Mental Health and Deaf and Deafblind People

The motion

That the Parliament acknowledges and supports the campaign by the Scottish Council on Deafness (SCoD) for equal access to mainstream and specialist mental health services for deaf and deafblind people in Scotland; notes the widespread lack of provision for deaf and deafblind people who have specific language and communication needs and that presently their rights under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) Scotland Act 2003 and Disability Discrimination Act 2005 are not being met, leading to misdiagnosis and unsuitable treatments being applied; further notes with concern the complete lack of consultant psychiatrists in Scotland who are trained and experienced to work with deaf and deafblind people who have mental health problems and that the nearest available specialist mental health service for deaf and deafblind inpatients is Manchester whose outreach service, which is currently used by Scots deaf and deafblind people, is now under threat of closure; endorses the campaign for a specialist mental health service for deaf and deafblind people in Scotland, funded through the NHS, and SCoD’s aim of providing support for training and recruiting of deaf and deafblind people to enable them to work with deaf and deafblind patients; backs SCoD’s call for additional resourcing for mainstream psychiatric services in both hospital and community settings which would lead to greater accessibility for deaf and deafblind people with mental health problems, and recommends the establishment of a specialist Scottish centre for deaf and deafblind people with mental health problems in the south of Scotland or other suitable region.


No recorded vote on this motion. Most motions are never debated, and many that are debated are agreed without a division. Vote records are published from 2011.

SNP 12 SSP 5 Green 3 LD 2 Con 2 Lab 1 Ind 1 SSCUP 1

Party shown is each supporter’s party when the motion was published.

No contribution in the Official Report cites S2M-03971 by reference.