Irene Campbell

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir Jeremy. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Altrincham and Sale West (Mr Rand) for securing this important debate and for his excellent speech sharing Sarah and Mike’s experience. As a former manager in the NHS, I was shocked to read the recent report by the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland, which described how thousands of people with terminal illnesses spend their final months in poverty, and how the situation is particularly severe in North Ayrshire. In my constituency, high rates of socioeconomic deprivation worsen the quality of life for many people, let alone for those with a terminal illness. Sadly, people in their final months of life are experiencing not only health inequalities, but economic inequalities, exacerbating the need for good, timely and appropriate specialist mental health support. I recognise the excellent work undertaken by Ayrshire hospice, such as its community-based “living well” hubs and clinics. However, more must be done to support those in need of specialist mental health support, especially at such a traumatic time for not only the person, but their family, friends and wider circle. New figures from National Records of Scotland show that people in North Ayrshire have the lowest healthy life expectancy in Scotland, at 52.6 years for men and 52.5 years for women. That is about 14 years shorter than for people in areas with the highest healthy life expectancies, and it cannot be allowed to continue. The Mental Health Foundation stated in its manifesto recommendations for next year: “Scotland is in the grip of a public mental health emergency, characterised by lengthening waiting lists for diagnoses and treatment, extended absences from work and a mental health workforce stretched towards breaking point.” That situation makes it particularly challenging to focus on those with a terminal illness. Finally, it is important, when we speak about mental health support for those with terminal illnesses, that we recognise that it must be delivered in a timely and effective way, to ensure that people have the best support available at the most difficult time, when they absolutely require it.