Seòmar agus comataidhean

To be completely frank, that is his view, but my view is based on the words of a minister of the Crown that are on the record. They are irresponsible and she should apologise for them.

We also heard today of the need for services to be not just person-centred, but community focused, which means that they should be delivered as close as possible to those who need them, often by skilled professionals in the third sector. That is why I share the concern of Miles Briggs and Alex Cole-Hamilton about the potential impact of the creation of a national care service.

Although we have, quite rightly, focused on drugs in this debate, we cannot overlook the mounting harm that is caused across Scottish society by alcohol. As Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems has identified, the real figure for drink-related deaths is deeply concerning, as it is possibly as much as three or four times higher than the reported figure. SHAAP agrees that alcohol services need to be person-centred and holistic, but it says that those services should

“ensure equity of access by taking into account the specific needs and experiences of the range of groups and communities throughout the country”.

Surely, ministers must realise that rolling drug and alcohol services into a cumbersome, centralised national care service is likely to work against that grain. It will combine centralisation and ministerial control and, as such, is likely to be anything but person-centred.

Finally, the debate has also highlighted the breadth of opinion that exists on the emotive issue of drugs. We have heard today about the decriminalisation of class A drugs and about safe consumption rooms. However, whatever our views on such interventions—I am sceptical on both—there is surely a more pressing need: the need to make people safe and to free them and their families from the misery and the danger of drugs.

Surely, the safest way in which to approach the issues that confront vulnerable Scots is not for them to be given places—safe or otherwise—in which to consume heroin, but for them to be given a right to treatment so that they no longer take heroin at all.

Presiding Officer, as Stephanie Callaghan said, and as Paul McLennan echoed, we should strive for cross-party support to ensure that the Parliament delivers policies that deliver the care and treatment that people so clearly need. Whether they are struggling with alcohol or drug addiction or are suffering a mental health crisis, they have a right to faster, better and more targeted care than many presently receive: better, faster mental health services; child and adolescent mental health services that work for our children; a tougher and more effective suicide prevention strategy; person-focused and locally run alcohol services; and a simple, basic, immediate, countrywide and legally enforceable right to recovery. That is what my party is pressing for.

This has been a very short but a very good, full debate. As Michael Marra rightly pointed out, the debate has shone a light on two of the most complex and interconnected public policy problems confronting modern Scotland.

It comes as no surprise that this debate has touched on three key points: that Scotland has a problem with drugs misuse; that Scotland has a problem with alcohol misuse; and that Scotland has an escalating mental health problem—one which, as Claire Baker said, is made worse by the combined forces of drink and drugs, stigma, poverty and, as Miles Briggs said, poor housing.

Three key themes have also emerged during this debate. First, Scotland needs to embrace person-centred care. I agree with Angela Constance on that, and we will vote with the Government tonight. That means that we need to build a system in which integrated health and social care professionals across the public and third sectors work collaboratively with people who use and need those services. However, the second key theme in this debate is that, despite their need, under the SNP people across Scotland cannot get access to vital mental health treatment, or easily access treatment for dependency on drugs or alcohol. The third key theme is that people must be able to access the support that they require in a timely and accessible way. That is why my party is pressing for a right to recovery bill, which will enshrine in Scots law the right to the necessary addiction treatment. Putting MAT standards into law will ensure that national guidance is clear and enforceable.

Others have spoken of the urgent need for a wide range of measures. My colleague Sue Webber shared insight from the front line and highlighted the stark and shocking levels of drug deaths. Looking beyond the numbers—depressing as they are—she pointed out, quite correctly, that the concept of person-centred care is nothing new. Indeed, in 2017 and again in 2018, the Scottish Government talked of using a person-centred approach. Although the Government is repeating the same language, I sincerely hope that it does not repeat the same mistakes.

Sue Webber also talked of her real sense of disappointment at Lorna Slater’s recent remarks in relation to the dangers that are posed by drug misuse. For Lorna Slater to say that drugs are not inherently dangerous is, in my view, an inherently dangerous position to adopt. I implore her go and speak to those who knew and loved the 1,339 Scots who died of a drugs-related death last year. Lorna Slater needs to learn that being a minister carries a duty of care and a sense of responsibility and she should choose her words with more consideration and care in future.

