 The next item of business is a member's business debate on motion 3214, in the name of Linda Fabiani, on Marie Curie's great daffodil appeal. This debate will be concluded without any questions being put. Can I ask members who wish to speak in the debate to press the request to speak buttons now? I call on Linda Fabiani to open the debate. Seven minutes are there about, Ms Fabiani. I'm delighted yet again to be hosting what has now become an annual debate about the fantastic work that is carried out by Marie Curie. It focuses generally around the great daffodil appeal, and this year is, in fact, the 31st year of the Marie Curie daffodil appeal. Over that time, more than £80 million has been raised. I want to thank all my colleagues who are here and those who signed the motion. That's because I don't think that there's anyone in this Parliament that doesn't recognise the importance, both personally and professionally, of the care and support that is given by this organisation, Marie Curie, to more than 8,000 people and their families every year in Scotland, in their own homes. It's so very important that, a couple of years ago, the debate that we had in the middle of the daffodil appeal was about the right of people to choose where they wanted to receive their palliative care. That was very much led by Marie Curie and other agencies. I believe that that has led to a much wider discussion about palliative care generally and a commitment from this Parliament and Government to look at proper palliative care strategies. It's so important. My colleagues will cover a lot of that, but I want to use my time to celebrate the work of the Marie Curie volunteers. There are more than 1,850 of them across Scotland, 80 groups, there's the helper service, there's 37 shops and there's a lot of them here today in the gallery, a host of beautiful golden daffodils right round our Parliament and a couple of guys too. It's okay for me to say that because today is international women's day and we're celebrating women and it's a fine day to be celebrating the volunteers of Marie Curie. There's so much help given by the Marie Curie charity for those with terminal illness and in supporting those who support those with terminal illness. There's a lot of issues that are covered. People don't realise the work involved in what the professionals in Marie Curie do and what the volunteers do. Lots of different things. Things that affect people who end up in difficult situations in their life, that are the practical day-to-day things that need to be addressed just to give some comfort, some ease of mind and as much of a sense of wellbeing as can be given in such a difficult time. I jotted a couple of them down and as I say my colleagues will no doubt cover some of them. Social security, that's a major issue for those who face having to leave work, having to have a drop in income at a time of terminal illness. Marie Curie and indeed other charities have been working hard on this. They've been feeding into our own Government's consultation on social security. I believe very strongly that the response that came from the Scottish Government and I think welcomed generally by people right across this Parliament that the system that we're responsible for in Scotland should have dignity, fairness and respect at the heart of it. Again a lot of that has been informed by organisations like Marie Curie putting their point of views forward. I know that my colleague George Adam intends to talk a bit more about this because I overheard him and talked to somebody about it when we were getting a drink of water and I thought, right, I better not belabor that too much. That's his thing this evening. Another issue is about mental health. Again we have a mental health strategy coming up and I know that Marie Curie has been giving evidence to that and speaking to people. I can't begin to imagine the absolute strain on your mental health and wellbeing of caring for somebody in a protracted time in a pallidive care sense. Somebody you love very much. I've had a touch of it with family over the years but not the depth of it that must come when it's your lifelong partner or if it's a child or apparently you've been very close to. I certainly can't begin to imagine how difficult it must be to be that person who's told that you have a terminal illness and that you're going to die. I think that the mental health and wellbeing promotion that Marie Curie is running just now is extremely important for so many, many people. I hope that others here talk more about that today and I'd like to talk about that more with Marie Curie. That's where Marie Curie helps. All those things, I don't have time at all to go into the work that we're doing about the joint integrated boards on health and social care and the information that they've been putting forward for that. Again hugely important, quick assessments, the right for fast tracking to finance to help make that journey as stress free as possible for people. So Marie Curie do all that stuff, all the information that they produce. There's some, the stall that they've had in Parliament this week, some fascinating books, more than just leaflets, books about how people can cope but also about the practicalities that help you cope. Great work. Yes, the professional staff are great. Yes, the helplines great but I'll tell you what, those volunteers do absolutely fantastic work. The helper service, I haven't had time to go into any great length because I know that Elaine is one of the speakers at the reception and she will tell us about the fantastic work that the helper service does only in some areas so far in Scotland but I hope that that can be expanded. So it's way beyond anything that has been done before by volunteers, it's on the way to the service that is given by many professionals but we have these Marie Curie volunteers who choose because of their own personal experiences in most cases I would imagine to give up their own time to help people. Very often people they don't know but they do know that these people just need a help in hand and we're very very lucky if we can go through life and never need a help in hand. So welcome again to our Marie Curie volunteers, delighted to host you in your Parliament. We can talk more at the reception as it comes up and what I would say to you is wear your daffodil with pride every year because you deserve to. Thank you very much Presiding Officer. I also welcome the many in the public gallery but politely ask you to decline from a ploddy, understand why you want to but it's not permitted in the Scottish Parliament. We've 11 members wishing to speak in this debate and due to the number of members I'm minded to accept a motion under rule 8.14.3 that the debate be extended by 30 minutes and I would invite Ms Fabiani to move that motion please. I've always wanted to do this Presiding Officer, formally moved. Are we all agreed though? Thank you. All right, now we've opened the debate. I call Rona Mackay to be followed by Donna Cameron. Ms Mackay, please. Linda Fabiani for bringing forward this important debate. Marie Curie nurses give people with a terminal illness choice and dignity. Put simply they are a fantastic charity. They make it possible for people faced with a terminal illness to have the choice to die peacefully in their own homes surrounded by the people they love. You simply cannot put a price on the work they do as Linda has outlined. Currently there are nearly 2,200 Marie Curie nurses working across the UK caring for people with terminal illnesses in their own homes. None of us know when or if we will need the support of Marie Curie nurses but we should all be eternally grateful that if we do they will be there. The Great Daffodil Appeal is Marie Curie's biggest annual fundraising campaign. From wearing a Daffodil pin to organising large gala dinners and small bake sales, there are countless ways for people to get involved. There are Marie Curie fundraising groups in my constituency in Bishop Briggs, Kirkntilloch, Lensie and Bearsden doing great work and there are just some of the 85 groups in Scotland who have raised over £4 million. The Marie Curie Memorial Foundation was established in 1948 and the first Marie Curie home for cancer patients was opened in 1952 in Coupar 5. Today, nine hospices across the UK offer round-the-clock care