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.

Sound of 50,000 fans supporting Frank’s Law to be heard at protest

Dundee United fans joining in with the applause to back Frank's Law at Celtic Park.
Dundee United fans joining in with the applause to back Frank's Law at Celtic Park.

A minute’s applause by 50,000 football fans will take centre stage in a major protest on the Health Secretary’s Dundee doorstep.

Dundee United legend Frank Kopel’s widow Amanda and her supporters will gather outside Shona Robison’s SNP office ahead of her regular surgeries on Friday.

The sound of 50,000 Dundee United and Celtic fans applauding in support of Frank’s Law at the League Cup Final in March will be broadcast through loudspeakers.

A huge Frank’s Law banner will also be unveiled by the army of supporters who will also be taking their protest to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh.

“The memories of the cup final when 50,000 people at Hampden – Dundee Utd fans, Celtic fans and neutral supporters – applauded in the third minute in support for Frank’s Law was not only very emotional, but also very humbling for me and the family.

“When I saw and heard that applause and heard the United fans chanting Frankie’s name my tears just started to flow.

“I looked round that stadium that day and wondered how many of these people applauding had a family member, a friend, a neighbour, or knew someone who had been diagnosed with not only dementia, but motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, or any brain degenerative disease – because none of these incurable diseases respects age, creed or colour.

“How many more voices need to be heard for the Scottish Government to stop stalling and tell us whether they are intending to introduce Frank’s Law?”

Fans of both Celtic and United stood together for a minute’s applause in the third minute of the game at Hampden in March for the Tannadice great who wore the number three jersey during his career.

Mrs Kopel’s husband died in April last year having been diagnosed with dementia in 2009, when he was aged just 59.

He and his wife paid about £300 a week so he could have personal care in his Kirriemuir home because he did not reach the qualifying age for free services until weeks before his death.

Mrs Kopel is urging ministers to close this loophole, a bid The Courier is backing.

She began the campaign 27 months ago and is staging the 11am protest amid growing frustration at what she sees as a lack of support for the so-called Frank’s Law from the SNP administration.

Mrs Kopel said: “Frankie died 19 days after he was eligible for free personal care.

“The under 65s, who, like Frankie are battling incurable and terminal diseases, sadly will probably never reach 65.

“They wouldn’t need free personal care for a long time, and even if they were lucky enough to reach their 65th birthday, it seems disgraceful that one day is the difference between getting free personal care and having to pay for it.

“The majority of these people will have worked all their lives and paid into a system until these diseases will have lost them their jobs, their incomes and ultimately rob them of their lives at a young age.

“But when they need help to live with dignity and respect at the end of their lives they are having to battle bureaucracy.

“The referendum cost £15 million last year. If they go for another one next year where are they finding that money if they can’t fund Frank’s Law?”

Health Minister Shona Robison previously said the government recognises the concerns raised by Mrs Kopel, and others, about fairer charging for social care.

The Scottish Government said it is considering “very carefully” what further action it can take to deliver fairer care for the people of Scotland.

It intends to make further announcements when this work is complete.