REPORT FROM THE SCOTTISH LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE IN THE GLASGOW SCIENCE CENTRE, 27 MARCH 2010
Attended by Dr Linda Watt (Vice - Chair, RCPsych in Scotland, Dr James Hendry (Member of Public Affairs Committee) and Karen Addie (Policy Manager, RCPsych in Scotland).
The cost of running a Fringe event at this conference was prohibitive so the College in Scotland purchased three conference passes. At the Conference the College representatives spoke to a number of other voluntary organisations involved in mental health including SAMH , RNID, AGE Scotland and a range of Childrens’ charities.
Conversations were also held at the GMC stand as the large GMC consultation on revalidation has now been launched so representatives spent some time talking to Dan Wynn of the Scottish GMC on this process and how College members can engage with it.
They also spoke informally to Richard Simpson MSP and Des McNulty MSP, mainly about the Alcohol Bill currently being considered by the Health Committee of the Scottish Parliament.
The College was particularly keen to engage with Age Scotland representatives as they are a new charity made up from the former Age Concern Scotland and Help the Aged Scotland. It was agreed to collaborate on a future project together, perhaps at the SNP Party Conference in October. The theme for the Scottish Division enagement with Party Political Conferences in 2010 has been Older People so it was agreed a joint piece of work would be appropriate
All three representatives attend a Fringe Event run by the National Autism Society.
Carol Evans, from NAS explained that England now has an Autism Act 2009 and recognition that families need support but this has not been the case in Scotland. There has been a consultation on whether Scotland needs an Autism Bill and this closed on 31 March, the Division has submitted a response.
Robert MacBean from NAS explained why the charity are campaigning for a Scottish Autism Strategy.
50,000 people in Scotland are on the Autistic Spectrum, described at the meeting as having an invisible disability. There are many challenges for these people and their families, carers and friends. When adults who are autistic get into a work situation they can be vulnerable to bullying and harassment. It is also very difficult to diagnose and sufferers can wait as long as 2 years for a proper diagnosis. A significant number can wait up to 10 years.
31 out of 100 people on the spectrum will go on to develop severe mental health problems and will need more help and support. Often Learning Disability environments are not suitable for this group and they get referred to adult services which contributes to their sense of isolation. Public services need to change to work better for people with Autism and service users need to be at the heart of the process of change. Different agencies need to work together to achieve the necessary change.
There is a campaign currently running called “We Exist” and the speakers at the meeting thought legislation is urgently required to make real change.
A young man who had been diagnosed as being on the ASD then spoke about his own experiences at school , at university and in the wider community and the difficulties he had faced in trying to fit in. He had received excellent support from his family, friends and school although he was finding University life challenging , being in university accommodation was proving difficult. He thought that more training and awareness raising had to be done for all teaching staff in schools. He also referred to the “postcode lottery” of trying to get appropriate support. The situation is variable across the country.
The representatives spent the rest of the Conference in the main hall listening to
the open debates. The debate most relevant to the work of the College was on “Protecting Frontline Public Services”. Hugh Henry, MSP for Paisley, mentioned the lack of appropriate help and support for prisoners in Scotland with mental health problems and the College representatives spoke to Mr Henry at the very end of the Conference.
At the end of the Conference the representatives listened to the key speeches, including those of John Prescott and Gordon Brown , setting out their key manifesto pledges for the Election.
Securing economic recovery, raising living standards, building a high tech economy, protecting investment and brining fairness to communities were the pledges from the Prime Minister.
Scottish Labour further refined those messages with a pledge to speed up cancer treatment and crack down on knife crime.
Labour is pledging to introduce a new right to see a cancer specialist within two weeks by 2015. This will be included in the party's manifesto for next year's Holyrood election, with the £10 million estimated cost to be met using operational savings within the NHS.
In addition Labour in Scotland will also promise to crackdown on crime and bring in mandatory minimum sentences for knife criminals.
The party has already put forward an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill currently going through the Scottish Parliament to try to achieve this, arguing such a move will act as a strong deterrent and help make Scotland's streets safer.
Both of these will feature on hundreds of thousands of pledge cards being sent out to voters across Scotland in the run up to the general election.
The cards will also set out Labour's commitment to secure the economic recovery, raise family living standards, build a hi-tech economy, protect frontline investment in policing, schools, childcare and the NHS, and strengthen fairness in communities.
UK general election co-ordinator Douglas Alexander joined Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy and Labour's Holyrood leader Iain Gray to launch the cards at the Conference, with similar events also taking place in England and Wales.