Hansard

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport (Jeane Freeman) SNP Chamber

24 Mar 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Mental Health Services (Renfrewshire South)

It is a very specific question, and I will make sure that Mr Arthur gets the detail of the answer that Ms Haughey would undoubtedly have been able to give. I can say a couple of things that I think are really important. First, the mental health transition plan that Ms Haughey...

Jeane Freeman SNP Chamber

24 Mar 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Hospital Waiting Times

Mr Kelly is quite right to say that this is a really serious issue. Inevitably, it has been considerably exacerbated by the past 15 months, during which the NHS has had to pivot. During the first wave of the pandemic, the NHS largely paused all but urgent and emergency treatme...

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport (Jeane Freeman) SNP Chamber

24 Mar 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Hospital Waiting Times

We are working with all health boards with specific targeted actions to reduce hospital waiting times. That includes the investment of additional resources. Some £60 million will directly support elective care. That will be progressed in the context of the framework for clinic...

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport (Jeane Freeman) SNP Chamber

24 Mar 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Cancer Pathway Review (Dumfries and Galloway)

Elaine Smith has been a doughty champion of that and many other issues during her time in Parliament, and I extend my wishes to her. Elaine Smith raises a really important point. She knows that the current legislation, and the legal advice on it, prevents us from using public...

Jeane Freeman SNP Chamber

24 Mar 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Cancer Pathway Review (Dumfries and Galloway)

I am happy to go beyond that principle. I know that Emma Harper will be familiar with Professor Sir Lewis Ritchie, who has undertaken considerable and valuable work for us in looking at remote and rural medicine, instituting a number of improvements and, importantly, listening...

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport (Jeane Freeman) SNP Chamber

24 Mar 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Cancer Pathway Review (Dumfries and Galloway)

As I have previously explained, the pressures of the pandemic mean that NHS Dumfries and Galloway and the board’s partners have paused reviewing cancer pathways, which is a complex piece of work. They will return to the issue in the spring. As we see case numbers come down, th...

Jeane Freeman SNP Chamber

24 Mar 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Covid-19 (Hospital Transmission)

My thanks go to Ms Baillie for those kind words. She is right. Nosocomial infection of any virus in a hospital setting and in other institutional settings is really important. We have listened carefully to what staff have said to us about PPE. Our clinical advisers continue t...

Jeane Freeman SNP Chamber

24 Mar 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Covid-19 (Hospital Transmission)

In answering that question, I need to add a touch of realism about things happening again. As one of the report authors notes, “The reality is that there are a number of constraints on the ability to have complete infection protection in hospital settings. The reasons for tha...

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport (Jeane Freeman) SNP Chamber

24 Mar 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Covid-19 (Hospital Transmission)

The research study makes an important contribution to our consideration of all those matters. However, it is limited in that it uses a wider nosocomial definition than has been agreed internationally. That extended timeframe overestimates nosocomial Covid-19 from the “indeterm...

Jeane Freeman SNP Chamber

10 Mar 2021

University of St Andrews (Degrees in Medicine and Dentistry) Bill: Stage 3

I will start by thanking colleagues across the chamber and those who are joining us remotely for their very kind words, which are much appreciated. Members have made a number of important points in this relatively short debate—it has been a short debate because we are in agre...

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport (Jeane Freeman) SNP Chamber

10 Mar 2021

University of St Andrews (Degrees in Medicine and Dentistry) Bill: Stage 3

I am pleased to open the stage 3 debate on the University of St Andrews (Degrees in Medicine and Dentistry) Bill. The bill has reached stage 3 without amendment and with what I hope is the support of members throughout the chamber. I think that that is in no small measure than...

Jeane Freeman SNP Chamber

10 Mar 2021

University of St Andrews (Degrees in Medicine and Dentistry) Bill: Stage 3

I absolutely agree. I think that, regardless of whether a future Government takes forward what was in this Government’s programme for government about a new medical school, there is a need to increase opportunities across our training services for all healthcare roles, to vary...

Jeane Freeman SNP Chamber

03 Mar 2021

Primary Care

I am afraid that I am going to disappoint Mr Whittle in that, in the time that I have available, I will not be able to go through all the plans. However, I will happily do that on another day. I start with what I did not say in my opening speech on the question of data, which...

Jeane Freeman SNP Chamber

03 Mar 2021

Primary Care

Finally, I will turn briefly to data in general practice—

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport (Jeane Freeman) SNP Chamber

03 Mar 2021

Primary Care

Thank you, Presiding Officer, for your generosity. I welcome the report. Before I talk about it, I thank the members of the Health and Sport Committee with whom I have had the privilege of working—in particular, Mr Macdonald, the convener. I have found our engagement construc...

Jeane Freeman SNP Chamber

02 Mar 2021

Topical Question Time · Covid-19 (Brazilian Variant)

I welcome Ms Baillie to her new portfolio and look forward to our constructive engagement in the remaining weeks of the parliamentary session. What we are doing around the three cases in Aberdeen is targeted testing. Let me take that in steps. Two of the individuals required ...

