Health, Wellbeing and Sport
South Glasgow Hospitals (Parking and Public Transport)
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to the petition signed by over 7,000 staff, patients and members of the public demanding adequate parking and public transport at the new south Glasgow hospitals. (S4O-04062)
There will be 2,500 spaces available when the hospital opens, and a third multistorey car park, which is due for completion in 2016, will provide a further 1,000 spaces. In addition, Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board has applied for planning permission for a further 600 temporary spaces until the third multistorey opens next year. A range of travel options is being promoted, including car share, park and ride and public transport. The new hospitals will be accessible by bus, with 50 buses already serving the site on an hourly basis, and the site is five minutes by bus from the Govan subway station. The Scottish Government is also investing up to £40 million in the new fastlink scheme, which will offer direct transport from three main sites in the city centre—Buchanan bus station, Queen Street station and Central station—to the south Glasgow university hospitals campus.
The new facility is iconic and is a beacon for Scotland in the delivery of healthcare, but serious concerns have emerged about the inadequacy of both public transport and car parking provision. Much of what the cabinet secretary refers to is still to happen, yet by June there are expected to be 10,000 staff on the site and unquantifiable numbers of visitors. Frankly, all that the Scottish Government has offered us is rosy procrastination. Why has it allowed the crisis to develop and what is it doing about it now?
I agree with Annabel Goldie that the new hospital will be iconic and a beacon, and one of the biggest hospital sites in Europe. A lot of work has gone on between NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Glasgow City Council. The application for the 600 temporary spaces is with the city council, and we hope that the council will expedite the application so that that parking can be put in place. There is an issue with residents parking, because the residents parking scheme that the council is consulting on does not start until October, so we have asked that thought is given urgently to what happens between April and October and whether some kind of temporary residents parking scheme can be put in place. Annabel Goldie is quite right to raise the issue, and I understand the feelings of staff. We have been urging NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to enhance its communication with staff about the options, but we need to ensure that those temporary car parking spaces are put in place urgently, and I urge the council to get on and do that.
A number of members wish to ask supplementary questions. If they are kept brief, I might be able to call everyone.
The minister gave an impressive list of parking facilities and transport links. Does she believe that, once they are all delivered, that will solve the problem?
A huge amount of work has been put into the planning of transport for the new hospital, and Ken Macintosh will be aware that the focus has been on having enough private car parking spaces but also on encouraging people to use public transport options. Of course, that is a balancing act. A huge amount of planning has gone in and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and Glasgow City Council are confident that what they have put in place will suffice. However, we need to ensure that the temporary spaces are in place, because they will be important before the new multistorey car park opens next year.
There is also still work to be done on the residents car parking because, human nature being what it is, if people start to park in a particular location and there are no parking restrictions in place, it can become custom and practice. Therefore, we have to make sure that the council puts something in place until the residents parking scheme starts in October.
I declare an interest in that my wife is a nurse who will transfer to the Southern general in the next few months.
I recently met Niall McGrogan, the head of transport for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and raised with him the specific issue that nurses on shift work, who cannot car pool or car share, will lose out and be disadvantaged in the permit system. I suggest that the cabinet secretary might also wish to make such representations to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
On permit parking for locals, the cabinet secretary must be aware that Glasgow City Council was given £750,000 to introduce parking regulations. I hope that it will not charge residents £50 to park outside their own homes.
The Scottish Government arranged a meeting on 2 March that included representatives of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Glasgow City Council, Strathclyde partnership for transport, and health and transport officials. All parties are fully supportive of the new south Glasgow hospitals project and working together to ensure that suitable travel arrangements are in place.
I have some sympathy for what Bob Doris said about residents parking. There is a need for clarity on that. I know that there is concern and that residents were at a well-attended public meeting. Reassurance must be given that something will be put in place, even as a temporary measure, before the residents parking scheme is implemented from October.
The chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde recently asserted that all staff live within one hour’s journey of the Southern general hospital. Many of my constituents would need to take at least two buses, if not one other mode of transport, before they even got to the fastlink service. If the chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is so out of touch with where his staff live and how they will travel to the new hospital, does the cabinet secretary have confidence that the plans that have been put in place will serve all members of staff and the patients who will require to use the new hospital?
We have made it clear to the chief executive and the chair that they must ensure good communication with staff on all the options. It is not just public transport; there are car-sharing options, park-and-ride options and, of course, the private car parking provision that is being made. However, I will certainly reiterate to the chief executive the point that Patricia Ferguson made, because it is important that there is adequate communication with staff on their travel options. We will make sure that that happens.