and support in a welcoming environment for people staying in hospices and those coming in for daycare. Marie Curie is the largest provider of hospice beds outside the NHS. The Great Daffodil Appeal and the funds that it generates ensures that this can continue and develop. Marie Curie is also one of the UK's leading funders in palliative care research funding. However, 11,000 people who need palliative care in Scotland each year are not accessing it. That is one in four people who need palliative care missing out. That is why I welcome the Scottish Government's strategic framework on palliative and end-of-life care, which sets out a vision that everyone who needs palliative care has access to it by 2021. The Government is also committed to doubling the amount of palliative care services in the community through its recently published health and social care delivery plan. On International Women's Day, it seems fitting that we remember the remarkable women who made all this possible. Marie Curie was one of five children born into a poor family in Poland in 1867. She had an insatiable appetite for learning and, through sheer determination, entered Sorbonne University in Paris, where she read physics and mathematics. Her discovery of radium and polonium for which she and her husband Pierre Curie won the Nobel Peace Prize has saved millions of lives throughout the world. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize, the first person to win it twice and the only person to win it for two different sciences—what a legacy to leave to the world. With an increasingly ageing population, we must ensure that our terminally ill are treated with respect and dignity and can die peacefully where they choose. I urge everyone to get involved in the great daffodil appeal in any way that they can. Every daffodil counts. As the great Marie Curie herself said, one never notices what has been done, one can only see what remains to be done. Thank you very much. Are my members at four-minute speeches? I call Donald Cameron to be followed by George Adam, Mr Cameron, please. Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I would like to thank and commend Linda Fabiani for tabling the motion so that all parliamentarians have the opportunity not only to highlight the excellent work that was carried out by Marie Curie but also to talk about the importance of the great daffodil appeal and the various people that it helps. I would also like to take the opportunity to pay tribute to everyone who works for or who volunteers for Marie Curie and has helped this campaign run for 31 years and counting, raising over £80 million since 1986 as the motion states. That is a remarkable achievement and is testament to the dedication of those involved in this charity and in its vital work of supporting people with terminal illness. It is also poignant that this debate comes on International Women's Day, which is, of course, today. Marie Curie herself was truly an international woman of great stature. She was indomitable, as Rona Mackay has noted. She was a woman of many firsts, the first to develop her theories, the first to become a professor at the University of Paris and, most notably, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, doing so twice in her life. Of course, her legacy has continued through the work of Marie Curie The Charity, which was set up in 1948. As the motion notes, Marie Curie currently provides expert support for around 8,000 people and their families every year in Scotland and operates across all by one local authority. However, around 11,000 people with a terminal condition will not receive any end of life support for a variety of reasons. As Marie Curie highlighted, one of the main reasons is the planning of social care. We know that the issue of delayed discharge in Scotland's hospitals is an on-going concern. Although I do not seek to make an overtly political point in a debate such as this, we must note that it is incredibly distressing for those who are in a terminal condition not to be supported through their end of life journey, either in their community or in their home, if that is their choice, but are prevented from doing so. As Marie Curie's report, Dying to Care, acknowledged, that communication between the NHS and social care services through health and social care partnerships in the new world of integration needs to be better. The work that Marie Curie carries out in my own Highlands and Islands region is vital in supporting the NHS and importantly allowing recipients to remain at home while receiving care. At this point, I would like to welcome in particular representatives from fundraising groups from Orkney, Murray, Thurso and the Isle of Bute, who are here in the gallery today, as well as the many nursing staff from my region who are also here. In the Highlands and Islands region, around 8,800 people die each year from a terminal condition and 6,500 have a palliative care need. It is deeply worrying that around a quarter of Scots with such a need will not receive access to it. As a party, we are supportive of the general aims behind the strategic framework that was already mentioned. Although measures such as those should be achievable in urban Scotland, the greater challenge will be in remote and rural Scotland, where we know that specialist care services are limited and often difficult to access. I would also like to commend the helper service. There is such a service in the Highlands and Islands covering our Garland butte, which was launched last year with funding from the big lottery fund and investment from Marie Curie. I know that the new helper manager, Alison Craig, from our Garland butte is here, and I would like to take this chance to wish her luck in her new job. The service is a vital lifeline for many people, providing companionship and emotional support, as well as practical help for those struggling to get by with their respective conditions. Finally, very few charity campaigns have such a high profile or recognisable public image, such as the Great Daffodil Appeal. Rather than the world's AIDS Day in the Red Ribbon, the Yellow Daffodil is a powerful emblem of the fantastic long-running campaign, and I am sure that we all wish it every luck in the future. The debate, as Linda Fabiani has already said, is one of the many debates that we have on that yearly basis. It is one that I personally always look forward to, because I thank Linda Fabiani for bringing it to us again. There are a number of reasons why I enjoy taking part in the event, and one is that I personally feel a closeness to the charity. It is not because of any personal reasons, but because of the fundraisers and the people who have been involved in my constituency in Paisley. They are here tonight, and they do their power of work with fundraisers, having raised more than 100,000 over a five-year period for Marie Curie. Of course, it is always a big day for them, as you would be able to tell by looking at their social media feeds as they were coming here today. There is nothing wrong with having a wee bottle of Prosecco on your journey over to Edinburgh. It is a case of team Paisley on tour, but they deserve that day out because all the work and the fundraisers that they have done in the past for Marie Curie, and that is one of the days that they get the opportunity to do it. I have another reason to do it. Obviously, they have attended here tonight. It is Jane Cumming, Julie Maguire and Lynn Wilson, and they make Marie Curie very, very real for me. I think that I am an individual that, if you are going to work for a group or work with an organisation, you have got to feel it, it has got to be part of it, and they make it very real because of their own personal stories and also the hard work that they do. They even went to a stage over the past three years, where I have walked in fire—I know that many think that I can walk in water—but this was just fire in itself. Last year, we managed to raise £20,000 at the event-based stadium—I was going to say that it was at Murrmpat, but it is Paisley 2021 stadium now. We had a very good night, and it is always a great event because there are always so many positive people there. They have all been brought together by, in some cases, something negative that has happened in their life. That is where people get a lot of great