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Every contribution to the Official Report — chamber and committee — searchable in one place. Pulled from data.parliament.scot, indexed for full-text search, linked through to every MSP.

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Showing 60 of 2,354,908 contributions. Latest 30 days: 0. Coverage: 12 May 1999 — 25 Mar 2026.
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
15 Nov 2005
Hepatitis C
I would like there to be an inquiry. I would like to ask the minister why we would avoid an inquiry because it would be a win-win situation for everybody. The tragedy is that so many people have lost faith in a certain part of the health service. Most people are not looking to...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
31 Jan 2006
Hepatitis C
A no-fault inquiry is needed as a duty to the nation, as well as to people who may not know that they are infected. People who are infected and come on the scene also deserve an inquiry. There is much doubt in everyone's minds. An inquiry would restore people's faith in the NH...
Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): Ind Chamber
29 May 2003
Scottish Executive's Programme
Thank you for allowing me to speak in today's debate. I will confine myself to health, which will not come as a surprise.Although I welcome much that the First Minister said about improving the NHS, I am concerned that he does not understand the problems that beset Glasgow and...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
31 Jan 2006
Hepatitis C
I agree that we should wait for what the minister has to say when he returns to us. I have always been in favour of an inquiry. Even if I had not been, I would have been after today's evidence. There is a duty of care to the people who have not been traced and a duty of care t...
Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): Ind Committee
28 Mar 2006
Care Inquiry
Moneys come from various sources, but the most important matter is that people should be well looked after at home. Until the committee's inquiry began, I had not particularly considered the people who entered sheltered housing—perhaps around 1985—and have grown old in that en...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
28 Jun 2006
Hepatitis C
I agree with practically everything that has been said. I read the detailed letter from the minister and it did not change my mind. I was stunned by the last sentence—if the minister did not want there to be an inquiry, what did he expect us to do? He did not like our decision...
Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): Ind Chamber
20 Sep 2006
Care Inquiry
The Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 is commendable legislation. It is also commendable that it should be subject to post-legislative scrutiny. It should be accepted that the policy is a work in progress, given that it is about providing care for the elderly and g...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
09 Sep 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
There are many things going through my head. My first thought is that when we plan ahead, we must take account not just of the illnesses that are suffered now, but also of those that are coming people's way. We have an aging population with multisystem problems. A large number...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
09 Sep 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
Earlier, Carolyn Leckie talked about large hospitals and outcomes. I have been led to believe that the centre for health economics in the University of York undertook in 1997 the most comprehensive study of the relationship between, on one hand, hospital size and the number of...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
09 Sep 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
That is why people are worried about the changes. It is very difficult to carry the public with you when the people who receive the treatments are saying that things are not better. Hospitals are being closed to shove units into a different place—they are just being transferre...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
09 Sep 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
You have just talked about providing the committee with details of the contact that you made with the NHS work force during your deliberations. You might remember that I said earlier that certain things are happening at the moment that clinicians would love to speak to you abo...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
09 Sep 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
I am not asking you to do that, but you have to be aware of what is happening and why we have hot spots, as you term them.
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
09 Sep 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
If it were a business—any kind of business: a supermarket, or what have you—the customer would be the most important person. No one is more important than a person who is very sick, and they are on a very lonely journey in the health service.
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
09 Sep 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
What is being eroded at the moment is faith in the system. Patients go into hospitals—big centres—and seem to be passed from pillar to post. They are not even sure who is a qualified nurse. They are in and out as fast as they possibly can be. Where do they go in general practi...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
09 Sep 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
It has been ruined now.
Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): Ind Committee
05 Oct 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
After visiting some establishments, I got the impression that even if there were more funding and more students universities would still not have the capacity to deal with them. They can deal with only X number of students in the university buildings and in the outreach clinic...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
05 Oct 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
Do you have anything to do with financing hospital doctors who train medical students?
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
05 Oct 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
So we need to pay particular attention to that matter.
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
05 Oct 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
My question goes back to the subject of capacity. As we have said, people may qualify in a subject but if there is no job for them in the city or in the rural or remote place in which they live they have to look elsewhere. Have you done any work on how the new trend towards ce...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
05 Oct 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
Perhaps our move towards centralisation means that we are working towards fewer places.
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
05 Oct 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
We must examine entry into the professions, but what concerns me most when I go around and speak to nurses is the existing work force. We are losing nurses because they are tired and worn out. They feel that they are not listened to and that they do not have enough people work...
Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): Ind Committee
26 Oct 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
This might not be an easy question to answer, but what are the witnesses' impressions of the work force planning process in Scotland?
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
26 Oct 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
I and many others have always regarded general practice as bearing the burden of changes in the national health service, such as centralisation and the reduction in the number of hospitals. Is Dr Scott worried about how we will fund the numbers of GPs that will be needed to co...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
26 Oct 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
Are you worried about the number of staff that might be available in hospitals as you increase the teaching of young doctors who come along? Are there enough consultants or senior registrar-equivalents in hospitals?
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
26 Oct 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
I address this question to all the witnesses, but it might be interesting to hear from the consultants' perspective. Do you have concerns about the new contracts? I am thinking about the differences between the contracts in Scotland and England. It seemed from the submission t...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
26 Oct 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
That is an obvious concern because we already have a staffing problem and more people might go south.
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
26 Oct 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
When a doctor is delivering services and is trying to cover the work load because the work force is not there, they have to think about public confidence and competence, which is sometimes difficult. People can be given many jobs to do and doctors might wonder how confident th...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
26 Oct 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
I am trying to explain that we are trying to get the organisations to focus on the work force. I am not getting information from them that gives me confidence that there are competent people ready to replace the people that go into specialist posts. There are not enough podiat...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
