Chamber and committees

The First Minister will be aware of the many challenges that we have across Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders, including the need for investment in roads and rail infrastructure so that we can keep young folk and attract businesses to those regions. Will the First Minister give a commitment that this Government will pay attention to the needs of Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders? Will he advance the strategic transport projects review 2? Will he show that those regions are not forgotten, because we in the south are crucial to Scotland’s future, and to our economy, culture and—

Sorry.

I am pleased to have the opportunity to lead this debate to raise awareness of brain tumours, following wear a hat day on 31 March. I thank members from every party who have supported my motion, thereby allowing the debate to go ahead, and I welcome the Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health to her role in what is, I believe, the first members’ debate that she will respond to. I also thank the Brain Tumour Charity for its continued work to raise awareness of brain tumours, its support for people who are impacted by brain tumours and their families, and its raising of vital funds for brain tumour research.

I applaud the “Better safe than tumour” campaign, which aims to support public awareness of the signs and symptoms of brain tumours, and welcome Thomas Brayford from Brain Tumour Research to the public gallery.

Brain tumours are the biggest killer by cancer of people under the age of 40 in the United Kingdom. Such tumours reduce life expectancy by an average of 20 years, which is the highest figure for any cancer that we currently know of. There are various signs and symptoms, depending on the type of brain tumour and its location, and my motion notes that there are more than 130 types of tumour of the brain.

Some symptoms might be very severe, while others might not be apparent at all. Anyone who experiences concerning signs and symptoms should first visit their general practitioner to discuss those and get further advice.

Brain tumour symptoms can include headaches that are more severe in the morning or that wake people in the night. They are usually different from headaches that the person might have had previously and will be persistent and will worsen over time. Weakness, loss of sensation or numbness are signs of pressure on or damage to a specific part of the brain.

Tumours can also be manifested through unsteady walking, lack of co-ordination and ataxia, or through muscle weakness on one side of the body, which is known as hemiparesis. Hearing loss that occurs on only one side can be a sign of acoustic neuroma. Speech difficulties may include loss of the ability to write, speak or understand words. A person might have expressive dysphasia, which is a difficulty in getting words out, or they might have difficulty articulating words, which is known as dysarthria. Other symptoms can include poor concentration, confusion, memory loss, disorientation, drowsiness and changes in behaviour.

Although the cause of brain tumours is debated, research shows that some genetic conditions that predispose a person to overproduction of certain cells and exposure to some forms of radiation are key causes.

In my time working in an operating theatre in Los Angeles, I had the privilege of working with a neurosurgeon called Dr Keith Black, who is now chair of neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he continues his research. He was a pioneer in developing the surgery that we now know as awake craniotomy, for removal of particular tumours that occur in the speech centre of the brain. For anyone who is not squeamish and who wants to watch them, some amazing films of awake craniotomy on YouTube demonstrate how far we have come in developing advanced surgery techniques.

Around 60 per cent of people who are diagnosed with a high-grade brain tumour will die within one year and only 19 per cent will survive for five years or more. Brain tumours are one of the four cancers with a 10-year survival rate of less than 15 per cent. My Auntie Jean, who was not even 50 years old, did not survive a diagnosis of astrocytoma.

We must see change. Early diagnosis of brian tumours remains challenging, with estimates suggesting that up to 64 per cent of patients—quite a high number—are diagnosed in accident and emergency departments.

We must acknowledge that the pandemic has meant that many patients have faced disruption to their care, clinics, appointments and treatments including surgery or chemotherapy. Although the national health service took extensive steps to keep cancer services running, we know that in most areas in Scotland surgery for people living with low-grade or less aggressive brain tumours was delayed, and that the pandemic continues to have a huge impact on all aspects of our NHS.

