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Often, before I write my speeches, I like to have a discussion with people around me just to see what they think about the topic. I am very lucky to have a friend who works in research, development and innovation in the NHS: it has been helpful to get some links from her.

Overall, there was a perception among people whom I spoke to that healthcare innovation is a bit of a luxury item, that it is way off in the future and that they would only ever see it in the likes of “Star Trek”. However, the opposite is true, and many great advances in healthcare technology are happening in Scotland right now.

Take the NHS Grampian’s GEMINI—Grampian’s evaluation of Mia in an innovative national breast screening initiative—project, which is a perfect example of such an advance. It was developed with the University of Aberdeen and Cairn Technology. It is changing how we detect breast cancer by using artificial intelligence to improve screening accuracy. Its AI tool—Mia—has helped radiologists to detect 10.4 per cent more cancers than standard screenings, while reducing their workload by 36 per cent. That is not some futuristic idea—it is a real working example of how technology is improving patient outcomes today and reducing the burden on our NHS workforce, thereby freeing it up to focus more on patient care. It is exactly the kind of technology that ensures efficiency without compromising on quality by allowing healthcare professionals to dedicate more time to patients than to processes.

The accelerated national innovation adoption pathway is making sure that, when research-backed advancements emerge, they do not get stuck in trials for years, but are adopted by our NHS fast. That is making healthcare safer, faster and more effective overall.

Although such advances are transforming many areas of healthcare, we also have to ask who is benefiting from them most. If innovation is to work for everyone, we need to make sure that it is reaching those who have historically been unserved—for example, in women’s healthcare.

A few nights ago, I chaired the cross-party group on heart and circulatory diseases, and we focused on women’s health. Let us be honest: we all already know the problem, and we do not need more reports telling us that women are more likely to be misdiagnosed when they have had a heart attack, or that menopause and menstrual health are still not treated as the serious medical issues they are.

This is personal for me. My mother died of heart disease when she was only 49 years old. That was 25 years ago, but women are still saying that they do not feel that they are listened to when it comes to their health. Perhaps this is where empowering patients with innovative systems to monitor and track their own health can help—not just in helping with physical health but by ensuring that women feel that they are being heard.

I thank Paul O’Kane, my colleague on the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, for securing this important debate. I know that the subject is close to his heart and that he is passionate about promoting the voices of young carers in the Parliament. I extend a very warm welcome to the young carers who have joined us in the gallery. It is truly an honour for us to have them here.

It was a privilege for me to secure the debate on young carers action day last year, as my colleague Evelyn Tweed noted. I was prompted to do so by young carers in my constituency, and their courage, resilience and determination have left a lasting impression on me. It is because of them and the thousands of young carers across Scotland that we are here again today, ensuring that their voices are heard.

Jeremy Balfour spoke about his lived experience at home, which prompted me to score out some of the lines in my speech and to speak from the heart. I have children with additional support needs. As my other children grew up, they had to support them and me in the home. Often, we wonder what it is like to be a carer. If we were to ask someone what that looks like, we might imagine a carer physically helping someone by feeding them, changing them and caring for them, but, a lot of the time, caring might not be like that at all.

A young carer or sibling carer might need to quickly vacuum the living room after some kind of messy explosion while the parent nips out to clean up and fix up the child who has the additional support needs. Sometimes, the sibling might need to run to grab a pair of socks, because the child needs to be dressed, or to do other wee errands around the house.

We do not often acknowledge that that is what caring can be or look like. A young carer might have to stay up through the night, because their sibling is restless and making noise, and then go to school very tired. They might have to miss out on days out and trips, because their sibling has additional needs, but still find patience and kindness at home. It can mean that their parents’ time is shared unevenly. Being a carer, specifically a young carer, means a lot.

This year’s young carers action day theme—“give me a break” or “geezabreak”—could not be more fitting. It highlights two critical areas of support that young carers desperately need: time for themselves to rest and greater understanding and flexibility from schools, colleges, universities and workplaces.

I am here today in the chamber because the young carers who supported me in caring for their siblings when they were growing up are now, as adults, keeping things ticking over at home. Young carers do not stop caring; they grow into adult carers. That is what usually happens. It is up to all of us to ensure that their voices are heard.

Young carers in my constituency hold me to account. This week, one emailed me to make sure that I was doing something for young carers action day. I say to my constituent: I am here and I am keeping your voice going. I say to the young carers in the gallery and to those who could not be here today: we see you, we value you and we recognise everything that you do. What you do matters more than you will ever know.

Thank you very much to all the panel members. We now move to questions from Maggie Chapman.

Good morning, and welcome to the seventh meeting in 2025 of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee. We have no apologies.

Our first item is to agree whether to take in private item 4, which is consideration of our approach to the civil legal aid inquiry. Do members agree to take item 4 in private?

Members indicated agreement.

Pam, do you have any more questions before we move on?

We move on to questions from Tess White.

Welcome back. We now move on to our second panel. I welcome to the meeting Dr Pauline Nolan, head of participation and policy at Inclusion Scotland; Rohini Sharma Joshi, diversity and inclusion manager at Age Scotland; and Vic Valentine, Scottish Trans manager at the Equality Network.

For the benefit of those who were not here at the beginning of the meeting, I remind all members that rule 7.5.1 of the Parliament’s standing orders prevents members from referring to any matter in relation to which legal proceedings are active, except to the extent permitted by the Presiding Officer. I advise members that Sandie Peggie’s employment tribunal case against NHS Fife is considered to be active for the purposes of the sub judice rule and contempt of court. I have sought and received permission from the Presiding Officer about the extent to which we can explore matters related to the case today and throughout the course of the PSED inquiry. On the basis of that permission, questions about issues connected to the case will be admissible today, but questions about the specifics of the case will not.

We move on to questions. To what extent do you think that public authorities understand the terms and the aims of the public sector equality duty in Scotland? We will start with Rohini Sharma Joshi.

We move on to questions from Marie McNair.

We will move to questions from Maggie Chapman.

We move to questions from Paul O’Kane.