26 Oct 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
Should the Executive be addressing the issue by providing more money?
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
26 Oct 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
I have one more question. Let us assume that there are suitably qualified people out there. Do you think that posts are advertised quickly enough when they become vacant?
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
26 Oct 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
Do you agree that it would have saved money if we had looked into the matter earlier in order to keep people mobile and able to walk about? There might not then have been as many people in hospital beds as a result of a lack of foresight.
Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): Ind Committee
02 Nov 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
Do you have figures on the number of trainees who would have stayed in Scotland had positions been advertised or offered to them?
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
02 Nov 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
I am aware that financial constraints mean that not all jobs are filled or advertised. Some trainees—possibly just a small proportion—may feel that they were forced into making a decision to leave Scotland to earn money.
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
02 Nov 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
Will you comment on the changes in the health service that we have been discussing, which involve centralisation, a reduction in the number of beds, a reduction in buildings—which in itself means a reduction in beds—and structure and training for general practitioners?It is es...
Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): Ind Committee
09 Nov 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
The majority of the work needs to be done by nurses because we do not have enough doctors. I feel sorry for some nurses—they are not all happy with their lot or with the changes. Those who go into NHS 24 and get an upgrade and better conditions are happy and those who work in ...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
09 Nov 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
On retention, an important area is accident and emergency departments. In Glasgow, we are desperate for A and E consultants—it might be that Glasgow does not have the money to give full-time jobs to the seven, eight or nine staff who are in the pipeline and nearly ready to com...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
09 Nov 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
The worry for me is that if the board did not have the money and did not employ these people there would be serious implications for a big city such as Glasgow because certain hospitals could not be kept open. That leads on to the fact that we might have a diminishing populati...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
09 Nov 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
The knock-on effect of having too few beds is that staff are demoralised by constantly phoning round the city to pass the parcel of patients. Do we have a robust model for working out how many beds we have? Are we trying to project how many beds we need in a city?
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
09 Nov 2004
Work Force Planning Inquiry
Having taken all the evidence, I am frightened by the fact that no work force plan existed that was robust enough to prevent our getting where we are now. Professor Wildsmith said that we need a needs assessment to know exactly what we provide. I am afraid that services will d...
Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): Ind Committee
18 Jan 2005
Eating Disorders Inquiry
The one thing that comes over in the evidence is the powerlessness of individuals at a time when they need help, but the help is not there. That is true also of the professionals. I have a general practice background, and I had some idea that eating disorders existed. Even wit...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
18 Jan 2005
Eating Disorders Inquiry
Early diagnosis is by far the most important factor. Anyone who meets up with someone who they suspect has an eating disorder should be able to highlight it and find someone to help them. You are saying that it is extremely important to recognise that people do not have to go ...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
18 Jan 2005
Eating Disorders Inquiry
I did. I was interested in the joining up of private and public facilities. The NHS could probably learn a lot from the private sector and vice versa. There needs to be communication.
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
18 Jan 2005
Eating Disorders Inquiry
I agree that adolescents should have their own space, regardless of their illness. When adolescents with diabetes and other conditions are moved from a child treatment area into an adult area, they need their own space. Will you elaborate on that and explain where adolescent u...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
18 Jan 2005
Eating Disorders Inquiry
I just wanted to stimulate some thought.
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
18 Jan 2005
Eating Disorders Inquiry
As yours is a commercial service, why has it not spread? If it is a good business, what has prevented your opening another unit? Is it lack of staff or training? Do the same issues apply as in the national health service?
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
18 Jan 2005
Eating Disorders Inquiry
The Ayrshire and Arran submission showed that the funding currently available to support eating disorder services was £30,000 for sessional work, which was"two sessions from Clinical Psychology, two sessions from Dietitians and four sessions from a Behavioural Nurse Therapist....
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
18 Jan 2005
Eating Disorders Inquiry
Are you saying that you could use a district general hospital bed for a short time if you had a team that could deal with the patient?
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
18 Jan 2005
Eating Disorders Inquiry
That would be better.
Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): Ind Committee
25 Jan 2005
Eating Disorders Inquiry
From the evidence that we took last week, it is clear that the subject is important—nobody would deny that that is the case. What really struck me was that, regardless of the amount of money that is going into this area, no close monitoring is being done. As the minister said,...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
25 Jan 2005
Eating Disorders Inquiry
I welcome that, because doctors do not have many people to whom they can refer such patients and the patients or their relatives do not know where to go. If a lot of money is available, perhaps we need to ask who is accountable for spending it and why the people who need the s...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
08 Sep 2005
Care Inquiry (Participation Event)
Top-up fees and direct payments were mentioned, although not in my group. Finance does come into the picture.I was in the carers group and everyone agreed that the legislation was a good idea; it is implementation that is difficult. Finance is behind many of the problems.It is...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
27 Sep 2005
Regulatory Framework Inquiry
Yes.
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
27 Sep 2005
Regulatory Framework Inquiry
How could it be improved?
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
27 Sep 2005
Regulatory Framework Inquiry
On European legislation, when I first joined the committee we dealt with an affirmative resolution about vitamins. We had to pass it because there would have been penalties if we had not. I wondered why we were trying to scrutinise and discuss that instrument when we had to vo...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
31 Jan 2006
Hepatitis C
Andy Gunn stated that although there were Scottish supplies of blood products, foreign ones were chosen in preference.Just to clarify, I was not suggesting that you were trying to avoid blame; I was thinking that the whole point of the inquiry should be to avoid blame. A no-bl...
Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): Ind Committee
07 Feb 2006
Care Inquiry
It is interrelated. It is to do with—
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
07 Feb 2006
Care Inquiry
It is to do with the workforce, quality of care and discharges.
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
07 Feb 2006
Care Inquiry
David Bell mentioned that the numbers of care workers are growing but that their wages are not. Who provides the care for people? Obviously, people provide that care. If there is no incentive for people to work in an area, there might be a high turnover of staff, which will me...
Dr Jean Turner (Strathkelvin and Bearsden) (Ind): Ind Committee
07 Mar 2006
Care Inquiry
Having taken evidence on the matter, we realise that the uptake of direct payments is different around the country for different reasons. Could you give me more information on what you think the difficulties are around delivering direct payments? How do those difficulties impa...
Dr Turner: Ind Committee
07 Mar 2006
Care Inquiry
You said that there are difficulties with defining care at home and housing support services. Will you say more about direct payments and your concern about the most vulnerable people you mentioned?
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Committee

