Skip to main content
Loading…

Seòmar agus comataidhean

Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

Criathragan Hide all filters

Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 2 August 2025
Select which types of business to include


Select level of detail in results

Displaying 774 contributions

|

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Right to Addiction Recovery (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 25 March 2025

Brian Whittle

We discussed the failings of the system with the previous witnesses. What would you do to get the bill into a position in which you were more comfortable with the whole trauma-informed approach?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Right to Addiction Recovery (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 25 March 2025

Brian Whittle

I want to reflect on how the bill deals with the role of the third sector. I am aware of the way in which East Ayrshire dealt with the issues previously with its wraparound service, which seemed to be a success, but I am also aware of the pressure that it is currently under. I am thinking about the role of the third sector in facilitating access to treatment. It is very much a gateway or doorway, if you like, before people get to statutory services. Where does the bill sit in relation to delivering a holistic approach with the third sector? Since I started with my specific knowledge of East Ayrshire—one of my colleagues here knows even more about it than I do—I will bring in Liam Wells first.

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Right to Addiction Recovery (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 25 March 2025

Brian Whittle

I have a simple question to start with. What impact would the bill have on staff working in the sector?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Right to Addiction Recovery (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 25 March 2025

Brian Whittle

Dr Galea-Singer, I am interested in what you said about the things that are being called for in the bill already happening in your jurisdiction. If that is the case, that is fantastic. However, the overwhelming evidence is that it is not happening across the country, as there is a rising number of deaths related to drug and alcohol addiction. In my view, the bill sets out a right to be treated within three weeks, which is incredibly important for somebody who has the bravery to come forward and ask for treatment. Much as you are saying that that is happening in your jurisdiction, would you accept that that is not the case across Scotland?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Right to Addiction Recovery (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 25 March 2025

Brian Whittle

Okay.

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Right to Addiction Recovery (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 25 March 2025

Brian Whittle

Does the bill suggest that the patient can demand the treatment that they want? Surely it asks the healthcare professional to deliver the treatment that is required.

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Right to Addiction Recovery (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 25 March 2025

Brian Whittle

I will add another layer to that question. The financial memorandum says that

“the implementation of the Bill will lead to more completed treatments”

and

“fewer repeat appointments”,

offsetting the additional staff time required to provide written statements of reasons or second opinions.

I want to dig into the preventative stuff, because I think that contradictory things have been said today. Some of you have said that that is already being delivered, but it has also been said that there are 15 times as many drug-related deaths among people living in poverty as there are in other areas, so the system is obviously not working across the board. Access to services for people in poverty is the important consideration.

There is an idea that we could reduce the workload by preventing people from sliding back into addictive behaviour, but do you agree with that statement in the financial memorandum?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Right to Addiction Recovery (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 25 March 2025

Brian Whittle

Thank you for giving us your time. How does the approach taken by the bill acknowledge and integrate the principles of trauma-informed practice?

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Right to Addiction Recovery (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 25 March 2025

Brian Whittle

I will expand that point. I completely agree about squeezing the third sector and the importance of that sector in what we are doing. Squeezing the third sector puts more burden on statutory services. I met the psychiatry services only last week. There are other failings elsewhere and there has been, for example, an 800 per cent rise in requests for a diagnosis of ADHD. That all puts pressure on the system. I am slightly confused about how, if that is already happening—which you said in answer to my earlier question—introducing the bill would increase pressure on the sector.

Health, Social Care and Sport Committee

Right to Addiction Recovery (Scotland) Bill: Stage 1

Meeting date: 25 March 2025

Brian Whittle

I have been listening with great interest to what you have said. You have highlighted eloquently that the whole-system approach is currently failing, and we have talked about housing and education. We heard the example of a psychiatrist making a diagnosis without prior knowledge. For me, that is a big issue—communications in healthcare are really poor. There is a whole cross-portfolio issue that wraps around this, and it suggests to me that the system is not working for many people.

If what the bill is highlighting is that the system itself is not working, and if we can amend it to suit, we cannot decide not to proceed with it just because the system is flawed in a cross-portfolio way. As has been said, we have an issue in Scotland specifically, but I keep asking why that is and I never get an answer. If we have that system-led problem across Scotland, surely we need to find ways of addressing it. I think that the bill is capable of being manoeuvred into a position where it will have a very positive effect. We cannot decide not to proceed with it just because the system itself is flawed.

10:15