Meeting of the Parliament 22 December 2022
That would be great, Presiding Officer. It is much appreciated.
I want to touch on a number of issues that have been raised directly with me. It may be better for me to write to some members, because of the time constraints.
The question about external assurance was raised by a number of members. There may be some perceived distrust of the health board. I have two things to say on that. First, an external assurance panel is in place. Members have met Linda de Caestecker, who is heading that panel. She is not the only person who is part of that panel; as the name suggests, a number of people are involved in it.
Secondly, I am not minded to put an external project manager into Grampian. NHS Grampian has to have ownership of this. I sincerely believe from the discussions that I have had with it that it has an absolute commitment. I think that its plan, which has a far shorter timescale than some members had expected—they had raised 10 years and seven years with me previously—shows that it is committed to this.
On the issue around C-sections, I am always clear that it is good to take clinical advice, so why did we come up with a different timescale previously? It is because that was the timescale that was in the Ralph Roberts report, which was presented to me. That report was rightly interrogated by clinicians and they have come up with the timescale of early 2025 for elective C-sections to be reinstated to Dr Gray’s.
A number of colleagues raised NES, in relation to both NHS Grampian and NHS Highland. Touching on what Finlay Carson said, I note the broader issue that it is really important to get more trainees to train in rural Scotland, and NES is fully involved in that very mission. In fact, it has been left in no doubt about my expectation of its involvement in relation to Dr Gray’s. Given that I have only a little time left, I will write to members about that.
Karen Adam made an excellent point about freedom of movement and immigration. Having raised the issue with the UK Government, I can say that, certainly from a health perspective, my fellow health secretary understands the need for the Home Office and those who are responsible for immigration to work to help us to plug some of the gaps in the workforce. That would not be a panacea, but it could certainly help.
I will conclude by addressing Carol Mochan’s point about a women’s health champion. I or Maree Todd will update Parliament on that early in the new year. Carol Mochan is absolutely right and she has every right to push the Government really hard on that appointment. We made a commitment in that respect, but it is so important that we get the right person, because I hope that they will stay in post for many years to come and push the Government in relation to the women’s health plan. I am absolutely committed to that.
Thank you for your generosity, Presiding Officer. I end by saying that the Government is absolutely committed to fully restoring and returning consultant-led maternity services to Dr Gray’s. We will not proceed with model 4. We will proceed to that destination, and I look forward to keeping members updated. I finish where I started, by wishing you all the very best for the festive season.