Health Committee, 15 Nov 2005

15 Nov 2005 · S2 · Health Committee
Item of business
Hepatitis C
Turner, Dr Jean Ind Strathkelvin and Bearsden Watch on SPTV
I would like there to be an inquiry. I would like to ask the minister why we would avoid an inquiry because it would be a win-win situation for everybody. The tragedy is that so many people have lost faith in a certain part of the health service. Most people are not looking to litigate; when something does not go according to plan, all that they want is answers. It has been flagged up recently that certain notes have gone missing, as if there were a conspiracy out there, but an inquiry would clear that up. For the sake of people who, through no fault of their own, received blood products in good faith from medical people who also acted in good faith, we need to know when the blood transfusion service became aware that things were not quite right and why we took blood from people in prison and so on.

In the same item of business

The Convener: SNP
Item 5 is discussion of the hepatitis C evidence session that we are planning. Members will remember that an evidence session to explore the case for an inde...
Dr Turner: Ind
I would like there to be an inquiry. I would like to ask the minister why we would avoid an inquiry because it would be a win-win situation for everybody. Th...
The Convener: SNP
We have to be careful not to go over ground that we have already covered. I advise members to look at the evidence that we have taken. You are saying that yo...
Dr Turner: Ind
Not having one would throw up more doubt that could be clarified.
Janis Hughes (Glasgow Rutherglen) (Lab): Lab
On that point, the evidence session would be helpful for members who were not on the committee when we first looked at the matter. Some of the issues that Je...
The Convener: SNP
I urge people to look at what was covered in earlier days of the Health Committee, but members are entitled to ask questions.
Dr Turner: Ind
People probably do not feel that questions have been completely answered.
The Convener: SNP
That is a separate issue, Jean. It is worth looking at existing information submitted to the Health Committee.
Mike Rumbles: LD
We have to be absolutely clear that two years ago, in September 2003, the then Minister for Health and Community Care, Malcolm Chisholm, told the committee t...
Mr Maxwell: SNP
I apologise if what I talk about has been gone over previously. Obviously, as a committee substitute, I am not totally up to speed with some of the Health Co...
The Convener: SNP
I suspect that, on that last question, the solicitor who will appear with the minister would be likely to say that the minister could not answer any question...
Mr Maxwell: SNP
That might be the case. However, from my point of view, coming to the issue at this stage, what is important are the practical steps that led up to the situa...
The Convener: SNP
Those are the three important aspects from your perspective. Does any other member wish to raise a point, make a comment or indicate what they might like to ...
Kate Maclean: Lab
Presumably, if something occurs to us at the time, we can question the minister.
The Convener: SNP
Absolutely. This is to try to clarify matters in advance. For example, if a question on one of Stewart Maxwell's areas of interest cannot be answered because...
Mr McNeil: Lab
The focus must be on whether there is new evidence. Even in my short time on the committee in this parliamentary session, I have become aware of some of the ...
The Convener: SNP
If any further questions occur to members over the next short period, can you ensure that they are communicated to the clerks? We want to try to clarify in a...
Meeting continued in private until 15:16.