Jeane Freeman SNP Chamber

02 Mar 2021

Topical Question Time · Covid-19 (Brazilian Variant)

I completely agree with all the points that Ms Martin made. The instance that we are talking about exemplifies why our Scottish Government approach of requiring much tighter controls on all our international borders is so important. Ms Martin is right, in that the ideal and co...

Jeane Freeman SNP Chamber

02 Mar 2021

Topical Question Time · Covid-19 (Brazilian Variant)

Genomic sequencing is carried out by COG-UK, as the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium is known, which has two partner organisations in Scotland, and by NHS Scotland’s sequencing service. A representative number of positive polymerase chain reaction samples in Scotland are genom...

Jeane Freeman SNP Chamber

02 Mar 2021

Topical Question Time · Covid-19 (Brazilian Variant)

I absolutely do, as does the Scottish Government, which is why we want much tougher protections on our international borders, around the whole UK, for all international travellers. As Ms Johnstone rightly says, the variant has been detected in other countries that are not curr...

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport (Jeane Freeman) SNP Chamber

02 Mar 2021

Topical Question Time · Covid-19 (Brazilian Variant)

Three cases of the Covid-19 variant of concern, which was first identified in Japan but which is associated with Manaus in Brazil, have been identified in Scotland. They relate to three individuals who travelled from Brazil to Aberdeen via Paris and London. As members would ex...

Jeane Freeman SNP Chamber

25 Feb 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Elective Surgery (NHS Grampian)

Mr Mason is absolutely right to say that these are critical questions and critical operations, not least for the individuals who are waiting to have them. That is the point of the prioritisation framework. It is an iterative exercise that is clinically led. The framework itsel...

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport (Jeane Freeman) SNP Chamber

25 Feb 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Elective Surgery (NHS Grampian)

Published figures for NHS Grampian on 30 December 2020 show 10,680 patients waiting more than 12 weeks for surgical procedures. We are, of course, aware of the current pressures and we anticipated them in our work to respond to the Covid pandemic, which is why we published in ...

Jeane Freeman SNP Chamber

25 Feb 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Covid-19 Vaccine (Hospital Patients)

Without knowing the particular circumstances of the individual to whom Mr Burnett referred, I cannot comment—nor should I. However, if he cares to send me that information, I would be happy—as I have said many times in the chamber and in frequent letters to MSPs—to look at the...

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport (Jeane Freeman) SNP Chamber

25 Feb 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Covid-19 Vaccine (Hospital Patients)

On 5 February this year, the chief medical officer for Scotland issued a letter to all health boards, setting out the guidance on how health boards should vaccinate those within eligible Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation priority cohorts in hospital prior to disc...

Jeane Freeman SNP Chamber

25 Feb 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Port Glasgow Health Centre

I agree with Stuart McMillan’s view. The Scottish Government is committed to the health service and improving it, not only in Inverclyde but across Scotland. We do that in the face of a cut to capital resource of 5 per cent from the Westminster Government, within which we have...

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport (Jeane Freeman) SNP Chamber

25 Feb 2021

Portfolio Question Time · Port Glasgow Health Centre

Port Glasgow health centre is one of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s priorities for investment in community infrastructure. However, the Scottish Government has not received any proposals for it as yet. We will review any proposals that are submitted in due course.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport (Jeane Freeman) SNP Committee

23 Feb 2021

University of St Andrews (Degrees in Medicine and Dentistry) Bill: Stage 2

Thank you, convener, for the opportunity to make a brief statement on the bill. As colleagues are aware, this is a technical single-purpose bill. I will recap. The bill’s purpose is to repeal an archaic, unfair and, arguably, anticompetitive prohibition that prevents the Unive...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

The national performance framework allows that to happen. On the question of additional resources, the planned budget for health for the next financial year, at £16 billion, is of course considerable, although it is always possible to spend more on health and social care. It w...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

That is a key focus of our health analytical services—and information on that is set out in the equality budget statement. Our analytical colleagues undertake that work, assessing how we are allocating our resources and whether the outcomes impact positively on reducing health...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

It has supported our consideration of areas such as mental wellbeing, physical activity and healthy weight. We covered some of that earlier in response to David Stewart’s questions. The alignment of the two areas and the crossover between them are an important part of the cons...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

The national performance framework indicators, particularly in relation to health, are closely aligned to the wider targets in health. Therefore, spending decisions around the budget are made against the overall objectives of the health portfolio, and those objectives align wi...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

We believe that it is adequate, but we have also agreed to revisit it in 2021-22, as part of our formal arrangements with Food Standards Scotland, to make sure that our current expectation that, with the additional funding, the total funding will be adequate remains the case. ...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

Part of the difficulty that we had in issuing the funding that was clearly available to social care providers was the absence of information from them. It is difficult to know what additional financial pressures they were experiencing with which we could support them if we do ...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

