Chamber and committees

Mr Torrance’s proposals would help to move this matter forward. This is not straightforward, but the more information we have, the more we can look at whether there is a way forward, so I very much welcome those proposals.

I am grateful to the committee for giving me this brief time this afternoon. I am here to speak on behalf of my constituents, because I believe that they raise an issue that requires further examination.

One of the fundamental points that are raised by the petition is the fact that an injustice has happened and that, therefore, we should consider what action is needed to stop that from happening again.

As I understand the Scottish Government’s position, it believes that the rules that are detailed by the Law Society of Scotland, alongside the additional safeguards that are currently in place, are sufficient to protect vulnerable individuals when signing legal documents, in terms of their capacity, yet we have seen multiple instances of those rules and safeguards not being sufficient.

Although the decision on whether a client has capacity remains a question for the solicitor to satisfy themselves of the answer to, it is easy to see how a bad-faith actor could manipulate the situation. The question of the golden rule, which is best practice in England, has also been raised. It states that the capacity of someone who is elderly or is suffering from a serious illness, or has recently suffered from one, should be assessed by a medical practitioner when they seek to make or change a will. We must question why that is considered best practice in England but is considered not to be needed in Scotland. It could appear that we have fewer safeguards for vulnerable people in this situation than England does.

I do not come here today with all the answers, and I appreciate that the issue is not straightforward, but it appears to me that some form of action needs to be taken to address the issues that are raised by the petition and I would appreciate it if the committee would consider investigating the matter further by writing to the appropriate organisations to establish the levels of complaints that have been made and the levels of concern that exist in Scotland around the issue.

I will pick up on Professor Evans’s point that we are in a better place now with regard to preparedness. How are you measuring preparedness? Professor Morris, you said in September—I think that you have made this point again today—that the

“principles of good pandemic preparedness are, first, a very good and strong health and care system”.—[Official Report, COVID-19 Recovery Committee, 29 September 2022; c 5.]

In the evidence that we have taken throughout the past year or two, in answer to how best we can be prepared, people have told us that we need a good health and social care system. From what I can see in Scotland right now, the social care system is falling down about itself, with massive staff shortages and burn-out of the staff who are still there, and we also have record waiting times. Professor Evans, what do you mean when you say that we are in a better position now with regard to being prepared, when everything tells me the opposite?

Okay. You said that you had set up a sub-group to look at a centre for pandemic preparedness and to work up the detail. When we spoke in September, you said that you were starting to work out what that centre might look like. Are you able to elaborate on that? Has progress been made? What is the thinking behind the centre?

Thanks. You have talked about future pandemics. I have heard people describing Covid as a once-in-100-years event. What is the threat? Has the world changed? Are we, as the evidence suggests, likely to see another pandemic within our lifetime?

But the system is falling down about itself. I get what you say about how different professionals in the health service will have gained expertise and knowledge, but if social care is falling down about itself and the hospitals are not coping, there is another question to be asked, which people are asking: did we do the right thing in shutting down so much that we now have excess deaths, much higher cancer rates and longer waiting times for operations?

People are suffering as a result of all those things. Is there a balance to be struck and did we get it right? The fact is that we have come out this side of Covid with health and social care systems that are creaking and struggling.

That is great—thank you.

Good morning. I will ask about future research. In the responses to the committee, there have been suggestions to look at, for example, the implications of Covid on national health services workers in the longer term. We have heard from NHS workers who are already being impacted in many ways.

Many written submissions have suggested that treatment trials need to start now, with existing medications. How do you prioritise research, and are there any plans for commissioning further research in Scotland?

Long Covid Scotland told us:

“In 2020, nine research projects were funded in Scotland, but there has not been any further funding for Scottish research projects since then.”—[Official Report, Covid-19 Recovery Committee, 9 February 2023; c 16.]

Given that there are a lot of suggestions about what needs to be researched, how do you prioritise, and do you have any plans?

In relation to previous research, I was struck that, when long Covid started to emerge and people started to highlight that they were suffering from it, I began to receive a lot of emails from people who have suffered for years with myalgic encephalomyelitis. We can draw comparisons between that and a lot of the symptoms that are described by people suffering from long Covid.

I assume that research projects on ME, for example, have been done in Scotland. If there are similarities between long Covid and other conditions, are you able to use previous research? How do you go about doing that? Nurses and other people who work in the NHS are being laid off, but people are looking for an immediate response. Are you able to consider other conditions and then give advice?

Yes. Does anyone want to add to that?