Monday 13^th April, 2015

Supporting Carers

Carers fulfil a vital role in our society looking after those in need of help, but too often they go without the support they need.

While it can be a rewarding experience, I have met with many constituents over the years who say that caring can also result in financial hardship, health problems and emotional stress as they try to juggle all the other responsibilities that life brings.

This is why the Scottish Government has proposed it’s Carers (Scotland) Bill which aims to improve the support currently available to the 8,000 carers here in Inverclyde and the hundreds of thousands that exist across the country.

Given that there are now more people than ever before who are caring intensively, for more hours each week, the government is proposing that local authorities carry out assessments to identify if people have the full support they need in relation to the person they are looking after.

Furthermore, it wants to give carers a greater say in the planning, shaping and delivery of services they use so that they better reflect their needs.

The Parliament’s Health and Sports Committee which I convene has just recently issued a call for views as it begins scrutiny of the Bill and we are keen to hear directly from both young and adult carers.

Do you support the Bill? How do you feel it could be strengthened? Is there anything that you would add or remove from the Bill? These are just some of the questions we are asking.

To read more about the proposed legislation and to submit your views, then please visit the Health Committee’s page on the Scottish Parliament’s website at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk

I hope that as a result of this process together we can make life better for carers and those who they care for.

Monday 6^th April, 2015

Searching questions for Police Scotland

Last Wednesday marked the second anniversary since the formation of Police Scotland. But this was not a day of celebration for its Chief Constable, Sir Stephen House.

Instead, a damning report landed on his desk regarding the force’s mishandling of stop and search.

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland, which provides independent scrutiny of policing, launched its review of the practice, following reports that it was being inappropriately applied and that some figures were being manipulated.

The findings would not have made light reading for Sir Stephen. The inspection body stated that it did not have confidence in stop and search data held by the police. It found little evidence between the use of stop and search and reductions in crime. And police officers raised concerns that a target culture was encouraging negative behaviours. The list could go on.

This is just the latest in a long line of controversies that have dogged Police Scotland including counter closures such as that in Port Glasgow and Gourock, the arming of police officers and concerns about the lack of accountability.

While stop and search has its role to play, the message coming from officers is that it should be targeted at the “right people, in the right place, at the right time”.

Given that four thousand stop and searches were conducted in Inverclyde in August and September of last year, some will conclude that this isn’t happening.

Police officers should be allowed to focus on what they do best and the reason they joined the force, which is to protect the public, not to meet artificial targets.

It’s high time that Sir Stephen asked himself some searching questions, to learn from the mistakes of the last two years and to uphold the public’s faith in policing.

29^th March 2015

Road to Recovery?

It is often said that information is the key. This is particularly the case when holding governments to account for their policies.

The problem with Government is that sometimes good quality data, statistics and analysis are hard to come by.

The methadone programme is a case in point.  When the Government launched its programme as part of its alternative drug strategy announced in 2009, it stated that the central goal of treatment must be to enable people to become drug-free.

However, six years on, and we are none the wiser as to how many people on the programme have come off drugs. We also have little detail as to how long users have been taking the heroin substitute, and what progress they are making towards recovery.

This is despite news last week that in 2013 seventeen million pounds had been spent on prescribing methadone to people suffering from drug misuse, with six hundred thousand spent in Inverclyde alone.

The absence of any clear evidence on outcomes has led Dr Neil McKeganey, from the Centre for Drug Misuse Research, to claim that the programme is literally a black hole into which people are disappearing.

His comments come a year and a half after a major review into opioid replacement therapies raised concerns that basic information seemed impossible to access.

It’s simply not good enough for governments to announce a major policy shift or funding and hope that this in itself will solve the problem. They need to follow through with proper analysis and data collection to ensure we have a full picture of the outcomes of any policies they introduce.

We also need a cultural shift at the heart of government which leads to a climate where tough questions are asked and which will allow for proper scrutiny and accountability.

Monday 22^nd March 2015

ACTION NEEDED ON LOW PAY

Where there is the political will, change can be achieved. And one issue where change is needed more than ever is poor pay.