To a degree, they are in competition, because the funding pot is finite, so the two must be balanced. It is a difficult set of decisions to make. On the overall longer-term health of the population, the balance should always favour activity that targets precisely the areas of...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

That is a good point. The member will recall that, in the programme for government, we promoted two big thematic headings, under which a range of activity was set out. One theme was population health. I have talked before about looking at why our work on population health is s...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

The additional investment in sportscotland to support active Scotland has a number of key outcomes, including encouraging physical activity, developing physical confidence at the earliest age, improving active infrastructure, supporting wellbeing and resilience through physica...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

In part, my answer is as I have given it before: we are working with integration authorities to ensure that that information is published as soon as it possibly can be, bearing in mind those local government timetables. Equally, I am sure that Angela Constance would be happy t...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

I understand that. In some ways, the issue of how to track the money that is spent on securing—or not—the results that we spent it to achieve is not dissimilar to some of the issues that the committee and I have grappled with in relation to integration authorities. It is about...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

That is an entirely fair question. Before I answer it, I note for the committee’s benefit that, in responding to Ms Harper, I omitted to mention the mental health research advisory group, which we set up in the early stages of the pandemic to consider emerging research in orde...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

Absolutely, it will. The member will be well aware of all the different areas in which resourcing has gone into mental health. It has not been possible to see the total impact of some of that. For example, we have not seen the full impact of the preventative spend on counsell...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

That indeed partly relates to the question that Mr Adam asked on the publication of those budgets against outcomes. As I said before, we will do everything that we can, working with the integration authorities, to ensure that that information is published. There is an impact i...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

The total amount spent on mental health services between 2016-17 and 2020-21 so far has been more than £5 billion. The spending increase between 2017-18 and 2018-19 was 5.2 per cent. Significant additional funding has gone in to support additional mental health services for th...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

We share the committee’s commitment to and enthusiasm for social prescribing. We expect the integration authorities to be clear, and we reiterated our commitment in our programme for government. We have a short-life working group examining social prescribing with a view to ide...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

I anticipate that it will. The integration authorities and the chief officers have not raised direct concerns with me or with any of my officials about their capacity to do that. Like those in other parts of the system, they are hard pressed at the moment. They are playing a m...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

Maybe Mr Adam will help me by being clearer about what change he wants.

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

We have committed to publishing information on the 2021-22 budgets, by local authority, and we will do that. The timing of that is in some measure determined by local governance timetables, in particular those of local authorities, but we will publish that information as soon ...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

That is a very good question. The approach is already under way. Richard McCallum and his team are in regular discussion with boards—during the pandemic but in the normal course as well—about their financial performance, as indeed are the chief operating officer and the chief ...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

I am sure that Richard McCallum will want to say a bit more about that. It is worth remembering that boards’ directors of finance meet regularly; that is one way in which they can exchange their experiences. Mr McCallum touched earlier on the regional peer-review exercise that...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

The framework itself has been paused in response to the pandemic. Just so that we are clear, I will set out the current position. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Tayside, NHS Highland and NHS Borders are currently at stage 4 on the performance escalation framework; NHS Ayrs...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

Mr McCallum will respond to that.

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

Yes, we will. We believe that we have done that in the current financial year. As Mr McCallum said, it has not always been straightforward to understand from the Treasury exactly what the consequentials are and what they relate to, so those discussions take some time. However,...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

As we are still in the middle of the pandemic, it is a bit early to identify or quantify savings that have come as a consequence of new ways of working that we want to maintain. We have touched on community hubs. Last week, we spoke about increased use of digital technology, w...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

Ms White is absolutely right that data is critical. However, members will recall that the retrieving of data from independent contractors—which is, in essence, what our GPs are—is a long-standing issue. Resolving that issue through production of regular data is part of the GP ...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

The membership of the mobilisation recovery group, which I chair and which has been in place for some time, represents key stakeholders in health and social care. Scottish Care is a member of the group, as is the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, in the form of Council...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

I will make three points. The first is about the NRAC formula. We touched on that last week and discussed whether there is a case for reviewing the formula. I made it clear that I think that there is a case for doing so. That will be a lengthy exercise and will be one for the...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

That is correct, in part. Richard McCallum can provide a more detailed explanation. In some instances, a more hybrid model is used. If a board spends more than what is given through the NRAC formula, the additional amount is also given, because we recognise that the pandemic h...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

Thank you. That was helpful. My colleague Ms Forbes continues to have regular discussions with the UK Government on such matters, and on areas other than health in which we have spent more than the consequentials that are permitted or afforded. There are pressures as a result...

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

Could you say a little more so that I am clearer about the question.

Jeane Freeman SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

There are a number of carried-forward pressures in relation to the vaccination programme, test and protect and PPE. Richard McCallum can give you additional detail on that.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport (Jeane Freeman) SNP Committee

16 Feb 2021

Budget Scrutiny 2021-22

Thank you, and good morning. Richard McCallum can deal with the current position. With regard to the future position, boards are currently working through their mobilisation plans—the third iteration of the mobilisation plans, as we seek to get through the pandemic. They are c...