Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 21 September 2021
Ms Baillie is incorrect, and she may want to go back and correct the record, as I did interviews last week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. I suspect that, in order for her to suggest that I have been somehow missing in action, she has probably just not been watching the news. On the one hand, I have been castigated for speaking to the media, and on the other, I have been told that I have not been speaking to the media—[Interruption.]
The member may want to listen—I am referring to the fact that she may want to correct the record.
On additional bed capacity, Ms Baillie is, of course, correct that the problems that we are facing are undoubtedly due in part to the additional demand at our front door. We are having urgent discussions with local authorities and social care providers—this is one of the actions that relates to our winter plan, which I will bring to the chamber—about how we free up bed capacity among the delayed discharge cohort. It is reasonable for Ms Baillie to ask that question. We are urgently exploring that issue, and I will come back to Parliament with a further update.
As I announced, we are increasing the number of HALOs from 11 to 20. That will help to ensure that people are not just discharged from an ambulance, but that they work their way through into the hospital system so that they are not left sitting in A and E departments.
With regard to field hospitals, I mentioned that there are some concerns around pop-up facilities. As members would imagine, I have spoken to every single health board and mentioned that the equipment that was used in the NHS Louisa Jordan is available for them to use. However, it is not simply a case of setting up beds—those beds have to be staffed. We would have to take the workforce out of extremely busy hospitals and put them in—[Interruption.]
If the member just listened, as opposed to shouting from a sedentary position, she would know that I am trying to answer her question in all sincerity. I am not dismissing the idea in its entirety, but setting up beds is only part of the solution. We would have to ensure that those beds are staffed, and pull staff from sites that are already busy, which would present its own challenge. However, I would not dismiss the idea in its entirety.