Leader comment: Our debt of gratitude to Amanda Kopel

In the political stramash that has followed the launch of the SNP's Programme for Government this week, most proposals have been attacked as unworkable, ineffective, too late, too little, too much '¦ or simply wrong. One measure stands out as a triumph, however: the extension of free personal care to under-65s with degenerative conditions.

Former Dundee United footballer Frank Kopel. Picture: contributed

This is better known as “Frank’s Law”, after Frank Kopel, the former footballer who was diagnosed with vascular dementia at the age of 59. When he died after struggling with the condition for six years, Kopel had only been entitled to free personal care for all of three weeks.

The Scottish Government’s commitment to free personal care for those with degenerative conditions offers significant support to those affected, along with the national dementia strategy’s guarantee of post diagnostic support. But free personal care is only available to those over the age of 65. Dementia – or any degenerative condition, such as MND, Parkinson’s, or multiple sclerosis – takes little account of what date a birth certificate states.

Although dementia is more likely to hit in old age, we are increasingly aware of early onset, which hits some in their 50s, and occasionally in their 40s. At a tragically young age, a degenerative condition can rob someone of the ability to wash, dress or eat without support.

The decision to open up free personal care to all ages may seem obvious, but for Frank Kopel’s widow Amanda, who has campaigned tirelessly on behalf of those like Frank who receive little or no care, there have been days when she feared she was getting nowhere; days when she felt like giving up. It is to her credit, and to the benefit of 9,000 people in Scotland who will now qualify for care, that she held her resolve, and we owe her a debt of gratitude for highlighting this unacceptable situation.

Credit also to Conservative MSP Miles Briggs who lodged a members bill at Holyrood in an attempt to implement Frank’s Law and prompted a reaction which demonstrated cross-party support.

If there is a sour note to sound, it is that it required the publicity attracted by a high-profile individual to put this matter firmly on the agenda. But it was ever thus.

What matters is that a wrong has been put right, through a combination of common sense and concensus at Holyrood. Let’s hope this catches on.