Scottish Parliament update May/June 2006

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS

Level of personal care payments
Dr Elaine Murray (Lab – Dumfries) asked the Executive whether it has any plans to review the level of payments made for free personal and nursing care.
Lewis Macdonald we are currently considering the evidence for a change in the level of payments.

Free personal care
Shona Robison (SNP – Dundee East) asked the Executive what steps it is taking to ensure that (a) local authorities receive full funding for free personal care, (b) all charges for assistance with food preparation are removed and (c) all pensioners who have been charged for the food preparation element of free personal care are fully refunded.
Lewis Macdonald we have provided substantial funding to local authorities to deliver free personal care. Local authorities can only be expected to provide assistance with the preparation of food free of charge if the individual concerned is assessed as requiring such assistance. If an individual believes that they have been charged incorrectly for any service covered by free personal care, that is a matter which ought to be raised directly with the local authority, who are responsible for providing the service. Health Department officials have written to local authorities reminding them of the legal requirements set out in the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002, in respect of assistance with the preparation of food.

Dementia drug treatments
Alex Neil (SNP – Central Scotland) asked the Executive why NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) is delaying its recommendations in respect of the prescription of donepezil, rivastigmine, galantamine and memantine for the treatment of people with Alzheimer’s disease, given that the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) has issued recommendations on the management of dementia which include the use of these drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease.
Lewis Macdonald SIGN produced guidelines based on published evidence of the clinical effectiveness of interventions. The National Institute for health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) also consider a final assessment of cost effectiveness when preparing its appraisals. NICE has not yet produced final recommendations on these drugs. When NICE has reached final conclusions NHS QIS will decide whether they should apply in Scotland.

PARLIAMENTARY MOTIONS

Dementia awareness week
Shona Robison (SNP - Dundee East) the Parliament recognises Alzheimer Scotland’s Dementia Awareness Week which takes place from 5 to 11 June 2006; notes that around 64,000 people in Scotland currently suffer from the condition; applauds Alzheimer Scotland’s campaign to raise general awareness of the condition; welcomes the campaign’s focus on people in middle age, encouraging them to take pro-active and preventative measures now to guard against dementia in later life, and calls on all MSPs to raise awareness of dementia among their constituents to help people live lives which are as long and as fulfilling as possible.

FIRST MINISTERS QUESTION TIME

Recognition of the work of carers
Donald Gorrie (LD – Central Scotland) asked what progress the Executive has made on improving recognition of the work of carers.
The First Minister (FM) our recent response to the Care 21 report set out our priorities for improving the support and recognition of carers. Those include requiring national NHS boards to develop local strategies to identify carers and help them to access the support that they need in their caring role.
Donald Gorrie carers range the age spectrum and are involved with public and voluntary services. Will the First Minister ensure that the Executive adopts a co-ordinated attitude to carers to promote their welfare and that a minister is placed in charge of that task and ensures that the programme works?
FM I am keen to do all that I can to ensure ministerial coordination, ministerial leadership and appropriate coordination of the many agencies involved.
John Swinney (SNP – North Tayside) central to the Executives response to the Care 21 recommendations is another task group to consider how services should be managed. Asked the FM if he understood there is immense concern because so much talk is going on about the proposals but there is little action. Asked if he would pledge that he will ensure that the wise words of the Executive response to the Care 21 report are translated into a concrete programme of action to bring about a decisive improvement in the support for young carers in Scotland?
FM it is very important to have a programme of action, but it also important for that programme to be developed in liaison with the carers themselves and the many bodies that provide the support that carers require. Those bodies include both the public sector and the voluntary sector. A programme of action is important, but it is also important that it is properly put in place in consultation with those who are most affected. That is what we will seek to achieve.

HEALTH COMMITTEE

Care Inquiry Report
The Health Committee presented its Care Inquiry Report on 13 June. The Committee concluded that the policy of free personal care (FPC) for people aged over 65 had been a success and recommended that the policy continued to be pursed and developed. The report also highlighted a number of problems in the implementation of FPC that could undermine the policy if they are not addressed. These include:

• The operation of waiting lists for FPC by half of all local authorities.
• Failure of the Scottish Executive to enforce clear guidance on key aspects of eligibility such as preparation of meals.
• The level of FPC funding, which has not increased in line with inflation.

SCOTTISH EXECUTIVE

Thinking about moving into a care home
The Scottish Executive has produced an updated version of this publication. It provides useful information and advice including:

• Regulation and inspection of care homes
• Information to expect from the social work department
• Rights to a care needs assessment
• Choosing a care home
• Contributing to the cost of care and the financial assessment
• Raising concerns and making a complaint
• What information to expect from the social work department