Chamber and committees

I have a question for Jeff Ace, but before I ask it I remind everybody that I am a former NHS Dumfries and Galloway employee and was part of the Covid vaccination team as a nurse during the pandemic.

What particular changes have been made for service delivery? We met last Friday, as part of our normal updates. Parts of Dumfries and Galloway are really remote and rural, so one of the things that you talked about was the development of home teams. Will that help to manage the service in a better way—not necessarily to make savings, but to improve efficiency?

Yes—I have a quick point. The deputy convener mentioned the Shouldice approach. A Shouldice repair has strict criteria such as losing weight, having no alcohol and being able to exercise. It might be difficult to apply that in Scotland, where people who present as needing an inguinal hernia repair that uses mesh, for instance, might have additional comorbidities. We cannae compare apples wi oranges.

Jeff Ace talked about a Scotland-wide approach, with combined or joint services. Do you mean combined human resources as part of joint work and integration, or combined financial services? Is that something that could work for NHS Dumfries and Galloway, which is a small board, or does there need to be a Scotland-wide approach, as well?

I have a quick question for Jeff Ace about international recruitment. You have been quite successful in recruiting nurses. Not only a warm welcome, orientation and training are required; a wider holistic approach is required. Is housing a challenge in recruiting folk to remote or rural areas such as Dumfries and Galloway? If so, what can be done about that?

The recovery plan is a five-year plan; coming out of Covid is not an overnight fix. It will take time, and I know that as a nurse myself.

I am interested in the cancer diagnostics centres. One was created in Ayrshire and Arran, one in Fife and one in Dumfries and Galloway. Prevention and early diagnostics are happening in NHS Dumfries and Galloway, where there is a trial of self-sampling for cervical cancer diagnosis. Would Mr Ace like to comment on that?

You have said that it is about a holistic approach. As I read the papers, I saw information about continuing feelings of being let down, of prolonged and continued anxiety and of disappointment, because the expectations were already low and they were not being met. It seems that there is also conveyance of lack of empathy for their experiences. It is almost like there needs to be a Maggie’s centre equivalent for people who have had mesh injuries. It is quite difficult to read some of what has been presented. How would you describe the holistic approach? I know that psychologists and clinical nurse specialists are involved. How would you see progress being taken forward based on feedback from surveys about people’s experiences?

I will go directly to the communication theme. I am looking at the NSS website and the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde website. The NSS website is quite clear on the pathway and what the process would be, but the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde website is a bit clunky for finding the information that people need—that is obviously not something that you can control, Dr Lamont.

I am interested in how women are communicated with, from the start of the process through to referral and as the process goes on. Is there open dialogue and does it happen by contact with the direct clinical nurse specialist, for instance? What is the process for communicating to keep people feeling that they are well informed?

The Scottish Government published a Covid recovery document—the “NHS recovery plan 2021-2026”—in August 2021. How is that plan working out for the different boards and would you change anything in it after implementing some of its recommendations?

Paul O’Kane is talking about how we address social isolation. Does he think that there should be specific consideration for rural versus urban areas, which might mean that we do stuff differently?

I welcome the opportunity to speak in the debate. I thank all the organisations that have provided briefings and that work each day to address social isolation and loneliness. I, too, welcome the minister to her role. I am sure that she will be braw.

There is increasing recognition of social isolation and loneliness as major public health issues. Many members across the chamber have discussed that already. We know that social isolation and loneliness can have a significant impact on a person’s physical and mental wellbeing. That is why the £3.8 million social isolation and loneliness fund aims to reduce inequality by bringing together people from communities across Scotland. However, as the minister described, we are in the midst of a cost of living crisis, which has been made worse by the Tory Government’s economic mismanagement and Brexit.

I will make a further point about that. It is no coincidence that the International Monetary Fund predicts that the UK is set to be the worst-performing economy in the G20. The disastrous UK Government’s September mini-budget created unnecessary additional financial hardship for households and businesses across the country. Brexit is forecast to deal a 4 per cent hit to the UK gross domestic product, with UK imports and exports expected to be 15 per cent lower than if the country had remained in the European Union with continued access to the single market and the customs union.

People across Scotland are paying a steep price for that economic incompetence, the forced austerity and Brexit. The current high level of inflation—it is at 10.4 per cent—is hurting the most vulnerable people and heaping more pressure on to our public services. The UK is expected to suffer the biggest fall in living standards since records began in the 1950s, with real household disposable income expected to fall by 5.7 per cent over 2022-23 and 2023-24. The Resolution Foundation found that 15 years of stagnating wages have left UK workers £11,000 worse off per year.

Members might be asking what that has to do with social isolation and loneliness. The evidence is clear: the Tory cost of living crisis means that the poorest and most vulnerable in our society are more likely to experience poorer mental and physical wellbeing, lower life satisfaction and feelings of loneliness. Without a doubt, that will have an impact on people’s ability to make and maintain connections, take up opportunities to interact with one another and stay physically and mentally healthy.

Paul O’Kane mentioned the Red Cross research. Results of an online opinion poll for the British Red Cross that were released in December 2022 show that 81 per cent of Scottish people agreed that the increased cost of living will make more people lonely, while 43 per cent of respondents said that they would restrict how much they socialise because the cost of living is going up.

More than a quarter of adults in Scotland have accessed the NHS due to the impact of the cost of living crisis on their mental and physical health according to new research by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Social isolation and loneliness are public health issues that have been exacerbated by the pandemic and will continue to affect people. Obviously, the cost crisis is the paramount issue that needs to be dealt with.

Support for community groups that bring people and communities together to tackle isolation was launched in March. The £3.8 million social isolation and loneliness fund is part of the “Recovering our Connections 2023-2026” plan, which aims to reduce inequality by bringing together people from communities across Scotland. It will provide vital long-term support for organisations and projects working on the ground to bring people together and build connections in communities throughout the country.

There are a number of organisations working across Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders that meet those aims. Change Mental Health—formerly Support in Mind Scotland—has bases in Stranraer, Dumfries and Castle Douglas. I have visited two of them already with former MSP Jim Hume, who is a Change Mental Health director. We witnessed the incredible work that the staff and volunteers do as they bring people together for various activities that tackle isolation.

Eildon Housing Association in Hawick is a social registered landlord and does specific work to tackle social isolation.

Another fantastic organisation is Dumfries and Galloway LGBT Plus on Newall Terrace in the toun of Dumfries and in Stranraer. The team, led by Iain Campbell, works together with LGBT+ people of all ages to provide support, to bring people together and to tackle loneliness. It also works to promote LGBT+ acceptance and, specifically, to reduce and tackle stigma across Dumfries and Galloway.

D and G is a rural area and it is a challenge for people at times to address their social needs and their isolation. Dumfries and Galloway LGBT Plus has drop-in sessions, attends the agricultural shows, delivers training and education and has a great online presence. I have met the team on a number of occasions and I have heard how many LGBT+ people, particularly in rural D and G, rarely get the chance to interact with one another due to the rurality and the challenges around acceptance, so its work is vital. I invite the minister to come and meet the team when her diary allows.

I welcome the work that has been done by the Scottish Government. I applaud the fantastic organisations across Scotland, including across Dumfries and Galloway and the Scottish Borders, to tackle isolation, and I welcome a positive outcome for the “Recovering our Connections 2023-2026” plan. Finally, we cannae keep mitigating Tory policies without full fiscal ability. We can do so much better as a normal independent country.