I thank Paul McLennan for lodging the motion, which enables us to highlight the upcoming world mental health day 2021.

Almost every person in the chamber or watching at home will have experience of mental health issues or know someone who has suffered mental health problems. Experiencing a mental health problem is often upsetting, confusing and frightening, particularly at first and especially for the young. Those fears are often reinforced by the pernicious stigma that surrounds mental health. Although the see me campaign and others have worked hard to eliminate stigma and discrimination against people with mental illness, research conducted by SAMH and the Mental Health Foundation found that 56 per cent of people who experience mental health problems have also suffered discrimination. That, in turn, is likely to increase distress and a sense of isolation or even lead to suicide.

In Scotland, 805 people took their own lives last year. Sadly, about one in four people in Scotland is estimated to be affected by mental health problems in any given year. Covid has made that worse. As the Royal College of Psychiatrists has noted, those with pre-existing mental health conditions have been most adversely affected, as have the most disadvantaged, as Paul McLennan said.

Sadly, the stark truth is that Scotland is experiencing a mental health emergency. For too many people, accessing psychological support through the national health service is too difficult or, as the Public Audit Committee found out this morning, too disconnected or distant.

Launching its new strategy, which is called “We Won’t Wait”, SAMH said that

“Too many promises and a pandemic later, people are still being left behind. Rejected referrals, indeterminate waiting times and inadequate support”

are, sadly, common in the system. Before the pandemic, Scottish National Party ministers repeatedly failed to get a grip of the mental health crisis among young people. We must not let ministers dodge accountability for that. The problems that we are experiencing are not caused by Covid, although I recognise that they have been exacerbated by the crisis.

Research by the Mental Health Foundation Scotland reveals that lockdown and the closure of schools increased levels of distress and that many pupils suffered anxiety due to feelings of loneliness and worries about education and their future.

Evidence shows that, with the right combination of self-care, treatment and support, a person with mental health problems will get better. That is why we urgently need to get to a position in which no one is left behind or left without support when they need it.

How does the minister intend to train more psychiatrists and recruit them into the NHS to relieve the pressure on staff?

On a point of order.

I, too, had connection difficulties. I would have voted yes.

Absolutely. Last week, I talked to a mother in East Lothian whose son had been thinking about suicide. She talked to me about her torment and her fight to get him the treatment that he needs but that the system is not giving him.

Like many SNP targets, mental health targets are routinely being missed. Almost one in four young people is rejected when they ask for help. In NHS Lothian, 37 per cent are not being seen within the 18-week treatment time target, and the situation in the Scottish Borders is even worse, at 46 per cent. Referral rates in Scotland have reached their highest levels on record. One in every 100 children and young people is being referred to child and adolescent mental health services for care. That is why SNP ministers must urgently ensure that the money that has been allocated to CAMHS, which was made available through the recovery and renewal fund, is delivered quickly. We all hope that the minister will elaborate on how that will be done. As SAMH has said, the Government must expand the network of support, increase funding for community-based care and increase the NHS psychological workforce by 50 per cent so that it mirrors levels in England and Wales.

In 2015, the Scottish National Party Government said that it would eradicate delayed discharge. Today we discovered that, in August, 46,171 days were spent in hospital by people whose discharge was delayed. Other than ministerial incompetence, why is the Government failing so badly to reduce delayed discharge? It cannot simply be down to Covid.

The Deputy First Minister will be well aware that many of the problems that the strategy seeks to address predate the pandemic. Today’s strategy document reveals that Scots who live in the most deprived areas are

“18 times more likely to suffer a drugs related death; four times more likely to die from alcohol ... twice as likely to die from Covid; and can expect 20 years less healthy life.”

What picture does that paint of life in Scotland for the very poorest people, under this Scottish National Party Government?

On the issue of the Scottish National Party’s shambolic plans for Covid certification, very little has been said so far about how fraud will be combated. Can the cabinet secretary say how, in the absence of a photographic component, the system proves that the person who presents the passport is, in fact, the same person to whom it was issued? As far as I can see, it does not and, from tomorrow, the system will be wide open to fraud through impersonation.