strength and support from it as well. However, there is another reason that is very personal to me as well, is that, from my own perspective—I will talk about palliative care here—my own mother had cancer and ended up in the Accord Hospice in Paisley. However, there was a point when we were going through that process where the hospital said to me that your mother has missed that window of opportunity to go and get the palliative care. We think that she might end up dying in the hospital now. My answer was not, because I am going to make sure that she goes. I am going to physically pick my mother up and take her to the Accord Hospice if I have to carry her all the way along myself. That is the part when we are talking about the very personal stories of individuals. Mary Currie tells us that 11,000 people need palliative care in Scotland, and I am not getting access to it. It is good news that the Scottish Government's strategic framework in palliative care and end-of-life care promises that everyone who needs palliative care will get access to it by 2021. Those are the people that we have to make sure that we are looking after, because it is a very difficult time in your life and extremely emotional. That is the last thing that you read. I can see the difference that my mother made having her last hours and days there. I will try not to get it halfway through the debate. However, as a member of the Social Security Committee in the Scottish Parliament, I am interested to see what Mary Currie had to say about and other charities with regard to personal independence payments in PIP and the assessments at the DWP. It is too long the process that goes through for people who have a terminal illness. We hear stories constantly of people who die before they get their assessment. One of the things for me is that I am glad to hear that that is one of the 15 per cent of benefits that are going to come over to the Scottish Government. I know that the minister is already in record the Minister for Social Security and is saying that we are going to address this and make sure that we can deal with it as well, because I think that when you are at a stage like that with families, they need that time to make sure that everything is okay. The last thing that I need to worry about is going through that uncaring process. On closing, I just want everybody to have a great night. The volunteers deserve it. This is their night. They can have as much prosecco as they like, because they deserve it for the work that they have done. I hope that everyone enjoys themselves. Unfortunately, I will not be able to spend any time with them tonight, because I have other businesses to do in the constituency business, but I hope that they enjoy it. I wish them all the very best for the future. I refer members to my register of members interests, which states that I was employed by Parkinson's UK when I was elected, although that employment has ceased. I echo the comments of other members in thanking Linda Fabiani, who I know is a long-standing supporter of Marie Curie for securing this debate. As Linda Fabiani and others have commented, the fantastic work of Marie Curie makes a real difference in all her communities at what is a deeply difficult and emotional time for families. In my own South Scotland region, around 1,000 people are supported by that work, such as the compassionate care many received from dozens of wonderful Marie Curie nurses in the region. Much of that work is only possible because of the annual great Daffodil appeal, which has been raising both funds and awareness for over 30 years. It is also because of the group of people that Linda Fabiani rightly paid particular tribute to, and that is the army of volunteers who support Marie Curie whether through fundraising, helping in one of the Marie Curie shops, or the more recently established Marie Curie helper service. Prior to being elected to Parliament, I did have the privilege of working for Parkinson's UK, supporting and coordinating in their volunteers. I saw at first hand the real difference that they made to people living with Parkinson's. It is the same with Marie Curie's helper service volunteers, including the 20 in my own region of Dumfries and Galloway, some of whom are here this evening, although I am going to refrain from speculating on whether or not they had Prosecco in the chain in the way here. However, whether it is providing a friendly ear for someone living with a terminal illness, allowing families and carers to take a few hours' break while the volunteer provides care, the work of those helper service volunteers and indeed all of Marie Curie's volunteers is simply invaluable. I am sure that I speak on behalf of a whole chamber in simply saying thank you. As well as paying tribute to the work of Marie Curie and particularly those volunteers, this debate however is also a chance to discuss issues around end-of-life and palliative care. It is over a year since the Health and Sport Committee published its thorough and far-reaching report, We Need to Talk about palliative care, and it was followed by the publication of the Scottish Government's strategic framework for action on palliative care and end-of-life care, with its vision that everyone in Scotland who needs care has access to it by 2021. There will not be a member in this chamber who does not share that vision, but we all know more still needs to be done over the next five years to turn that vision into a reality. I had the privilege of holding my first member's debate in this chamber recently on Marie Curie's excellent report, Enough for Everyone, challenging inequities in palliative care, a report that highlighted that one in four people who die in Scotland miss out on vital palliative care. Rona Mackay, Donald Cameron, George Adam all said that that is 11,000 people a year in Scotland. Although it is not an exhaustive list, the report also showed that those aged over 85, those from black, Asian and minority ethnic communities, those who live alone and those who live in areas of deprivation were the least likely to receive palliative care. If we are to meet the 2021 vision, we need to break down the barriers to care for those groups. The report highlighted a number of recommendations and common themes that can help us to do just that, so I want to focus on them in my final minute or so. First, the need for more research and data. I am proud of the fact that the University of Glasgow's end-of-life studies group is based in my hometown of Dumfries within the Crichton campus. That group, founded in 2014 by the eminent sociologist Professor Clark, whom many members know as the author of the Health and Sport Committee's report on palliative care, has done a far-reaching work on research, but there still needs to be a lot more in order to tackle that gap that we have in research and data on palliative care compared with other health issues, not least the evidence-based for the Government to show progress towards that 2021 vision. There is also a need to improve the indicators used by health and social care partnerships to ensure that we fully measure the inequities in care that I mentioned earlier. Although it was encouraging to read in the Government's commitment in the recently published health and social care delivery plan to double palliative and end-of-life provision in the community, I hope that the minister will be able to say something in her summing up about exactly how that will be achieved. Finally, talking about palliative care and dying does not come naturally to many, despite the inevitability of death. I hope that the minister will also say more this evening about how the Government intends to deliver the commitment in the framework to support greater public discussion on death and dying and care at the end of life. As Professor David Clair— I am afraid that you must close. I am afraid that you must close. David Clair rightly said that our care in the UK and Scotland is world-class, but we need to ensure that world-class care is there for everyone who needs it. Thank you very much. Graeme Dey, to be followed by Liam McArthur. Marie Curie undertakes highly important work in my constituency as it does across Scotland, offering expert care, guidance and support to those living with a terminal illness to help them to get the most from the time that they have