Scottish Parliament e-Brief
Issue 30, 14th August 2000
SECTION 1 - BUSINESS THIS WEEK
Parliament is in recess
SECTION 2 - NEWS
EXECUTIVE MOVES TO IMPROVE STANDARDS FOR MENTAL PATIENTS WITH £5 MILLION BOOST
Patients with mental health problems in Scotland will be treated in better NHS accommodation, Health Minister Susan Deacon announced on Friday.
The Minister made her comments as she announced a £5 million cash injection into mental health units in Scotland.
The capital investment will help NHS Trusts improve the accommodation in which some of Scotland's most vulnerable patients receive treatment - standards taken for granted by patients in most other parts of the NHS.
The investment in mental health was announced as the Health Minister explained how the rest of the £30 million for new equipment she announced in the NHS Modernisation debate in the Scottish Parliament on 6 July 2000 would be spent. The Minister announced £16 million for cancer equipment earlier last week.
Ms Deacon said:
"People with mental health problems need and deserve skilled assistance and specialist attention in the right environment. However, many patients receiving treatment for mental health problems do so in facilities more in tune with the 1940s than the 21st century.
"I want NHS Trusts to use this money in an innovative way to provide real improvements for patients. For example, providing a better environment; increasing privacy; creating more comfortable, smaller day rooms, and the provision of personal storage space for patients.
"One in four will suffer from a mental health problem at one time in their lives. We must work together to improve services and reduce the stigma attached to mental illness. We have a long way to go before facilities and services in mental health are delivered consistently to the highest standards. But this is an important step in providing accommodation which provides dignity, privacy and protection."
In addition to the £5 million for the refurbishment of facilities for mental health patients, the remaining package of expenditure confirmed to Health Boards last week by the Minister includes:
Argyll & Clyde Health Board will receive £675,000 of these resources.
A further £2 million will fund a coronary catheterisation laboratory in Lanarkshire.
The total breakdown for the £30 million is as follows:
The Minister and Deputy Community Care Minister Iain Gray held the Mental Health Summit on 31 January which brought together representatives from over 30 organisations in Scotland. Out of that came the creation of the National Mental Health and Well-being Support Group. The Group is working through a programme of visits to health board areas to meet with those who are working with mental health patients day and daily in order to see where improvements can be made to services.
Findings of a national census of Mental Health provision will be available in September and will enable the Executive and providers to set appropriate waiting times for patients and create high-quality mental health services. The Minister announced in Parliament on December 16 that, for the first time, a national maximum waiting time would be established in mental health to be met by March 2001.
NICOL STEPHEN SAYS PARTICIPATION FIGURES POINT WAY FORWARD
An increase in the number of 16 to 21 year olds participating in school, further and higher education in Scotland has been welcomed by Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning, Nicol Stephen.
The figures, published last Tuesday, show that in 1998-99, 64% of 16 to 21 year olds participated in some form of full or part-time education, compared to 42% in 1988-89.
Mr Stephen said that while these figures show an encouraging trend, more must be done and the Scottish Executive is committed to widening access to Further and Higher Education.
"The Scottish Executive is committed to making Scotland a learning nation where everyone has access to opportunities to learn throughout their lives.
"Our comprehensive student funding package for further and higher education announced in January is only one of a number of initiatives for widening access to education for all.
"We have abolished tuition fees for eligible students studying in Scotland from Autumn this year and plan to provide additional support for those wishing to enter further or higher education from disadvantaged backgrounds. Our package of proposals for student finance will be worth around £50 million a year once fully implemented.
"The figures are encouraging. It is good to see so many young people staying on at school as well as a substantial increase in those participating in some form of full or part-time further and higher education.
"But this is just a start. Everyone in Scotland must see education as a right and not just something for the privileged.
"Figures such as these show that Scotland has made a solid start and I am confident that the new initiatives put in place by this Executive will help us develop Scotland as a learning nation. This is crucial to our future economic success."
A detailed breakdown of the Participation in Education by 16 to 21 year olds in Scotland: 1988-89 to 1998-99 figures and tables is available on the Scottish Executive's website.
SECTION 3 - NOTES ON THIS WEEK’S DEBATES
Parliament is in recess
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