Hansard

The Convener Lab

Our second petition is PE1426, by Donna Scott, on a national donor breast milk bank service. Members have the clerk’s note, the Scottish Parliament informati...

Mark McDonald SNP

Before we begin, convener, I declare that the petitioner, Donna Scott, is one of my constituents and that I know her and have been working with her on this i...

The Convener Lab

Thank you for that. I ask Donna Scott to make her presentation, after which I will invite the committee to ask some questions.

Donna Scott

Good afternoon, convener and committee members.My petition relates to the unequal access to donor milk for babies across Scotland. Understanding of the value...

The Convener Lab

Thank you for your evidence. You make a strong and compelling case. You mentioned the international evidence. What best practice can you identify—first, in t...

Donna Scott

Throughout the rest of the UK, the provision of donor milk is a patchwork. I cannot cite any examples, because services tend to operate in their own local ar...

The Convener Lab

Have you identified any constraints on health boards, apart from money? Why are other health boards not looking at the milk bank as an excellent initiative o...

Donna Scott

Given Scotland’s population distribution, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has a larger number of babies who require neonatal care, and they are treated at York...

The Convener Lab

Has there been any interest from the third sector or the co-operative movement? There seems to be an ideal opportunity for them to get involved in this devel...

Donna Scott

Not to my knowledge.

The Convener Lab

Perhaps that is something that we can pursue as a committee.

Nanette Milne Con

Thank you for your interesting presentation. As the convener said, you make a good case. Politicians inevitably think of money, and at present budgets are st...

Donna Scott

I have read estimates and my understanding is that to set up a new milk bank would cost about £200,000. That includes staff training, all the necessary infra...

Nanette Milne Con

It strikes me that that cost is not enormous in terms of health service budgets. I do not know whether the Government has done any costings, but that is some...

Mark McDonald SNP

Welcome to the committee, Donna. My first question is for Mr Kelly, who I know has been working with the Yorkhill milk bank to transport milk from donors to ...

Jase Kelly (Scottish Emergency Rider Volunteer Service)

ScotsERVS is a charity that operates throughout Scotland and transports any medical items that the NHS needs quickly. The NHS might be used to using other me...

Mark McDonald SNP

There will be a certain window of time within which donated milk has to get from the donor to the bank or from the bank to the health board that requested it...

Jase Kelly

All our vehicles are specially adapted, and we have specialist refrigerated boxes. The boxes that the NHS supplied to us can only refrigerate for a maximum o...

Mark McDonald SNP

Donna, I am aware that you took a large amount of milk to donate to the Glasgow milk bank, which I think was before ScotsERVS was involved. Will you expand o...

Donna Scott

My son was discharged from the neonatal unit at the end of April 2011. I was in the fortunate position of being able to fully breastfeed my son upon leaving ...

Mark McDonald SNP

You spoke about the issues of demand and the difficulty in measuring demand in areas that do not offer a donor milk service. If the service is not there and ...

Donna Scott

Many people that I have spoken to—parents and non-parents—have said that they did not know that milk banks existed. People think that milk banks are a great ...

Mark McDonald SNP

When we spoke to NHS Grampian, it stated that it would be interested in linking into a national service but that it would not be able to set up its own milk ...

Donna Scott

I have not.

Mark McDonald SNP

The committee might want to take that up.

Sandra White SNP

I declare an interest as, many years ago, I was a contributor to the milk bank at Yorkhill. Also, I believe that I know Councillor Brothers’s father from a n...

Jase Kelly

As you say, ScotsERVS is a voluntary organisation that relies on public generosity and companies sponsoring us to meet our costs for fuel, vehicles, repairs ...

Donna Scott

If there is to be true parity, some sort of contribution will have to be made by the other health boards as well, or we will need some central funding in ord...

The Convener Lab

I think that this is an excellent initiative and I recommend to the committee that we continue the petition. I suggest that we write to the Scottish Governme...

Sandra White SNP

I absolutely agree that we should continue the petition. We should write to the Scottish Government to find out its response to what the petition seeks. We s...