left. There is no doubt that Marie Curie staff do a tremendous job. I thank my friend Linda Fabiani for bringing this debate to the chamber so that we can acknowledge that. Carrying out that work comes at a substantial cost. I want to use my contribution to acknowledge the very considerable fund-raising efforts made by Angus South residents to aid this cause. The local Marie Curie group in Cornustia alone has raised £25,000 over the past two years for the charity. This has seen mountains climbed, cans shaking, tablet and cake made, miles-run and people abseiling off the university of Dundee's Tower building, all in order to help this fantastic cause. Additionally, four doctors and two receptionists from Cornustia Medical Group's Parkview Primary Care Centre last May raised £3,000 for Marie Curie by running distances of five and ten kilometres at Maniki Country Park. On the other side of my constituency, in the SID laws, we find someone else who has certainly gone the distance and more for Marie Curie. Judith Strachan, along with some friends, undertook a sponsored trek in Peru through the harsh and diverse Andean mountains to reach the 15th century Inca citadel Machu Picchu last year. All told, the four ladies involved raised £16,000 enough to provide 800 hours' worth of free, high-quality care. Even that effort has been surpassed by Petra McMillan, who is a Marie Curie patron for Dundee in Angus, and has told very recently a constituent of mine. All told, since 2009, Petra, her family, her friends and others in the DD postcode via the Cornustian Dundee fundraising groups have raised £1,500,000 for Marie Curie. Petra began her fundraising efforts following her mum, who had received care from Marie Curie passing away. The latest challenge saw Petra and her husband complete a growing cycle of 250 miles from Nicaragua to Costa Rica. She has also climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and cycled from Vietnam to Cambodia in aid of Marie Curie. Add to that effort, she has undertaken in Scotland, including climbing Ben Nevis, walking the West Highland Way, running a marathon, a handful of half-marathons for the charity, and you can see the commitment that she has to that cause. The only Marie Curie shop in the north-east of Scotland is located in my constituency in our broth, and whilst people may be moan the number and presence of charity shops in our high street, it should be acknowledged that any money raised for Marie Curie stays within a 25-mile radius of where it originates. That resonates with people when it comes to donating or supporting. Across Tayside, 263 patients were seen in over 2,153 visits during 2015-16. That is 2,153 sessions involving nurses working day and night in people's homes, providing hands-on care and vital emotional support. However, I was even more struck by another couple of stats that was revealed by Marie Curie. That is that, nationally, 2,500 parents die leaving 4,100 bereaved children every year in Scotland and that there are currently 24,000 bereaved children in our country. From the terminal diagnosis of a dear loved one, through having to witness the progressive nature of illness and treatment, and then grieving hard enough for adults to cope with, let alone children and young people. According to Marie Curie, many of those children and young people are missing out on post-bereavement support. If that is the case on any kind of scale, then it is something that needs addressed. Marie Curie called for the introduction of a national co-ordinator for childhood bereavement to review and advise on steps to improve bereavement services. The Scottish Government committed to this in its programme for government 2016-17. I very much welcome that and, as Marie Curie does, not only look forward to the appointment of the co-ordinator later this year, but also seeing what action is taken thereafter. To conclude, let me reiterate my thanks to Linda Fabiani for bringing this debate to the chamber, Marie Curie for the work that it does and the fundraisers not just in Angus South but across Scotland whose efforts make all of that possible. I thank Linda Fabiani not just for bringing this now annual debate, for managing to coincide it with International Women's Day and also securing the hat-trick by moving her first motion to extend a debate. I spoke in this debate in 2015 and since then, Marie Curie has clearly gone from strength to strength. Every other colleague has mentioned the phenomenal fundraising effort since 1986, but £80 million, what is important about it, is what it enables the staff themselves to do. I think that Linda Fabiani has very helpfully reminded us of some of the work that is done in the area of mental health, which is perhaps an overlooked aspect of this debate. I want to join others too in putting on record my thanks to the staff and volunteers for all that they do nationally, regionally and locally for the terminale and for the families. I have a personal experience of this around the death of my father-in-law six years ago, and the support that we got from Marie Curie was phenomenal. He was a cancer patient, but, obviously, Marie Curie's work goes well beyond treatment and care for cancer patients. I know also the work that Marie Curie is developing in terms of the health power service. While that is a little constrained at the moment, I certainly look forward to seeing that rolled out more widely, including perhaps ultimately to my own Orkney constituency. In keeping with others, I will be concentrating some of my remarks on what is happening locally in the islands. It is a relatively new service in Orkney. I am pleased, however, that, since I last spoke in this debate, the coverage has been expanded. It is built from a pilot project that was started by Dr Andy Trevitt and his colleagues in the strumness and the doombie practices. The patient numbers are still probably relatively small, but the impact has been no less significant. The feedback from patients and families continues to be hugely positive, and the support, in turn, from the wider community for this effort bears testimony to that. Linda Lennie, who has taken over as the local chair of the volunteer group in Orkney, sent an email to me earlier this week. There is a growing awareness of the work that the four nurses do, and this is having a knock-on effect with the donations that we are receiving. The generosity of spirit of the Arcadian public never ceases to amaze me. I am delighted that Linda and the local secretary, Sarah Duncan, are in the gallery. They probably can lay claim to having travelled further than most to be here. Having sat in Kirkwall airport for going on six hours this morning—I also congratulate Linda and Sarah on having the foresight to come down yesterday, rather than this morning, as was initially planned—for the record, I point out that there is no prosecco available on Loganair flights. Discussions are on-going with NHS Orkney about rolling out the programme more widely, and I would encourage those discussions to reach a conclusion as quickly as possible. More can be done, as Marie Curie pointed out. One in four who need palliative care are currently missing out. I rather suspect the figure in Orkney because of the newness, the relative newness of the service. I think that the figure is slightly higher in that regard. That does run counter to the Scottish Government's palliative care strategy, which I very much welcome. However, it is also out of step with the commitments, the collective commitments that we all have to see delivery of care take place far more routinely within the communities. There is a lot more work to be done as we celebrate the work that Marie Curie has already done. I conclude by thanking all the staff and volunteers for the remarkable work that they do—not just in Orkney, but across the country—giving people the dignity and death that they deserve. I look forward to raising a glass of prosecco—even George Adam's glass of prosecco—to the entire volunteer group later on this evening. Thank you very much. I do hope that there is a big enough supply, even if there is a mean on the Loganair flights. Can I now call, please, Miles Briggs, who is followed by Bruce Crawford? Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. I would like to also congratulate Linda Fabiani on securing the debate this evening. I am pleased to take part in it. Personally, having become a new MSP, I do not think that I have seen so many people in the public gallery from members' debate. It is a fantastic achievement, and you are very much welcome to do so in your Scottish Parliament. Can I join Linda in encouraging people across Scotland to support the great Daffodil appeal and in paying a warm tribute to all those involved with Marie Curie—the work that they do in providing truly world-class palliative care services? As a Lothian MSP, I am very much aware of the importance of Marie Curie services to many of my constituents. As someone whose family is used to hospice, I can only just understand the value that it provides to family members at some of the most difficult times and to their loved ones. I visited Marie Curie's Edinburgh hospice at Fairmal Head a few months ago and saw first-hand the good work undertaken there and the dedication of the local Marie Curie nurses, other hospice staff and the volunteers, 114 of whom support the work of the hospice. The Edinburgh hospice serves South Edinburgh, Midlothian and Westlothian, and had 425 admissions in 2015-16. The difference that it makes to people living with terminal illness as they near the end of their lives and the loved ones who deliver that support and show the support that they deliver to their families cannot be overstated and underestimated. It means that 95 per cent of patients supported by Marie Curie and Lothian are able to die in the place of their choice. The hospice also provides an excellent day service for patients who are not admitted. Marie Curie's work in my region is of course not just restricted to the hospice but also takes place in communities and in patients' homes. In 2015-16, 325 patients were cared for in the community in Westlothian and 564 in South Edinburgh and Midlothian. In this time, 3,653 community team patient visits were made locally, while more than 400 people benefited from Marie Curie's patient and family support team bereavement support sessions. I wanted to also highlight, as other members have, Marie Curie's helper service. It is something that I only became aware of recently. The helper service provides a link service to someone to chat to over coffee, helping to run an errand or simply being there when you need someone to talk to. I think that that is such an important thing that we cannot underestimate. As Linda Fabiani has said, while a lot of work is going on, it remains a real concern that one in four Scots are still missing out on pallative care that they need. There are particularly challenges around how we ensure people aged over 85, those who live alone or those from the BME communities in Scotland, that they are actually delivered pallative care access as well. As Marie Curie said, we have to see clear progress and evidence to show that the number of people who do not access pallative care are required and work to reduce that. As my party spoke on mental health, it is important to highlight the lack of research in Scotland and access across the UK into how people with severe mental issues who require pallative care are receiving the support that they need. That is something that we have a lot of work to do. Recently, as a deputy president, I undertook a fund-raising exercise for Chaz when I had my legs waxed. I enjoyed that. I wanted to highlight another constituent's far more important and pressing exercise. That was Luke Robertson, who I know is in the public gallery this evening. Luke raised over £75,000 from Marie Curie through an expedition last year when he became the youngest Brit and, in fact, the first Scot to complete a solo unassisted and unsupported expedition to the South Pole, a grueling 39 days ski across 730 miles of ice and snow in Antarctica. My leg waxing is nothing compared to that. I again welcome to today's debate and hope that the Marie Curie daffodil appeal in 2017 goes on to break record amounts that they have raised in the past. On behalf of the people that I represent in the Lothian region, who have used the service and for those who have had to use it for their loved ones, I say a huge thank you to Marie Curie for the service and support that they provide and wish them the very best in the future. I want to begin, as others are done by sincerely congratulating my friend and colleague Linda Fabiani on securing the debate on such an important subject as the Marie Curie daffodil appeal for this evening's member's debate slot. I do not know if Linda knows this, but it is certainly one of the longest motions that has ever been submitted to Parliament. It is 351 words, but all of them are well crafted, I have to say, Linda, telling the story of the Marie Curie well. I have just realised how that made me sound a bit like Stuart Stevenson. I am getting a bit worried now. To begin with, Linda told her story. I would like to tell a story of my own about meeting with some of the staff and volunteers from the Marie Curie and my own constituency office in Stirling just recently. James, Jennifer, Elizabeth and Joyce came to speak to me about the fabulous and vital work that they are doing across Stirling, Foth Vale and indeed across the whole of Scotland. The discussion was set by Susan Lowes, who did such a wonderful job for the organisation. The group told me about the care available for residents in the Stirling area, who are living with a terrible illness and the support that is also available for their families. As we know, Marie Curie provides caring support for people with a whole range of telman analyses, whether that is dementia, heart failure, cancer or MND, frailty and increasingly more and more people with multiple health conditions. I also heard about how the local Marie Curie nurses work night and day, providing hands-on care and emotional support, enabling patients to be cared for and to die at home, where that is their choice and, obviously, where that is appropriate to do so. Everyone knows that the death of a loved one is something that is always extremely difficult, particularly when they were suffering from a telman illness over a long period of time. The nurses at Marie Curie do absolutely everything that they can to make the last few weeks, days and hours as comfortable as humanly possible, not just for the patient but for their family and friends. In 2015-16, across NHS Foth Vale and Woney area, 200 people were supported with 1,424 nursing visitives. When I met the representatives from Marie Curie a few weeks ago, I want to complete a bit of that story, because just as the group was leaving, one of my staff members came through to speak to them, and one of the nurses who had looked after the mother of one of my team in the days before she passed away had been there the night before she died. It was a very emotional moment for everyone in my office. It had been the first time that they had met each other since the home visit had been made by the nurse. I do not imagine, though, that that is a one-off experience in life for people, because Marie Curie nurses are welcoming to people's homes during some of the most difficult times in a person's life, yet they enter with respect for the patient and family providing care and kindness and much-needed support to all. I saw just how much it meant for both my staff member and the nurse in a few moments that I will never forget. Of course, in order to continue the charity that is dependent on the generous donations that they receive from fundraising, there are others who have said that Marie Curie has supported over 85 local community fundraising groups in Scotland and helped to raise £4 million each year, enabling them to provide much of their caring services. I want to put on my record my full support for the charity's fundraising groups in Stirling, who are hard at work making sure that Marie Curie is able to continue caring for the people in the local area. I know that locally in Stirling that small group has raised £27,000 alone themselves is quite remarkable. Later this year, my office and myself will be taking part in the blooming great tea party to raise money for the Marie Curie cause. I am told by Susan Lohes from Marie Curie that the blooming great tea party is all about the right ingredients, nice cuppas, naughty cakes, bad jokes and good conversation. I am sure that I can provide at least some of