Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Health minister quizzed on implementation of Frank’s Law

Amanda Kopel with MSP Miles Briggs and MP Kristene Hair.
Amanda Kopel with MSP Miles Briggs and MP Kristene Hair.

An Angus MP has written to health secretary Shona Robison urging her to speed up the implementation of Frank’s Law.

Scottish Conservative Kirstene Hair is calling for “swift action” after a commitment from the Scottish Government to introduce it by April 2019.

The new legislation will provide free personal care to people under 65 who are affected by conditions such as dementia or multiple sclerosis.

Backed by The Courier, Kirriemuir woman Amanda Kopel has campaigned for the introduction of free personal care for everyone who requires it, regardless of age, since 2013.

Her husband and ex-footballer Frank was diagnosed with dementia and the couple faced bills of £1,200 a month for his care until he died aged 65 in 2014.

Ms Hair said: “This long overdue announcement from the SNP was welcomed by many people and the outcome was a credit to the tireless efforts of my constituent Amanda Kopel.

“While I am pleased that this government has finally listened, I am very disappointed that this policy is now being held up.”

She said there were an estimated 9,000 people in Scotland who could benefit from the introduction of the new law, and they should not have to wait another 18 months to get the help they need.

Ms Hair said: “At present, the lack of support takes a financial and mental toll on those affected and their families. I hope the health secretary and indeed the First Minister will not want there to be a perception among the public that this announcement was made to gain positive media coverage without actually delivering.”