Press Release
Issued on:
7 December 2000 For immediate release
Issued by: Ian Harper, Information Officer, National Schizophrenia Fellowship (Scotland)
Scottish Parliament - Mental Health Carers
NSF(Scotland) welcomes the debate which took place in the Scottish Parliament on
Wednesday, 29 November 2000. This raised many issues and concerns which members of the
Fellowship would readily identify with.
Part of the motion, raised by Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP), stated that Parliament
...believes that the rights of carers of people with mental illness should be at least the same
as those of other carers, particularly in relation to consultation over care issues concerning the
patient, and acknowledges the invaluable work carried out by these carers.
There were detailed points made in the debate including; the stigma attached to mental
illness, which can prevent carers from seeking help and leaves many trying to cope in
isolation; mental illness is not a consistent condition and can fluctuate, as well as manifesting
itself in different ways.
This can lead to untrained carers caring for someone with little or no
assistance, and unable to access information and understanding; confidentiality is often used
as an excuse not to share information with carers.
Running through the various contributions to the debate was a desire to see mental illness
given more of a priority, and for carers' rights to information and to be involved in decisions
that affect them and those they care for, to be more explicitly recognised.
The motion did not commit the Parliament to take specific actions but responsible, well
informed debate on issues for mental health carers is welcomed. The Minister for Community
Care, Malcolm Chisholm, concluded the debate by acknowledging that carers and service
users are central to the framework for mental health services.
The full debate is on the
Scottish Parliament website.
(Ends)
For further information:
email: [email protected].
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