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The Patient Safety Commissioner made it clear that those with lived experience are not being listened to and that the health board has failed to reassure and support patients. Patient safety should be our number 1 priority. Where is the safety in turning away women in early labour to drive 70 miles home or in women leaving maternity services with post-traumatic stress disorder? Women are telling us that lives are at risk and that something needs to change.

The Patient Safety Commissioner raised those concerns in a meeting of a committee of this Parliament. In the light of the community’s real concerns and the important evidence that the commissioner provided in the Parliament, what leadership will the minister show to ensure that services are made safe? Women need action, not more reports.

I start by thanking Bill Kidd for bringing this important debate to the chamber. I am always pleased to join in his debates, which are often on subjects that the Parliament does not have time to really shine a light on. Whether they are international issues, with a focus on peace, or issues such as today’s, with a focus on the care and delivery of services to our constituents, they are always important.

As others have said, it is important that we consider and describe the therapies that are mentioned in the motion—Dr Gulhane described them very much more eloquently than I can do—together with the intensity of the treatments. Stem cell transplant and similar cell therapies are often the only curative options for patients with blood cancers and other blood disorders. Patients can receive their own cells or cells from a donor such as a sibling or an unrelated volunteer.

From my research for the debate, it is clear that the toll on people’s health must be enormous. We can think of how the physical presentation of cancer might affect us in that way. We can see the physical presentation of disease and, in some therapies, the treatment is very present. We can all imagine how even the journeys back and forward for diagnosis and treatment might affect us physically. However, this important report lays out the reasons that a patient who receives a stem cell transplant and similar treatments must receive the mental health support that Bill Kidd and others have mentioned and which is also mentioned in the motion.

Although those therapies are potentially life saving, they are intensive, have a lot of steps to go through and, ultimately, have those life-long consequences that involve thinking about what is happening to the body. Typically, patients have made journeys for diagnosis, and, as we all know, it can then be very difficult to move on to a specialist service. A patient may have built up a link with services and then move to a specialist service before finally getting treatment. That treatment is intensive, with multiple visits, often in isolation, to receive chemotherapy or radiotherapy before the actual infusion. The report has highlighted how emotional that journey is for both the patient and the family.

I want to raise the voices of my many constituents who live in very rural areas. It is often the case that such treatments cannot be carried out at local hospitals. Patients and their families accept that and understand the importance of having specialist services in centres of excellence. However, we must understand the additional strain that that puts on the family unit, who might not be able to provide support as frequently or immediately because of transport issues or other commitments far from those services.

I know that we in the chamber value the incredible specialist services and the work that they do. However, as parliamentarians and representatives of our constituents, we must think about how we can ensure that those families and individuals get the mental health support that they need. We know that the resources of the NHS are under considerable strain and that staff work incredibly hard every day to provide care and treatment—that is their job. However, it is our job to think about how we can maximise the impact of the points that were raised in the report. Others have mentioned specific things that I am sure that the Government is working on.

I look forward to the response from the minister on what we all agree is an important issue. I thank members for their contributions and, of course, I thank Bill Kidd for bringing the motion to the chamber.

18:51

The Patient Safety Commissioner made it clear that those with lived experience are not being listened to and that the health board has failed to reassure and support patients. Patient safety should be our number 1 priority. Where is the safety in turning away women in early labour to drive 70 miles home or in women leaving maternity services with post-traumatic stress disorder? Women are telling us that lives are at risk and that something needs to change.

The Patient Safety Commissioner raised those concerns in a meeting of a committee of this Parliament. In the light of the community’s real concerns and the important evidence that the commissioner provided in the Parliament, what leadership will the minister show to ensure that services are made safe? Women need action, not more reports.

I start by thanking Bill Kidd for bringing this important debate to the chamber. I am always pleased to join in his debates, which are often on subjects that the Parliament does not have time to really shine a light on. Whether they are international issues, with a focus on peace, or issues such as today’s, with a focus on the care and delivery of services to our constituents, they are always important.

As others have said, it is important that we consider and describe the therapies that are mentioned in the motion—Dr Gulhane described them very much more eloquently than I can do—together with the intensity of the treatments. Stem cell transplant and similar cell therapies are often the only curative options for patients with blood cancers and other blood disorders. Patients can receive their own cells or cells from a donor such as a sibling or an unrelated volunteer.

From my research for the debate, it is clear that the toll on people’s health must be enormous. We can think of how the physical presentation of cancer might affect us in that way. We can see the physical presentation of disease and, in some therapies, the treatment is very present. We can all imagine how even the journeys back and forward for diagnosis and treatment might affect us physically. However, this important report lays out the reasons that a patient who receives a stem cell transplant and similar treatments must receive the mental health support that Bill Kidd and others have mentioned and which is also mentioned in the motion.

Although those therapies are potentially life saving, they are intensive, have a lot of steps to go through and, ultimately, have those life-long consequences that involve thinking about what is happening to the body. Typically, patients have made journeys for diagnosis, and, as we all know, it can then be very difficult to move on to a specialist service. A patient may have built up a link with services and then move to a specialist service before finally getting treatment. That treatment is intensive, with multiple visits, often in isolation, to receive chemotherapy or radiotherapy before the actual infusion. The report has highlighted how emotional that journey is for both the patient and the family.

I want to raise the voices of my many constituents who live in very rural areas. It is often the case that such treatments cannot be carried out at local hospitals. Patients and their families accept that and understand the importance of having specialist services in centres of excellence. However, we must understand the additional strain that that puts on the family unit, who might not be able to provide support as frequently or immediately because of transport issues or other commitments far from those services.

I know that we in the chamber value the incredible specialist services and the work that they do. However, as parliamentarians and representatives of our constituents, we must think about how we can ensure that those families and individuals get the mental health support that they need. We know that the resources of the NHS are under considerable strain and that staff work incredibly hard every day to provide care and treatment—that is their job. However, it is our job to think about how we can maximise the impact of the points that were raised in the report. Others have mentioned specific things that I am sure that the Government is working on.

I look forward to the response from the minister on what we all agree is an important issue. I thank members for their contributions and, of course, I thank Bill Kidd for bringing the motion to the chamber.

18:51

I appreciate the minister taking an intervention. You say how important this is and that you think that it could be a bill that we could work with. Are there any amendments that would enable us to move forward with the bill?

Will the minister take an intervention?

I find myself having to ask the same question as other members. Families deserve to know this: has every ward and every area been audited and validated as safe to be used today?

I appreciate the minister taking an intervention. You say how important this is and that you think that it could be a bill that we could work with. Are there any amendments that would enable us to move forward with the bill?

Will the minister take an intervention?

I find myself having to ask the same question as other members. Families deserve to know this: has every ward and every area been audited and validated as safe to be used today?