Chamber and committees

Like Bob Doris, I have holidayed in Dumfries, and like it. Would Colin Smyth agree that Oban, in Argyll and Bute, is also a good contender to be the newest city in Scotland?

To ask the Scottish Government how it works with Argyll and Bute Council to support the delivery of local government services across the area’s islands and remote peninsulas. (S6O-00535)

Employment is integral to supporting the delivery of local government services across Argyll and Bute. Will the minister therefore provide an update on the work of the Campbeltown economic summit, which was convened following the closure of the wind tower factory and the town’s creamery?

My dear friend Carl Reavey died of an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in January 2018. He was 61. Carl was a force of nature and his sudden shocking death impacted on the many people who had the great fortune to know him. This debate is in Carl’s memory and is for all those who have lost loved ones as a result of cardiac arrest. It is also in recognition of the work of communities across Scotland, including in my constituency of Argyll and Bute, who have raised funds, completed training and helped to save lives through installation of defibrillators.

I thank members from all sides of the chamber who have supported the motion. We are in the privileged position of being able to help to raise awareness of the work that the British Heart Foundation is doing alongside the Scottish Ambulance Service, NHS Scotland and Microsoft, in establishing the Circuit—Scotland’s first network of defibrillators.

I never met my maternal grandfather—he died of an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in 1964. Back then, there was only a vague understanding of the processes that underlie heart disease. Doctors could not do much; they simply let nature take its course. Since then, the Scottish death rate from heart and circulatory diseases has declined by more than three quarters, but for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests—there are about 3,200 in Scotland every year—the survival rate is only 10 per cent. The figures are stark: every minute without cardiopulmonary resuscitation and defibrillation reduces the chance of survival by 10 per cent.

The Scottish Government’s document “Scotland’s Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Strategy 2021-2026” aims for

“20% of ... cardiac arrests”

to

“have a defibrillator applied before the ambulance”

arrives. Research suggests that that means having a defibrillator situated every 200m in urban areas, and having one for every 1,000 people in rural areas, so it is quite a target to reach.

Cairndow, around the head of Loch Fyne in Argyll and Bute, has three community defibrillators. Two are community funded, and one is funded by a local business. Last year, one was deployed when a visitor fell ill in a remote part of the community. The response was exceptional. The British Heart Foundation had provided two basic life-support training sessions in the Cairndow village hall. The first person to arrive on the scene had attended that training and commenced manual CPR, while directing someone else to get the nearest defibrillator and raise the alarm. The air ambulance, an ambulance crew and police all attended, and the community defibrillator was applied before the services arrived.

That community response was made possible by British Heart Foundation training, locally funded defibrillators and good community awareness. The next day, the defibrillator pads were replaced by private community donations in order to keep the defibrillator in service. Without individuals donating or communities fundraising, the defibrillators will not be there, and so the Scottish Government’s target might be difficult to achieve.

My motion notes that more could be done. I have two suggestions, although I am sure that many more could be made. By using building planning regulations, could new developments be mandated to put in a defibrillator cabinet? Following on from my question in the chamber in response to last week’s budget, could the Scottish Government campaign for a removal of, or reduction in, VAT on defibrillators?

I started my speech by remembering Carl Reavey. Carl’s life was action packed. He was a sound engineer with The Undertones, a bird watcher, a photographer, an editor, a hotelier, a promoter of whisky and a cyclist. He was a son, a brother, a husband, a father and a friend. Carl’s smile and laughter lit up the room, but an electrical malfunction in his heart forced the life from him. Jan, his wife, was alone with him when it happened. She dialled 999. She administered CPR, having been told not to stop until the ambulance arrived. She could not leave him. No one knew to get the village defibrillator. Registering a community defibrillator on the Circuit might help in circumstances like that, so please—please—do it.

I finish with the words on the memorial for Carl in the community woodland that he and I worked together to establish:

“A lover of nature
By nature good natured
By nature a friend
A lover of a dram (naturally)
By nature a thinker
By nature a doer
A force of nature”

I simply ask, on behalf of Jan, that we lose no more forces of nature simply because a defibrillator is not registered on the Circuit.

The cabinet secretary may be aware that I am holding a members’ business debate next week to highlight the importance of access to defibrillators in communities across Scotland. Access to defibrillators could play a significant role in improving outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrests across Scotland, but, for some communities, the cost of purchasing them and on-going materials continues to be a barrier. Although VAT on defibrillators continues to be a matter that is reserved to the United Kingdom Government, does the cabinet secretary agree that that would be one area in which the Scottish budget could go further if we had the full fiscal levers at our disposal to support community access to that life-saving equipment?

Transport links are integral to rural, disparate communities. The island of Jura, in my constituency, has had a 40 per cent population increase in the past 10 years, but their transport links need some improvement. What plans does the Scottish Government have to engage with island residents regarding their connectivity needs as it progresses its commitment to deliver the islands connectivity plan, to ensure that our island communities flourish?

I thank the minister for her statement. How will the Scottish Government ensure that the history and culture of rural and island areas, especially in Gaelic, will be reflected in its policies?

To ask the Scottish Government how it is ensuring that the views of Argyll and Bute’s diverse communities are taken into account in the development of its policies. (S6O-00516)

Argyll and Bute is a place of beauty and isolation but also of many diverse communities that depend on local jobs and services. Infrastructure needs investment, and there has been an acceleration in the price of housing, perhaps as a result of the pandemic. Without intervention, it may become more difficult for local people to stay in their own communities. How will national planning framework 4 reverse that? What advice does the cabinet secretary have to ensure that my constituents’ voices in Argyll and Bute are heard?

A key part of working towards a just transition will mean encouraging growth opportunities in new sectors, particularly in green growth sectors that will require new skills. Will the minister provide an update on the steps that the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that people across Scotland are equipped with the necessary skills for the jobs of the future?