those, but I am not promising to provide any of the peseco I have been hearing about this evening. It is all about having a blooming great time while raising money for a blooming great cause. In closing, I say to all the wonderful staff and volunteers at Marie Curie, thank you, on behalf of everyone in Scotland, and encourage all of my colleagues to sign up to the tea party for such a fabulous cause. Thank you very much. I start by saying that people might start talking about me and Linda Fabiani, because I have noticed on occasion that Linda Fabiani nodding vigorously when I have been speaking up. Some of our colleagues might not be happy to hear that, but I have noticed myself nodding vigorously back as Linda was opening the debate today. A sincere and genuine thank you to Linda Fabiani for bringing forward this really important debate to the chamber. I think that we have heard from every speaker today that we want to send one unified message regardless of any political party to each and every single member of staff or volunteer right across Marie Curie. A sincere thank you. I thank you for caring for our loved ones at the most difficult periods in their lives, but it is also important to recognise as Jill, who is a Pied-of-care nurse in the Glasgow hospital, reminds me this afternoon that you do not just care for the person who is dying, but you care for that family as well at that most difficult time of need. You care for that person, you care for that family, and you advocate. I think that that is the part that is also sometimes missed, is that sometimes we think that Marie Curie only looks after people in the most difficult period, but what Marie Curie does all year round is advocate to parliamentarians in this place and in other places about what more we can do as decision makers to help to support some of the most vulnerable people in our communities and how we can actually put palliative care on the agenda. To each and every single one of you, to your hundreds of staff, to your thousands of volunteers, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for every single thing that you do. I am sure that all of us have been touched by Marie Curie. If we haven't, I am sure that at some point in our lives we will be touched by Marie Curie and their fantastic staff. The other thing that they have helped to do, is to take away the discussion purely from good health but actually to how we talk about how people die with dignity and get the support that they need, how we put patients at the centre of our care needs, how we prioritise for them where they wished to spend their final days and moments in this world and also with their family members, asking them what is important to them. I think that quite often it is easy for us as parliamentarians to think that it is simply about medicating or operating and being in hospital but actually asking patients what matters to them, whether it be preparing for a will, whether it be preparing for the experience for their children or where they want to spend those final days. Again, thank you for that. What matters to you, test to each and every single individual patient? I had the pleasure of meeting an individual who I want to speak about, Richard Fairbairns, at our party conference, not last weekend but the weekend before, Nickname Pops, so with his permission I'll call him Pops as well today. He very powerfully talked about how actually individuals who work in our NHS having the time to care for an individual is so important. Having an adequately numbered and enforced workforce to care and to give that information to provide a care plan to partner with the family members makes such an absolute difference to people and also how we need to make sure that we represent people, whether they be in urban areas but also in rural areas. He himself was from Mul, so how we involve island communities as well in that very important issues around palliative care. In closing, Deputy Presiding Officer, I just want to put on the record a sincere thank you to every single staff member of Volunteer of Marie Curie. Thank you for every single thing that you've done and I'm sure that there are hundreds of thousands of people across the UK who look to Marie Curie with pride and a sincere thanks. David Torrance, followed by Kenneth Gibson. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I would also like to thank Linda Fawiani for securing this debate in the chamber today. I welcome the great Daffodil appeal, Marie Curie's biggest annual fundraising event, and I welcome all of the volunteers to Parliament today, especially representatives from Cercori constituency. Each year, the Daffodil appeal raises over £4 million in Scotland to help 200 Marie Curie nurses working across Scotland, care for and support people with terminal illnesses, as well as emotional support for families, friends and the wider community. The charity had made immense contributions to Scotland since it was founded in 1948. The same year as NHS was established and actually provides the largest number of hospice beds outside the NHS. From 2015 to 2016, 1,863 well-trained volunteers in Scotland were involved in fundraising for their communities and their local shops. Not only does Marie Curie offer nurses that provide hands-on care and hospice and offer friendly environments, but they also help everyone who is affected by terminal illnesses to get the information and support that they need through research that they carry out to help to improve care and support. Those services all come from amazing work with volunteers and fundraisers, especially from the Daffodil appeal. Since 1986, the Daffodil appeal has raised over £80 million and has contributed to giving people a better quality of life. These achievements would not have made it possible without the help of thousands of volunteers who make fundamental contributions to provide good quality care. Marie Curie's survival and success is dependent on the dedication and hard work of those volunteers who dedicate their time and special skills to help others in need. Volunteering also allows us to get involved with new things, environment and experiences, create a better environment for others, as well as create healthier communities, meet a wide variety of people from all sorts of walks of life and create networks and connections, valuable insights and a sense of accomplishment and build potential future career options. In this way, volunteering is a two-way street, both volunteers and patients benefit. The economic value of volunteering saves millions of pounds so that it can be used to ensure that the services that Marie Curie and its volunteers provide are the best that they can be and can provide one-to-one emotional support, tackling social isolation, as well as providing companionship. In my own constituency, trained volunteers provide a unique one-to-one service. In 2014, Marie Curie partners up with NHS 5 to deliver tailored care and support at home for terminally ill in 500 families. In 2015-16, 21 Marie Curie nurses cared for 318 patients in a total of 4,255 visits. That vital support allowed 94 per cent of these patients to die with dignity in the place of their choice. The scheme works alongside other services and initiatives in Fife area in order to meet individuals' needs of patients and families. That is a great example of partnership approach to providing health and emotional support services. It can be an extremely difficult time not only for patients but for families and the wider community. I am extremely proud of the contributions that the Cercodi funding group has made since its inception in 2014. They have raised vital funds of more than 11,000. As well as spreading awareness, they have organised many events and activities within the community and participated in the town's beach island games. Last year's event, a fashion show organised by a group was extremely successful, raising £1,000 for its charity. Again, volunteers are a vital part of Marie Curie's Fife service by offering companionship and emotional support, providing practical help such as raising patients with small tasks, spending time with patients to allow their families and carers a break, and helping people and their families to find further support and services that are ready, accessible and available to them locally. Without volunteers, Marie