Chamber and committees

What action can be taken to ensure that women and their families receive joined-up care? That will obviously be quite different just now from what our ideal would be after the pandemic.

What role do universal services play in prevention of perinatal mental health problems? How can those services be strengthened or better signposted? Those questions are for Maree Todd, first.

The minister mentioned in her statement the interaction between stigma and medication-assisted treatment. I appreciate that the detail of the stigma strategy is probably too great to go into here. Nonetheless, what practical work is under way to engage directly with those who would benefit from medication-assisted treatment, in particular those who may suffer from multiple stigma?

We are still very much in the middle of the pandemic, following the development of the omicron variant. The inquiry cannot wait any longer. Will the cabinet secretary explain whether the inquiry will provide interim reports to inform scrutiny and how it will examine the on-going response to omicron?

I am pleased to be speaking in this very important debate and I also thank Jenni Minto for bringing it to the chamber. Her powerful speech has really set the tone. I also thank the British Heart Foundation for its briefing.

Since the 1960s, huge strides have been made in heart attack survival. In the 1960s, more than seven out of 10 heart attacks were fatal, whereas today at least seven out of ten people who have a heart attack survive. Currently there are 10,000 hospital admissions for heart attacks each year, which is an average of one every 50 minutes.

We need to do more work to make people aware of heart health risks and the implications of such risks for their long-term health. We know about the links between poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking and poor health. Inequality as a driver of poor health cannot be underplayed and the prevalence of heart disease in areas of higher inequality points to the work that still needs to be done. As Stuart McMillan pointed out, people in areas of high inequality are less likely to have access to a defibrillator.

I must stress that it is never too late to look after our heart health. The new year often gives rise to attempts to establish new healthy habits, but I encourage everyone to take a serious look at their heart health and any small but important lifestyle changes that could be made to improve it.

Preventative care plays a huge part in cutting down the number of heart attacks and potential cardiac arrests, but when such things happen outwith hospitals, CPR and community defibrillators can be life saving and, indeed, have saved lives on a number of occasions. As Christine Grahame and Liz Smith have noted, that is especially true in rural settings. It just shows how many people are touched by these issues.

Learning CPR could be one of the best things that everyone could do at home over the Christmas holidays. After all, we never know when we might need it. For someone who has a cardiac arrest, their likelihood of survival decreases by up to 10 per cent every minute without intervention. Defibrillators might appear daunting—and the word is difficult to say—but the important point is that no one needs to be trained to use them. There are clear spoken instructions, and no one can be shocked accidentally, because the machine will provide a shock only when it detects the target rhythm.

Currently less than 5 per cent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests involve bystander intervention, but I am sure that everyone in the chamber will have read stories in the press about those incredible people who step in and make that difference. I cannot stress this enough: knowing what to do could save a life.

Many communities across the country, including in my region of Central Scotland, have raised funds to put defibrillators in key places. Unfortunately, however, many of them have not been registered with the Circuit, which provides a national overview of where defibrillators can be found and connects them with NHS ambulance services to ensure that, in those crucial moments after a cardiac arrest, they can be accessed quickly to help save lives. The Circuit also does life-saving work with regular reminders about maintenance. If communities know of a defibrillator that is not on the Circuit, they should get in touch with the network and get it registered. Knowing where it is might just save someone.

Once again, I congratulate Jenni Minto on securing this debate.

The Scottish Greens have always advocated a cautious approach to dealing with the pandemic, and that remains our position. Boosters will play an increasingly important role in providing protection against the omicron variant, and I urge everyone who is eligible to book their appointment.

I appreciate the further funding from the UK Government that was announced just after 2 pm, but, at the moment, it appears to fall short of furlough. A lack of furlough fundamentally limits the options that are available to the Scottish Government and this Parliament to tackle the spread of the omicron variant. What work is on-going to obtain the financial support that will be required if further measures are needed?

Thank you, Presiding Officer.

Even more galling than all of that has been the behaviour amid revelations that the UK Government does not respect the rules that it has laid down for others. At a time of national crisis, not only did those in his inner circle deliberately breach the very rules that they had set down for the public, they have continually tried to cover it up. Now, footage shows them laughing about it while planning their excuses. This is no laughing matter for those of us who have lost a loved one during the pandemic.

Boris Johnson has jeopardised public compliance with Covid measures—[Interruption.]

Boris Johnson has jeopardised public compliance with Covid measures. Does the First Minister agree that it is time for this corrupt Prime Minister to go?

To ask the First Minister how the Scottish Government is marking international anti-corruption day. (S6F-00558)

Throughout the public health crisis, the Prime Minister has repeatedly been mired in sleaze and corruption. Covid contracts were handed to Conservative Party donors; public sector roles and peerages were handed to political cronies; and an ethics adviser was shown the door rather than having his verdict of ministerial bullying accepted.

Even more galling than that has been the behaviour amid revelations that the United Kingdom Government does not respect the rules that it has laid down for others. At a time of national crisis, not only did those—[Interruption.]