Chamber and committees

We also want to better recognise the contribution of unpaid carers, without whom our social care system simply could not function. Almost two thirds of unpaid carers have been unable to take a break from their caring role since the start of the pandemic. Too often, unpaid carers become worn down and exhausted due to inadequate support and may even be forced to neglect their own health. That is why the Scottish Greens and the Government are committed to introducing a guarantee of short breaks and flexible healthcare appointments for unpaid carers. We will also ensure that care workers and unpaid carers can access bereavement services whenever they need to, so that they are not left unsupported at one of the times when they are in greatest need.

I will end my speech by focusing on the NHS recovery plan. I welcome its publication along with the acknowledgment that the pandemic has placed our NHS under severe pressure and that there is much more work to be done to help it to recover. However, I have concerns about workforce shortages undermining the plan’s ambitions, and I would like the cabinet secretary to reflect on that in his summing up.

No. I am in my final minute.

Conservative colleagues have said that they will vote against the scheme this evening, but it is important that they speak to colleagues at Westminster—I implore them to do so—and lobby for furlough to be extended. It is hypocritical to vote against health protection measures here without any making attempt to resolve the issues that hamstring other interventions.

As I said, we did not want the decision to be on the table for many reasons, which I have laid out. However, we will not shy away from taking the decisions that are in the best interests of this country. We will continue to work with the Government to ensure that the most vulnerable are protected and that the scheme is not in place for a day longer than it needs to be, and to minimise the restrictions on our civil liberties that the pandemic has sadly made necessary.

No, thank you.

For the reduction in transmission to happen, however, we need more people to be vaccinated than there are currently. The lower uptake numbers of the vaccine in lower age groups have been widely reported and we must continue to encourage young people to take up the vaccine. I hope that—[Interruption.] I have a lot to get through and the Greens have only one speech. I am genuinely sorry.

We need to continue to encourage young people to take up the vaccine, and I hope that, alongside other measures, certification will be part of that, as has happened elsewhere. I would appreciate it if the cabinet secretary would tell us in closing whether there have been any early signs of an impact on vaccine uptake since certification was announced.

Evidence that was published in The Lancet on 1 September by Antonelli et al said:

“We found that the odds of having symptoms for 28 days or more after post-vaccination infection were approximately halved by having two vaccine doses. This result suggests that the risk of long COVID is reduced in individuals who have received double vaccination, when additionally considering the already documented reduced risk of infection overall.”

I hope that the Scottish Government will look into that further and commission research on it in a Scottish setting.

For some young people, the advice will seem contradictory to the narrative throughout the pandemic. We have told young people for 18 months that they are at less risk of becoming seriously ill. That does not mean, however, that there is no possibility that they will become ill, and there are now more people under 40 than in any other age category in hospital. Long Covid has also always been, and will continue to be, a real danger for anyone who catches the virus.

At the start of the pandemic, young people were asked to do the right thing, abide by lockdown measures and keep everyone safe, which meant that they often missed out on formative experiences, such as graduation, freshers week and entering the workforce. We greatly appreciate those sacrifices, and we now have to ask them again to do something so that they do not miss anything.

I really need to get through stuff.

We ask young people to get their vaccinations not just to protect them, but to protect everyone around them.

Some people have said that a vaccine certification scheme might increase vaccine hesitancy, but that does not appear to have happened in comparable countries that have introduced similar schemes. I implore health boards and the Government to continue to reach out to those who have expressed hesitancy to give them the information that they need on the vaccine.

Since the plans were announced last week, I and my colleagues in the Green group have pushed strongly to ensure that the scheme is time limited and targeted, in order to increase the vaccination rate and, as a result, decrease the rate of transmission. I am pleased that, in addition to a review every three weeks, a provisional end date for the scheme is set for the end of February.

I have also pushed to ensure that the scheme will not adversely impact disabled people and other marginalised groups. I am pleased that paper certificates will be readily available, that the medical data will be limited and that individuals who cannot be vaccinated for health reasons will be exempt. Nevertheless, I am acutely aware that such an adverse impact remains a risk of the policy, and I will keep a close eye on the matter.

I am also aware of the impact that the scheme could have on students and others who have been vaccinated in countries where it might be difficult to obtain proof of vaccination. We are continuing to work with the Government on that issue, and I am encouraged that everyone who has taken part in a vaccine trial will automatically get the certificate.

I understand the moral and ethical concerns that other members have raised. I respect their point of view, which is one that the Greens previously shared when furlough was still in place and some age groups had not yet had access to vaccinations. If we were considering the health impacts of Covid, re-imposing wider restrictions would probably be the obvious initial step. However, with furlough ending shortly, we no longer have that choice. The consequences of shutting industries without furlough would lead to job losses and the closure of businesses on a scale far beyond what we have already seen. We would be having an entirely different discussion today if we had the ability to extend furlough and provide the needed financial support to reintroduce restrictions. We are in the realm of the least-worst option.

There is also a study in the New England Journal of Medicine, which says that there is a reduction in the transmissibility of the virus when people are double-vaccinated.

We all hoped that this decision would not need to be made, but the simple fact is that the pandemic continues to rage and action is needed once again. I want to set out and explain how the Greens have come to our position on the issue. [Laughter.] I do not think that laughter from the Conservatives is helpful.

The rise in case numbers and plateauing vaccine rates mean that we are on the brink of reimposing restrictions that we thought we were at the end of, and many of our health boards are struggling to cope. Many of them have stopped non-urgent surgery and are dealing with rising numbers of presentations at accident and emergency and minor injuries services.

Many people have written to me about vaccine certificates, and I have taken into careful consideration what has been said when arriving at the position that we have reached. It is true that the vaccine is less effective at stopping transmission of the delta variant compared with the alpha variant. It does, however, reduce transmission and serious illness. I have scientific papers, if anyone wants to see them; I can send people links.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. There is a strong point to be made about noise in the chamber during that session. Over the past couple of weeks, in particular, the noise level has prohibited me, as a member with a disability, from participating fully. I would be really appreciative if you could write to the business managers, setting out how we can continue to make the chamber a place where everybody can participate despite their disabilities. [Applause.]

To ask the Scottish Government what the average waiting time is for cataract surgery. (S6O-00101)

Obviously, this all has the pandemic as a backdrop. I have been contacted by a constituent who has been advised by NHS Lanarkshire that she will have to wait for at least 70 weeks for cataract surgery unless she pays for private healthcare. My constituent’s eyesight is deteriorating rapidly and she is terrified that she will soon be unable to drive or perform her duties as a teacher. What support can the Government provide to NHS Lanarkshire to help it to reduce its waiting times for cataract surgery?

When will we see an implementation plan for the women’s health plan, and will it include specific timescales for things coming forward?