Chamber and committees

Will the minister give way?

I am pleased to have the chance to close the debate for the Scottish Conservatives. As we have heard, dementia is a debilitating condition that more than 90,000 people in Scotland live with. It has been among the leading causes of death in Scotland for several years, and research by Marie Curie found that, by 2040, the number of people dying from dementia, as the main underlying cause of death, is expected to rise by a staggering 185 per cent.

In his opening remarks, the minister reminded us that there is no cure for dementia and that people can live with it for decades. It is really important that we give those people the best possible quality of life. No one disagrees that people in social care with dementia have complex needs. We have heard testimony from members across the chamber who have direct experience of loved ones in that position. People in social care with complex needs must often pay more than other residents. Even though some Scots pay up to £69,000 a year for social care associated with dementia, the Scottish Government has taken no direct action on the issue. Marie Curie, the Alzheimer’s Society and Care Home Relatives Scotland have called for an end to that policy and the Scottish Conservatives have pledged to review the fees that people who are suffering from dementia have to pay for social care.

As well as sharing her personal experience, Tess White mentioned the fact that we have an ageing population in Scotland, but we also have a chronically underresourced social care system and a social care recruitment crisis. We hear that in many of the healthcare debates that we have in the chamber. She said that we are not equipped to deal with the situation, yet the SNP Government has cut £65 million from primary care and £70 million from social care, both of which offer crucial support to people who are suffering from dementia. My colleague Sandesh Gulhane talked about dementia link workers; that is a tangible, practical example of what that money could fund.

Statistically, one in three of us will be directly or indirectly impacted by dementia in our lives. People with dementia are still very much part of the community, and we must treat them with dignity and respect. I recognise the minister’s comments about the language that is used. However, the reality is that if we ask families about “living with dementia”, we find that they do not recognise that term. I am sorry, but they feel as though they are suffering with dementia due to the reduced hours of care, the shortage of care staff, the absence of overnight care, the lack of respite provision, which Alex Cole-Hamilton and Martin Whitfield mentioned, and the lack of local council facilities. The minister has stated that support should be person centred, accessible and available but, sadly, that is not the reality on the ground.

There are well-documented issues with paediatric audiology services in NHS Lothian. Constituents of mine have a four-year-old daughter who suffers from progressive hearing loss and has been waiting for more than 20 weeks for an assessment at the paediatric audiology service at Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Children and Young People. To my dismay, the family have now been told that they must wait a further 11 months for any assessment for their daughter, who is currently 778th on the waiting list. I hope that that is not too uncomfortable for either the First Minister or the health secretary to hear.

With progressive hearing loss, a quicker assessment can mean a much better outcome and life for Annika and other children like her. What will the First Minister say to Annika and her family while they wait—and wait—for what would be almost a quarter of Annika’s life?

Referring back to the evidence from our previous panel, I reiterate that you do not know what you do not know.

We now move to questions from the deputy convener, Kaukab Stewart.

Thank you for your time, cabinet secretary.

I will now suspend for around five minutes to allow for a change of witnesses.

09:50 On resuming—  

Carry on, then—I will deal with you later, Mr Kerr.

I will move to questions from the deputy convener, Kaukab Stewart, to kick-start the discussion around the legislation.

For clarification, the first version of the bill did reference the Equality Act 2010.

We move to questions from Ross Greer.

You have given us a lot of content, and I have a list of supplementary questions that I would like to ask, but we do not have time. The final questions will come from my colleague Bob Doris.

Welcome back. We now move on to our second panel of witnesses who are giving evidence on the Disabled Children and Young People (Transitions to Adulthood) (Scotland) Bill.

I welcome Clare Haughey MSP, the Minister for Children and Young People; Christina McKelvie MSP, the Minister for Equalities and Older People; Sara Hampson, the unit head for supporting disabled children and young people, from the Scottish Government; and Vanessa Redmond, the team leader for supporting disabled children and young people, also from the Scottish Government.

Thank you for joining us today. We will begin with a short opening statement from the Minister for Children and Young People. It is over to you, minister. You have up to three minutes.