete platform and will focus on palliative and end-of-life care. It will also create the setting for continuous improvement.
The Scottish Government’s ambition is to ensure that all services are co-produced with the communities that they serve, build on people’s assets and support the health and wellbeing of the whole person and their family. Patricia Ferguson was right to mention support services for children and young people, which are so crucially needed by so many families. I am glad that there is the service that she talked about in Glasgow. It needs to be rolled out so that it is available throughout Scotland.
The integration of health and social care and the legislative changes that we have introduced with regard to that set in place a new framework for how services are organised that will be central to the provision of palliative and end-of-life care. We are working closely with acute and community health services, social work services and the third sector, including Marie Curie Cancer Care, to ensure that we get the balance right for the provision of palliative and end-of-life care.
In taking forward that ambitious approach, we fully recognise that we need to address the taboo that exists in Scotland on discussing the issues around death and dying. We are supportive of the good work that is being undertaken to help people to talk about death and deal with related issues constructively, rather than avoiding the difficult conversations. Achieving that vision will prevent unnecessary suffering and financial and practical complications to do with dying intestate, for example; prevent the absence of advanced care planning, which can lead to inappropriate admissions and futile and distressing medical interventions; and prevent the isolation of the very ill and bereaved when people are uncomfortable about what to say.
We recognise that most people want to plan care, to support them to be at home with their families at the end of their lives. Anticipatory care planning is now central to health and care in Scotland and is growing through its inclusion in new quality indicators in the GP contract.
By working together with organisations such as Marie Curie Cancer Care, we have made great progress in the provision of palliative and end-of-life care. However, we cannot be complacent and we recognise that more needs to be done. We remain committed to delivering high-quality palliative and end-of-life care in Scotland.
I am sure that this year’s daffodil appeal will be an even greater success than last year’s, and that Marie Curie Cancer Care’s services will continue to work with us in partnership, to ensure that anyone who requires it gets high-quality end-of-life care. I am sure that everyone in this chamber agrees that that is not only required but truly deserved.
Meeting closed at 18:13.Previous
Decision Time