Chamber and committees

I attended the Stranraer oyster festival—the cabinet secretary did as weel—where some fantastic Dumfriesshire and Galloway producers such as Stacy Hannah Chocolate, Moffat Distillery and Sulwath Brewers were selling their products. In addition, over the summer, many people supported our local food and drink producers at various agricultural shows. What further practical steps can the Scottish Government take to support the public to choose local, particularly with Food Standards Scotland pointing out that the Tory-made cost of living crisis is impacting on people’s ability to shop locally?

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to encourage people to support their local food and drink producers. (S6O-02585)

I welcome the opportunity to speak in this short debate. I congratulate Edward Mountain on securing it, and I welcome everybody to the public gallery. I recognise the work that the member has done to raise awareness of bowel cancer and stoma care in Scotland and to champion stoma care for people across Scotland. That includes hosting the reception in the Parliament this evening—unfortunately, I will not be able to attend because I am chairing a cross-party group meeting, but I wish the member well at his event.

I remind members that I am a registered nurse. During my time in the operating theatre, I assisted in many cancer and stoma-creation surgeries. I know that stomas can be created for a number of reasons, such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, or—as I experienced when I worked in Los Angeles—even as a result of trauma inflicted on people by stab wound injuries.

Not all stomas are permanent.

Will the member give way?

I thank Clare Adamson for her intervention. That aspect is important, in my experience. I have looked after children who have had stomas created, and it is important that we highlight the associated stigma.

I will pick up on Edward Mountain’s point about disabled toilets in the Parliament. In the toilets on the fourth floor, where my office is, there was a table during Covid, but now it is not there. It would be really simple to return a table there, while the Parliament is working on the shelf issue. I absolutely support the ask that Edward Mountain has made in the chamber this evening.

I will pick up on the point about bowel screening. It is now quicker and easier to do, with one wee small sample to send instead of the three samples that were previously required. I know that people who are diagnosed with bowel cancer early are 14 times more likely to survive it.

Bowel cancer is one of the main reasons why stomas are created in the first place. The screening test is offered to people who are aged between 50 and 74. I was interested to read that the latest screening uptake statistics for Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders are as follows. A total of 60,677 people in D and G were invited for their screening test, and 38,070 were screened. That was an uptake of 62.7 per cent, which has gone up from previous years in which uptake has been noted. For the same period in the Scottish Borders, 47,389 people were invited for screening, and 30,944 sent in their samples. The Borders uptake, at 65.3 per cent, is therefore slightly better than the uptake in D and G, so there is a wee bit of competition there. Those are good figures, but we need to improve them.

The fact that we are discussing this issue in the chamber today and raising awareness about the importance of screening is really important.

Carol Mochan should be commended for encouraging folk into nursing—I say that as someone who was a nurse for 30 years before coming here. Through the comprehensive holistic care that they deliver, stoma care nurse specialists are central to enabling people to have good lives. Does the member agree that that message is part of what we need to send in order to encourage people into nursing?

Sure. Obviously, work needs to be done to continue to raise awareness of the importance of screening, and we are helping by talking about it today. I am sure that work will be taken forward to continue to raise awareness of the importance of not only screening for bowel cancer but other screening that we do.

Finally, I want to mention the stoma care nurse specialists, because if we didnae have them, it would be challenging for people to find out about certain things. For example, Edward Mountain described the black marker on his abdomen—I have seen that being done for people. Sometimes, I can see that patients are well informed about it, but, at other times, they need really good support and information. The stoma nurse network in Scotland should be valued and supported, because those nurses do a phenomenal job.

In closing, I thank Edward Mountain again for his courage in bringing the debate to the chamber. All the people who work in stoma services should be recognised for doing a fantastic job, and I encourage everyone who is eligible to ensure that they take up their screening invite.

I have a final quick question. You talk about empowering people. Over the past few years, I have heard people say that they want to work with people to support their care, not to do stuff to them. Are we making progress on the language in relation to working with people rather than doing stuff to them?

My question is not a criticism; I am just raising the fact that there is comprehensive information out there. There are easy-read documents for people, and the videos that you referred to are another great way for folk to get information—they can watch the videos on their phones or whatever. My point is that a lot of work has been done over the summer and it would be good for people to be able to see that.

I am happy for you to do that.