Scottish election 2021: Lib Dems pledge mental health support in workplaces

Willie Rennie in Edinburgh

Willie Rennie said it was wrong to halt training for mental health first aiders during the pandemic

The Scottish Liberal Democrats have committed to help provide mental health first aiders for every workplace to help tackle the mental health crisis.

At an election campaign stop in Edinburgh, party leader Willie Rennie said adults regularly waited up to two years for mental health treatment.

This delay had a "huge personal cost" for those affected and employers lost working days to mental health, he said.

The party called for training for mental health first aiders to restart.

In February, the Scottish parliament officially recognised there was a mental health crisis in the country following a Holyrood debate brought by the Liberal Democrats.

Mr Rennie said training for both new mental health first aiders and instructors by Public Health Scotland had been suspended during the pandemic, unlike in England where training switched to a virtual classroom.

The Scottish Lib Dems have proposed an independent specialist body, like Mental Health First Aid England, should provide training so every workplace could have a mental health first aider.

Early intervention

Freedom of Information requests by the party showed that more than half a million teacher and support staff days have been lost for mental health reasons since 2017.

Police Scotland lost 126,114 police officer and staff days in the 18 months to September 2020, and the Scottish Ambulance Service lost 8,356 working days in 2020.

Mr Rennie said: "Businesses and public sector employers lose hundreds of thousands of working days to mental ill health each year.

"Adults regularly wait up to two years for mental health treatment. That comes at huge personal cost to their health, but employers also miss out on their talents."

He added: "Early intervention can avoid a problem that starts small becoming a crisis. I want someone in every workplace to be able to recognise the signs of mental ill health among colleagues and know what to do.

"It was wrong to suspend the training programme at the very moment it should have been ramped up."

SCOTLAND'S ELECTION: THE BASICS

What elections are happening? On 6 May, people across Scotland will vote to elect 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). The party that wins the most seats will form the Scottish government. Find out more here.

What powers does the Scottish Parliament have? MSPs pass laws on most aspects of day-to-day life in Scotland, such as health, education and transport. They also have control over some taxes and welfare benefits. Defence, foreign policy and immigration are decided by the UK Parliament.

How do I vote? Anyone who lives in Scotland and is registered to vote is eligible, so long as they are aged 16 or over on the day of the election. You can register to vote online.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail on Thursday, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon visited a pharmacy in Burnside, South Lanarkshire, to highlight the free prescription service in Scotland and outline her plans to abolish all non-residential social care charges.

Ms Sturgeon said: "The principle that drove us to scrap prescription charges was simple - health care services should be free and based on the care you need, not your ability to pay.

"Fundamentally, if for someone's care they require the care services of things like meals on wheels, community wardens, lunch clubs, supported living assistance or community alarms and laundry - then they should not be charged for them."

Legislation for a National Care Service would be introduced in the first year of a new SNP government, she said.

Anas Sarwar said care workers deserved more than a 20p per hour pay rise

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar promised to fight for fair pay for care workers.

He said the Scottish government's offer of a 20p per hour increase to reach the basic living wage of £9.50 was "shameful".

Under Scottish Labour's NHS Recovery Plan, carers would get an immediate rise to £12 per hour and a commitment to work to raise this even further to £15 per hour.

Mr Sarwar said: "Social care staff have put themselves at risk to support our most vulnerable throughout the pandemic."

'Double lock'

The Scottish Conservatives hailed the Covid vaccine rollout as a Scottish and UK success story.

At a visit to New Stobhill Hospital in Glasgow, party leader Douglas Ross pledged to enshrine in law NHS funding to tackle the treatment backlogs.

"The Scottish Conservatives would guarantee fair funding for our NHS with a double lock that would increase the health budget every single year," Mr Ross said.

"Our plans would see the annual health budget rise by approximately £2bn and give NHS boards the long-term security to protect local services in the future."

Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie was in Glasgow to support a city council call for Strathclyde Pension Fund to divest from fossil fuels.

The party has pledged to invest in a green recovery from the pandemic, creating 100,000 jobs and reducing Scotland's emissions.

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