Curie would not be able to deliver a range of services and support that they do. In conclusion, I would like to once again thank Linda Farberianni for securing this debate. During the month of March, I would encourage everyone to give a small donation and wear a daffodil pin to raise awareness as well as to roll out the great daffodil appeal. I thank Linda Farberianni for lodging the motion and securing this debate. The work of supporting and helping people suffering from terminal illness is what Marie Curie Scotland does best. Last year, 11 Marie Curie nurses in NHS Ayrsharnan helped 86 patients over 354 visits, providing a 24-7 planned nursing service. Beyond the direct help that we offer to patients and their families, Marie Curie also helped to relieve pressure on the NHS and is an essential partner in taking care of terminal ill patients. The charity works to help to build a fairer and healthier Scotland by delivering services, support and information. Marie Curie raises funds in numerous ways most famously through its daffodil appeal. When I first wore a daffodil some 30 or so years ago, people kept coming up to me and asking me if it was St David's day. I'm pleased to say that no one asks me that now. Marie Curie has a network of shops, one of which in Solcoats is in my constituency, where I volunteered for a day back in 2015. I commend the work of all 1,863 Marie Curie volunteers across Scotland, people who don't just put in a day, but give of their time week-in, week-out year after year. Marie Curie addresses human vulnerability and the right to die with dignity, where a person wants to surrounded by loved ones. This is an elementary right, and 94 per cent of patients supported by Marie Curie in Ayrshire, who passed away last year, did so in their place of choice. Marie Curie offers a large range of services for thousands of people living with terminal illness and her families, from home nursing care to Marie Curie hospices, from medical care to patients to psychological support for the carers. Individuals are supported not only from life to death, but also after death by helping the family in their grief and administrative formalities, which can be daunting. Marie Curie's great daffodil appeal is an occasion not only to raise money for services and research, but also to raise public awareness about terminal illness, a matter little discussed in public. Research investment is vital. Only 0.16 per cent of charitable and government research funding in the UK is spent on end-of-life care, and a fifth of that is invested by Marie Curie. It is estimated that around 40,000 of the 54,000 people who die each year in Scotland need palliative care. Unfortunately, with inequalities combined with a lack of information and appropriate infrastructure, around 11,000 are deprived of this elementary service. We need to improve palliative care by promoting innovation in this field, especially knowing that one in eight people will be 75 or over by 2031. With that in mind, the Scottish Government's strategic framework for action palliative and end-of-life care aims to improve the system with the goal of offering palliative care to anyone who needs it by 2021. The objective that is outlined in the strategy is not only quantitative, but qualitative. The key is to bring to more people the care that is required to cope with a terminal illness. In recent months, I have heard the concerns of constituents taking care of our terminal ill relative and confronted with intolerable delays when accessing the benefits to which they are entitled. Marie Curie highlights his difficulties and recommends the development of a fast-track system for those who are terminally ill. The personal independence payment is a step towards this, allowing the terminally ill person or his or her representative to fill in fewer forms than normal and the DWP will fast-track the application. However, the PIP can be useless in certain cases when a DS1500 report cannot be attached to its application. The report must be completed by a doctor, a GP or a consultant who confirmed the terminal illness. Sometimes such a diagnosis cannot be delivered by the core medical team and the patient finds him or herself in circumstances where they cannot access help. I believe that the current system needs to be improved to help all patients, regardless of their diagnosis, and I support the recommendation of the Marie Curie report for developing a fast-track process within the DWP. More generally, I will say that the spirit of speeding up the administrative process for those who are dying in their families should be extended to every level of administration for communities to a national level. I believe that the Scottish ministers and the Parliament must make the best possible effort to help families who are confronted with such issues to listen to them and ensure that they are helped by their appropriate services. I commend the work of Marie Curie Scotland, particularly in my Cunningham North constituency. I once again thank Linda Fabiani for bringing this debate to the chamber. Thank you. You are ready. I call on Eileen Campbell to close with the Government. Minister, seven minutes are there abouts, please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I, too, would like to thank Linda Fabiani for bringing this motion to the chamber this evening. In London, it is absolutely right that today offers us a chance to celebrate the fabulous Great Daffodil appeal now in its 31st year, but also a chance to celebrate what volunteers do. In London, it is right that it is wonderful to see some of them here tonight, and I think that she described as a beautiful host of Golden Daffodils, and she is absolutely right to make that point. I would also like to give a special thanks to all the people across Scotland who's generosity over the years has helped to make the Marie Curie Great Daffodil appeal such an extraordinary success. Many members have discussed those local efforts tonight. David Torrance, Liam McArthur, I apologise. I'm getting my limbs mixed up there, sorry. Can you just put your hand on your hip? You might remember that. Kenny Gibson, Miles Briggs, George Adam, Graham Day, a whole host of people talking about how important the local effort is in terms of making the appeal such a success. Donald Cameron and Rona Mackay are also right to acknowledge the women, Marie Curie, on International Women's Day. So many inspiring women and their work have been lost through history, but not Marie Curie, whose dedication, her intelligence, her strength and commitment and the charity in her name ensure an enduring legacy. I'm sure that we all agree that the work done by Marie Curie in Scotland is invaluable. Her expertise in the field of palliative and end-of-life care is renowned and they fulfil a vital role in supporting not only those nearing the end of their lives but also to the multitude of families and friends surrounding them. I had the opportunity at the beginning of this year to hear more about the work of Marie Curie in my constituency, and the sheer breadth of that work being undertaken is truly phenomenal. The skilled care that they provide is more important than ever, as the demand for such services is only going to increase due to the well-understood changes in our population. We have more people in Scotland living longer, which is a good thing, but as we grow older, more of us tend to grow frailer with multiple long-term conditions involving specific palliative care needs. We all want a fairer, healthier Scotland, and the Marie Curie Great Daffodil Appeal presents a timely opportunity for us to reflect on the challenges that we face and which we are taking concrete steps to address. We are committed to understanding the needs of our different communities. We want to remove discrimination, reduce inequality, protect human rights and build good relations by breaking down barriers that may hinder people and prevent them from accessing the care and services and the supports that they need. That's a point that I think was made well by Colin Smith, and I pay tribute to him for his long-standing commitment on that agenda. Scotland is already a world leader in the field of palliative and end-of-life care. I'm proud of the progress that we've made over the past few years, increasing the numbers of specialist staff, improving