This was the subject of Parliamentary debate last week and is a big issue for people here in Inverclyde.

It is estimated that nearly twenty per cent of local residents are income deprived and statistics published last October revealed that seven thousand jobs in the area pay less than the Living Wage.

Action is needed in this area for two main reasons. First, fair pay has an important role to play in lifting people out of in-work poverty.

As it stands, the combination of low wages, job uncertainty and a huge rise in the cost of living are making it extremely difficult for people to get by.

Second, it is a vital ingredient for creating a stronger economy. Better pay helps to motivate the workforce and increase productivity in the workplace.

Talking about change is easy, but actually making it happen is the tough part.

Above all else there needs to be a redistribution of the wealth in Scotland through progressive taxation. A recent study found that the richest 10% of households in Scotland have 900 times the accumulated wealth of the poorest 10%.

We also need to ensure that all workers on public contracts are paid the Living Wage. The Scottish Government has the power to achieve this but it has failed to do so up to now.

Politicians in Scotland and in England have a moral duty to act. We can abdicate responsibility, turn our backs and let the plight of working people go on.

Or we can show the political will and create change so that people in Scotland get a fair days pay for a day’s work.

Monday 16^th March 2015

FAILINGS IN ELDERLY CARE

Seeing our parents growing old and frail can cause us all a little anxiety. But when that moment comes when they have to be admitted to hospital can be the most worrying time of all.

So it is with concern that last week, yet another organisation issued a warning about the failings in elderly care. This time it was the turn of the Royal College of Nursing.

Their analysis of Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s inspection reports has found hospitals falling short of the recognised standards time and again.

These include failures to assess patients for dementia, to check to see if they are at risk of becoming undernourished and a failure to ensure their specific care needs are met.

The findings have caused the nursing union sufficient concern that they have now issued an amber warning to health boards.

Inverclyde Royal Hospital has not been immune from the problems highlighted by the RCN. Indeed, it recently emerged that one patient at IRH had to wait four days after admission before being assessed for risk of malnutrition and that personalised care plans were not in place to support staff in addressing patients needs.

As I have said in the past on this issue, we need an independent inspection body with enforcement powers so it can take action against health boards who consistently fail to meet the standards.

Moreover, health boards must stop seeing the inspections as an event. Rather, they need to be pro-active, learn from the inspections and put in place measures to improve the experience of patients.

In other words, as the RCN put it, “improvement and scrutiny need to go hand in hand to drive up quality care.” If we don’t make these changes quickly, we could soon see the nursing union’s amber warning turning to red.

Monday 9^th March 2015

SCOTTISH TOURISM WEEK 

When we live and work in an area we can sometimes fail to appreciate what might be right on our doorstep.  Last week, I was reminded of this, when I visited Wemyss Bay Holiday Park as part of Scottish Tourism Week.

Despite the bitter cold weather, this was a really enjoyable visit and a reminder of Inverclyde’s beautiful natural resources with stunning views from the park over the River Clyde and the Argyll Hills in the backdrop.

It was great to talk with staff about their work and receive a tour of this modern award winning Caravan Park which attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year.

It’s in a great location in the heart of a country estate and an ideal base for walking and cycling. It is also conveniently close to ferry routes which will take visitors to Cumbrae and Bute as well as being just a small distance away from Wemyss Bay train station allowing for a short trip into Glasgow.

Although we share this location and environment, it is easy to overlook the positive impact it has on our local economy.

In the peak season the Wemyss Bay Park directly employs up to ninety members of staff making it a key employer in the community. It also provides work for local tradesman some of whom were hard at work preparing the park for the holiday season during my visit.

As well as creating jobs, it also brings money into Inverclyde through the droves of visitors who spend their money at the local shops.

There is no doubt that Wemyss Bay Holiday Park is an asset to Inverclyde helping to boost the economy and underline the beauty of the area.