The Brain Tumour Charity asks the Scottish Government to ensure that everyone who is diagnosed with a brain tumour can access support from a clinical nurse specialist or a key worker, regardless of their tumour type or where they live. It also asks the Scottish Government to drive earlier diagnosis by committing to reducing the proportion of brain tumours that are diagnosed in A and E and by piloting a promising new blood test—developed by researchers at the universities of Strathclyde and Edinburgh—in primary care across Scotland as soon as possible in order to explore its potential to triage people who have symptoms.

The charity also asks the Government to accelerate access to real-world data for Scottish brain tumour patients, cancer researchers and charities, including through the use of BRIAN, which is the Brain Tumour Charity’s patient-led app. The charity also asks the Government to ensure that brain tumour research and the development of treatments and therapies are equitable with those for other cancers. It is welcome that the First Minister has given a commitment to ensuring that brain tumour detection is improved in Scotland so that people have the best possible opportunity of recovery. That includes use of fast-track diagnostic centres, such as the one that was opened in Dumfries and Galloway in my South Scotland region in 2021.

Finally, I will talk about Alan and Anneka Johnstone. Anneka died on 18 November 2019 due to a short battle with glioblastoma. I knew Anneka—she was a kind, caring and compassionate dietician in NHS Dumfries and Galloway. We worked together when I was a clinical educator, and she gave me lots of advice for patients with complex dietary needs and supported me as I was developing training for nurses. Since Anneka passed, her husband Alan has raised more than £57,000 for the Brain Tumour Charity by walking 214 miles of the southern upland way—[Interruption.]

I did not think that I would be upset.

In Anneka’s memory, Alan has raised £57,000. That is a challenge that he said was tough, but it was one that was, in his words, easy compared with what Anneka went through. His charity fundraising has been invaluable for research and development.

I look forward to hearing colleagues speak. I repeat my asks of the minister and I thank Alan Johnstone for his hugely important fundraising work following his tragic loss. I also repeat the message from the Brain Tumour Charity to be “Better safe than tumour” and to ensure that symptoms are addressed urgently.

As Oliver Mundell has intimated, we are all very interested in improving the infrastructure and the rail in Dumfries and Galloway and across South Scotland. What additional work can regional transport partnerships such as SWestrans do to help make the re-opening of Beattock railway station, for instance, actually happen?

To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to propose the scheduling of time for a ministerial statement on the green jobs workforce academy. (S6O-02070)

Green skills are vital in Scotland’s fight against the global climate emergency and in equipping our workforce with the skills of the future. Last week, I visited Borders College’s Hawick campus, which is teaching building to passive house standards, solar panel and heat pump installation and maintenance, and the use of emerging technologies, such as heat scanning and 3D printing. Will the minister provide an update on how the green jobs workforce academy will help to enhance that work and how it will support people living in Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders?

I am interested to hear about Covid recovery in all three areas. We hear from the health boards that come before us and we know that healthcare is really complex. As a nurse, I worked during the pandemic giving vaccines, and I saw how busy, committed and professional the staff were. I am thinking about acute care, mental health care, emergency care and elective care. Jane Grant said that one size does not fit all, when trying to address Covid recovery. I would be interested to hear about any actions that have been taken to progress recovery from Covid. What is working? What isnae working?

I have a question about other research, but I can always ask it later.

I suppose that the issue is competing priorities, when acute care beds are occupied by people who are not well. When it comes to acuity, patients are getting sicker before they are even in the hospital. When beds are being juggled, it is very clear that there are challenges. For example, use of the Golden Jubilee and the sequestering of beds for elective surgery or the national treatment centre, for instance, should support the management of elective treatment so that we do not have competition between bed priorities. Is that what we need to look at?

My question comes on the back of Stephanie Callaghan’s question. Does the Scottish Government enable and support you to do bespoke local delivery? We have Pamela Dudek here from NHS Highland, which is rural; we have urban representation from NHS Golden Jubilee National Hospital and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde; and, last week, we had a witness from NHS Borders. Does the Government support you to deliver local plans that work for your areas?