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Good afternoon, everybody, including the folk online. I have been interested in the issue of self-directed support since the previous session of Parliament. We have heard evidence that it is not being delivered well in some places but that it is absolutely fantastic in other places. Self-directed support seems to offer people choice about the kind of care that they want.

Should there be more on self-directed support in the bill and, if so, what should the bill say? On pages 20 and 21, the bill refers to modifying the self-directed support legislation. What are your thoughts on self-directed support, and should there be more on that in the bill?

Therefore, a digital care record that is accessible, secure and safe is absolutely what we need to think about in the bill. You are right about choice, traceability and the ability to know who has accessed records. I come from a nursing background and, from that point of view, when we are operating on somebody, we want to know what has happened in the past, including about previous surgeries, and it is really handy to have a record to check for safety reasons.

The third sector does not have access to records. Would you support that access? When we consider who is looking after the person—someone might have self-directed support, for example—is it necessary that the right people have access to the record?

The Food Train and other services that are equivalent to meals on wheels deliver to folks’ homes, and their staff might pick up on increased memory loss, for example, which might trigger an assessment or more care. Should such services be involved as part of the co-design process? Should they feed into the records even though they may not necessarily have access to them? Again, that is about on-going assessment. Should we think about that as part of the co-design process?

One of our questions in our briefing paper is directly about minority ethnic carers. We need to make sure that the questions are representative of that issue as well. What additional needs and potential barriers should be considered in relation to carers from minority ethnic communities with respect to access to breaks?

Not really—whoever is the self-directed support expert.

Dr Gould mentioned how everyone knows everyone’s business in rural areas. I represent the South Scotland region, which is very rural. She is right to say that folk in rural areas know what people are up to—sometimes, they even seem to know before those people know themselves. Other members will probably be very aware of how news about rural healthcare gets round the town or village.

Digital care records are a way of sharing information. Some stories can be repeated while other stories remain buried, if that is a person’s choice. My question is for Dr Gould. What fears do you have about care records? What do you hope to see that would be deliverable and would help to improve care?

Good afternoon, everybody. Don Williamson talked about unpaid carers and how we support them. In respect of rights for breaks for carers, through sections 38(2) to 38(10), the bill suggests modifying the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016. Eligibility criteria and the language that is used have been talked about. There are suggestions on changing that language to make it easier for unpaid carers to obtain or access breaks.

Some of the language is interesting. It is all very legal language. The bill suggests substituting the words “eligible needs” with

“relevant needs that meet the local eligibility criteria”.

We now have to think about going back to considering what the eligibility criteria are and how we can get breaks for unpaid carers. Breaks are not the be-all and end-all, because some care is so complicated that one or two registered nurses might need to be trained to deliver care that a parent is already delivering.

What are your thoughts about the language in the bill to support breaks for carers? Is that language adequate? We need to support and help the work that unpaid carers do down the line. That really needs to be valued. How can we get them the best support through respite breaks and in the language of the bill?

I will go to Don Williamson first, as he picked up that issue when Sandesh Gulhane asked a question.

The issue of breaks concerns young carers who are caring for people, and older people who are caring for their spouses. It is a huge issue in social care.

Given that carers and their breaks take up three pages of the bill, we really need to think about that, and I am happy to hear any suggestions for improvements.

On recruitment and retention, if the Government committed to supporting on-going, continuing professional learning to unburden providers with regard to the financial aspects of having to send people away to do online or face-to-face training, would you welcome that?