Monday 2^nd March 2015

 E-CIGARETTES

The use of e-cigarettes is becoming more and more common amongst those looking to quit smoking. Indeed, you can’t walk down the street without seeing a number of people with them in hand.

A recent survey found that in 2014 fifty percent of current smokers had tried e-cigarettes. The proliferation of these devices has generated a debate amongst medical professionals as to their health implications.

In a recent health committee meeting which I convened on the issue one witness said: “there is huge use of e-cigarettes, yet we do not have good evidence as to their safety.”

Scotland’s health boards have also taken this line with all but NHS Lothian, announcing last week that they will impose a ban on their usage outside hospital grounds.

On the other side of the debate, there are those who believe that while the full implications of e-cigarettes are still to be established, they are certainly a lot safer than inhaling tobacco.

Another witness at the recent health committee meeting, Professor John Britton UK Centre for Tobacco and Alcohol Studies, said: “Electronic cigarettes offer a huge potential benefit to public health by helping smokers to shift to an alternative source of nicotine. If all smokers in Britain were to do that, we would be talking about avoiding hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of premature deaths.”

Similarly Ash Scotland – the anti-smoking charity – raised concerns that health boards’ ban on e-cigarette use could discourage smokers from trying an alternative that might help them to move away from tobacco.

With arguments such as those produced by Professor Britton and Ash Scotland, I believe it is only a matter of time before e-cigarettes are included in Scotland’s smoking cessation strategy and ultimately help to make the country a smoke free place to live.

Monday 23^rd February 2015

IMPROVING PANCREATIC CANCER CARE

It was good to meet old friends from Pancreatic Cancer Scotland (PCS) in Parliament last week.

I was pleased to hear from PCS that the health’s committee’s work last year into improving access to cancer medicines for patients has had a positive impact for individual’s suffering from the disease.

However, the charity were not in Holyrood to simply thank the committee, rather, they were here along with Pancreatic Cancer UK (PCUK) to encourage Members to the Scottish Parliament to support their calls for faster diagnosis of the disease and better care for patients.

When I met with them, I was told that pancreatic cancer is the sixth biggest cause of cancer death. It also has the worst survival outcomes of any of the most common cancers.

Tragically, if there are delays in an individual being diagnosed it can result in the cancer spreading to other parts of the body.

In order to speed up diagnosis and to provide better patient experiences throughout the whole process the charities have called for a number of improvements to be made.

For example, they would like to see greater public awareness raising of the signs and symptoms of the disease and more support for General Practitioners who are the initial point of contact for patients.

They are also asking for monitoring of patient experience so that patient care can be evaluated and for lessons to be learned. To hear more about pancreatic cancer and what PCS and PCUK are calling for you can access the Diagnostic Manifesto via the following link: http://www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk

I sincerely hope that as a result of the increased awareness of this issue positive and practical change will come for patients and their families in the very near future.

Monday 16^th February 2015

A&E CRISIS SYMPTOM OF A WIDER PROBLEM

The huge strain being put on Accident and Emergency departments up and down the country has dominated the Scottish headlines in recent weeks. 

Indeed, the most recent statistics show that in December 2014 over 12,000 people had to wait more than four hours before being treated.

In one instance a hospital was forced to use a portakabin to cope with the A&E overspill.

As the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said in a briefing for MSPs last week, overcrowding in emergency departments is happening because there are not enough beds for people who have been seen in A&E and who are ready to be admitted to hospital.

This is creating a blockage in the system as it means that new patients arriving at A&E have to wait longer to be treated.

The shortage of beds is symptomatic of a wider problem which is primarily to do with the fact that there is a lack of appropriate facilities for people to be cared for within the community.

This means that patients, primarily the elderly and infirm, who are ready to leave hospital, are often forced to stay until a space frees up.

Protecting the NHS budget is of course of crucial importance, but we also need to ensure that the social care sector is properly funded to help shift the balance of care into the community and ease the strain on our hospitals.

Ultimately we need a whole system review of health and social care if we are to get our National Health Service back on the road to recovery.

Patients and staff deserve nothing less.