Chamber and committees

Mr Dey made some important points about the collaborative working that has developed and really flourished with the RICs at both the local and national levels. Families seem to have had quite a bit of input and there has been close working with teachers and so on. How can we ensure that families continue to influence policy and decision making not just at the local level, but at the national level, too? How do you intend to do that?

How will multiyear funding support better planning?

The Scottish Human Rights Commission has expressed concern about the UK Government’s plans to introduce legislation to replace the Human Rights Act 1998 with a new bill of rights. Can the Deputy First Minister say whether proposed reforms could take place without unsettling the current devolution arrangements, and what actions the Scottish Government will take to oppose any regressive proposals?

Although it is great that many people are getting help with new boilers under the warmer homes Scotland scheme, the decision in May 2017 to exclude non-traditional construction properties from funding for external wall insulation means that a lot of expensive energy is still wasted. Many local authority houses are affected. Would the Scottish Government consider reviewing the position, given the current cost of living crisis?

We have known for quite a long time from the Christie commission report and so on about the shift that needs to be made from critical to preventative care. Indeed, that is something that I think we can all agree on. Have we looked at the level of unmet need and what it would cost to meet it, instead of just looking at how we meet substantial and critical needs? Is there a greater cost in not meeting those needs from the point of view of prevention and keeping people well?

It is a work in progress.

Yes. The recommendations in the 2019 fair work convention report went way beyond pay and conditions. Can you provide us with examples of, or information about, plans for how social care workers will be involved in the design, development and delivery of the service?

Earlier, you gave us the very good example of Granite Care Consortium—I hope that I got the name right—and front-line staff being able to step up care to prevent people from going into hospital and then to step down that care. How can we measure the effectiveness of our investment in prevention and build that evidence so that we can deliver this right across the board at national level?

I have a short question to finish up. Has any work been done on, or is there any interest in having, a dashboard of wellbeing indicators from which we can get feedback from individuals on how they are doing? I am stealing that idea from the Education, Children and Young People Committee, which I also sit on. As we have seen from the evidence, data can be heard to measure and it can be difficult to get the information. Is that something that you have looked at or would consider looking at in the future?

I, too, thank Jackie Baillie for lodging her motion. This is a day for celebration. It is a day to celebrate the dedication, kindness and passion of nurses in Scotland and beyond. Nurses are people who keep the health service going, no matter what happens. They deserve our recognition and thanks, and they need our commitment to their future because that safeguards our futures, too.

My colleagues have spoken about the important challenges and pressures that nursing staff in the NHS face, and I will not repeat a lot of those points. Suffice it to say that the pandemic has been extremely hard on nurses and other health professionals in carrying out their role. Those roles will be vital as we recover from the pandemic, especially with Brexit making it harder to attract overseas passion. This is a profession that is constantly evolving and needs to attract more talent.

However, today should not be about political disagreement, because our nurses deserve to be celebrated. Instead, I want to talk about what makes a great nurse and why it is such a brilliant profession to join.

Earlier today I spoke to Roz Kerr, a Hamilton lass who is filled with kindness and compassion. Roz and her sisters, Arlene and Jean, have dedicated their careers to the NHS and have recently celebrated a combined 100 years of service. That is an inspiration. [Applause.] For Roz, being a nurse means being an advocate for her patients, constantly treating people as she would wish to be treated and would wish her family members to be treated. As a member of a surgical team, Roz helps to create a sense of comfort and normality when patients have butterflies before theatre.

This morning, I asked Roz what makes a great nurse. One of the first things that she said is that nurses need to be really hard workers, that they need to be strong mentally and physically, and that they need to be unselfish and willing to put their patient first. I do not think anyone will be surprised that Roz said that nurses need to have great communication skills and that they need empathy. However, she also said that it is important that a nurse has great attention to detail, that they are a people person and that they are someone who really cares. We should note that those qualities make not only a great nurse but a great person.

Nurses deliver exceptional care to patients, bringing comfort to many. They are rewarded with a sense of achievement and joy—the feeling that they have made a real difference to someone’s life. Roz says that that feeling is absolutely priceless. She described the joy when a patient who has been suffering from chronic pain, often for quite a long time, has a hip or knee replaced, and they say, “Wow—this I can live with.”

I could tell from speaking with Roz just how much she loves her profession. She really wants to encourage others to follow in her and her sisters’ footsteps. She says that people should not be put off by Brexit. If someone is thinking about being a nurse, they should start on that incredible journey.

I also have a personal story of my own. In January 2020, my partner, the father of our three young children, had a massive heart attack. It runs in his family. Had he not been really fit and healthy, who knows what would have happened? Probably the worst, I imagine.

Any heart attack can be fatal, but one kind has earned notoriety and a scary sounding nickname because it is especially dangerous: the widow maker. Such heart attacks occur when the left anterior descending artery—LAD—which supplies blood to the larger front part of the heart, is completely blocked. My husband was rushed to University hospital Hairmyres and had a stent fitted. The care that he received from specialist nurses and other care professionals was nothing short of outstanding.

In another country, we would have been bankrupted by medical bills, but not in Scotland. It has been a really hard road at times, but, after two long years, he reckons that his health is nine out of 10 compared with how he was before. I think that that is amazing. My children still have their father because of those nurses and doctors.

To me, our NHS is beyond precious and our nurses are one of the jewels in that crown. I end with a thank you to Roz, Jean and Arlene, and to every single nurse in Scotland and beyond.