access to services and through a programme of health and social care integration, putting services under the control of our local communities. Through this work, people are enjoying greater choice and control over their care, and as a result, pressure on NHS acute care units has been reduced, and families and carers are better supported. Most important, the people who could benefit from palliative and end-of-life care are increasingly receiving it. However, there is no complacency—absolutely no complacency—and we absolutely understand that there is far more to do on this. Liam McArthur Thank you very much, Deputy Presiding Officer. I thank the minister for giving way. I think that she's right in terms of what she's saying about acute care. I think that one of the concerns that's mentioned in Orkney and I think across a number of health boards is a frustration that the finance is not moving further into the primary sector and allowing more of this care to take place in the community and funded in order to do so. Is that something that the Government has a focus on? Minister Absolutely. I think that we all agree that there is that need to move and shift the resource to primary care and to have preventative efforts put in place. I recognise that that is a big shift. It is a big challenge and it's a challenge for communities and rural and remote communities as well and the one that Liam McArthur represents. That is something that the Government is keenly aware of and is working hard to build momentum in. The Scottish Government is committed to working with organisations like Marie Curie to take forward that shared aim of ensuring that everyone in Scotland who would benefit from palliative and end-of-life care has access to it by 2021—an ambitious goal. We are absolutely right to be ambitious on that area. In December 2015, in response to a World Health Assembly resolution that required all Governments to recognise palliative care and make provision for it in their national health policies, we published our strategic framework for palliative and end-of-life care. The framework set out a number of commitments that are designed to improve the quality and availability of palliative and end-of-life care across Scotland and we committed £3.5 million over four years towards realising that vision. However, to achieve that vision, it is essential that we also create the right conditions nationally to support the local communities in their planning and delivery of palliative and end-of-life care. I think again incoen the point that Liam McArthur raises, to help to ensure that the unique needs of individuals are met. That ethos is at the very heart of health and social care integration. Integration authorities are working with local communities and building on the expertise of organisations such as Marie Curie to commission services that are designed to meet the palliative and end-of-care life needs of their local community. By commissioning services in this way, improvements will be driven through meaningful collaborative partnerships with the palliative and end-of-life care community and, importantly, with the extraordinarily passionate and committed individuals who work tirelessly to improve support for end-of-life care for so many. As set out in our strategic framework, we have asked Healthcare Improvement Scotland to test and implement improvements in the access to and delivery of palliative and end-of-life care. That work includes developing better ways to identify all those who might benefit from palliative and end-of-life care, especially the frail and elderly. Many members have also raised data, and data is vital, because without it we will not know whether people are getting the palliative and end-of-life care that they need. Without it, local communities cannot commission services that are needed to support people's care, and care plans will remain hard to share. The data challenge is recognised in our framework, which includes a commitment to support improvements in the collection, analysis, interpretation and dissemination of data and evidence relating to the needs, provision, activity, indicators and outcomes in respect of palliative and end-of-life care. There is a working group task with clarifying that data requirements to ensure that they are valuable for both individuals receiving care and integration authorities. Working with NHS information services vision, the data group is also investigating a number of areas in which data collection can be used and improved. In addition, our mental health strategy, which is due to be published shortly in the Marie Curie report for everyone that was published last autumn, will also be helpful in informing that work and assisting in making sure that the needs of those with mental health conditions are considered in the implementation of the strategic framework in a point that I think was sensitively and absolutely correctly raised by Linda Fambay, Annie and recognising the mental health needs of carers and also those that are being cared for. I want to turn briefly to the values and skills that people need from our health and social care staff. Colin Smyth and Kenny Gibson also recognised how hard we find it as a nation to discuss death and dying. It is the skill at having these difficult conversations, which is absolutely critical for anticipatory care planning conversations, and having those conversations and sharing what matters to the person at the end of life can make all the difference to how and where they die. That ties, I think, also in part to the points raised by Anas Sarwar. On the low, he did not explicitly say it. I think that what he was also saying resonates very strongly with the realistic medicine approach that is set out by our CMO. Last week, which I think is part of this community empowerment approach to palliative care, I was very privileged to be at the launch of Compassionate Inverclyde, which embodies the ethos of whole communities coming together to support each other with compassionate points of grief and loss and change. It builds on the skills and the assets of a community and opens up that discussion about death and dying. Finally, I want to say a wee bit about palliative care research. As part of the programme of work set out in our strategic framework, we have established a research forum that focuses on the research associated with the strategic aims of the framework. It also helps to bring that research to bear on shaping the commissioning, the improvement and the education of palliative care in Scotland. We have also recently provided funding to the forum to support Mary Curie and colleagues in the University of Edinburgh, including Professor Scott. I would certainly recommend to Colin that he has a real interest in this area and Linda Fabiani also to listen to Professor Scott and his way to communicate with a great deal of passion on this area. However, what we have done in that funding of that work is to undertake a systematic review of over 400 relevant research studies in Scotland. That will also help to deliver a clearer picture of research and the data gaps and to support improvement in that work. In the acknowledgment of the collaborative nature of the work in this field, in May, we will also jointly sponsor a seminar with Mary Curie, which will provide a forum to explore other areas of research that will help us to move forward with the framework's action plans. To conclude, that has been incredibly informed and instructive debate that rightly acknowledges progress made on palliative care but is also recognising the challenges that remain. We across the Parliament are unified in our need to approach palliative care through a public health lens and we are also united in our appreciation of the work and dedication of the volunteers and the Mary Curie workers right across Scotland. Whether it is holding a hand embracing someone in the most difficult of time, which costs nothing, but in terms of the support that that offers to an individual and a family, it is absolutely priceless. It is a special opportunity for us tonight to come together as a Parliament and simply say thank you to everyone involved with Mary Curie and that please know that we do that on behalf of everyone right across the country. Thank you very much. That concludes the debate and I close this meeting of Parliament.