Health Service Delivery (West of Scotland)
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has for health service delivery in the west of Scotland. (S4O-04063)
I expect all health boards in Scotland to plan and provide healthcare services of the highest quality, consistent with national policy, frameworks and guidelines, for the benefit of their local communities.
There has been some discussion recently about the fabric of some of the health facilities in the Inverclyde local authority area. What capital investment projects in Inverclyde has the Scottish Government invested in over the past 12 months and what does it plan to do over the next three years?
The business case for the adult and older people’s continuing care mental health accommodation project has been in development over recent months. The £6.5 million project is due to begin construction this year and is due for completion in 2016. It will reprovide national health service continuing care beds that are currently at Ravenscraig hospital. It will deliver 30 older people’s and 12 adult continuing care beds in a purpose-built new facility. The new building will allow local flexibility and provide a platform for integrated service delivery as well as being fit for purpose in terms of patient care and experience. The project will meet the current and future needs of Inverclyde residents with significant mental health needs who have previously been in NHS continuing care wards.
The cabinet secretary will be aware that acute services are delivered south of the river at the Royal Alexandra hospital in Paisley for residents of Dumbarton, the Vale of Leven and Helensburgh. Anyone who has any understanding of the geography knows that that is quite a challenge. The local ambition is for services, including accident and emergency, to be delivered north of the river using the Golden Jubilee hospital and the Vale of Leven hospital. Does she agree that, with the advent of the new south Glasgow hospitals, we need to think about patient flow across the whole of Greater Glasgow and Clyde? Will she meet a delegation from my area to discuss how we can begin to optimise health services in the area?
I am aware that there have been previous discussions about patient flow. Patient flow is important and we have to recognise that it occurs beyond health board boundaries, which are sometimes there for historical reasons. We have to recognise that fact more. I am happy to meet Jackie Baillie and the delegation to discuss the matter further, and I will get that meeting organised as quickly as possible.
The cabinet secretary will be aware of the deteriorating accident and emergency waiting times for NHS Ayrshire and Arran hospitals that were announced yesterday. One in five of my constituents now has to wait longer than four hours. How is NHS Ayrshire and Arran, with the cabinet secretary’s help, going to address that deteriorating situation?
The west of Scotland boards face a challenge around A and E performance. John Scott may have heard me say yesterday that there are very clear requirements in place. Part of the reason for the pressure on the system in the west of Scotland is the acute level of illness and the sheer number of people who have been turning up, with unprecedented levels of admission in west of Scotland hospitals.
However, those hospitals are required to have the resilience to be able to cope with surges in demand. All the boards, including NHS Ayrshire and Arran, now have an action plan that sets out the improvements that are required—not only at the front door of the hospital but at the back door—to ensure that issues such as delayed discharge are dealt with, that patient flow is enhanced, that there is better use of discharge lounges and that all the best-practice things that we would expect are in place, to ensure that patients are seen within four hours. I will keep John Scott updated about progress on that.
Thank you, cabinet secretary. My apologies to other members who wanted to ask supplementaries, but I need to make some progress, so we will move to question 3.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Referrals)
To ask the Scottish Government how many referrals of children and adolescents with mental health issues to specialist child and adolescent mental health services have been rejected by those services in the last quarter. (S4O-04064)
From October to December 2014, 7,640 referrals were made to CAMHS, of which 1,425 were rejected. When a referral does not meet the criteria for CAMHS, we expect the child or young person to be signposted to the appropriate service. Further details can be found in the CAMHS waiting times publication of 24 February, which was published by ISD Scotland and covers October to December 2014.
Does the minister believe that it was appropriate for CAMHS to reject 1,400—or almost 20 per cent—of all referrals in the last quarter, which mainly came from hard-pressed general practitioners? Does he know the outcome for the children and young people who were rejected? If not, will he make a commitment to Scotland’s young people that he will commission urgent research to reassure them, their families and the Parliament that the outcomes were good and that the huge variation in the numbers of rejected referrals between health boards was for genuine and appropriate clinical reasons?
Patricia Ferguson will appreciate that I cannot second-guess the clinical judgment of the experts who are working in the field, but I observe that there could be a number of reasons for CAMHS to reject a referral, such as the referral not meeting their criteria. I also observe that the number of rejections mirrors the increase in the number of referrals and the number of children and young people who are being seen by CAMHS. It is important to place the figures in that context.
There has been a significant increase in referrals—from 4,734 in June 2012 to 7,640 in December 2014. That context is important. I reiterate that, when a referral does not meet the criteria, we expect children and young people to be signposted to the correct service.
How can the Scottish Government ensure that early intervention and prevention work in mental health is not lost as resources become more focused on children who require substantial or urgent mental health support?
We support a holistic approach, and it is important that we have a range of measures in place. CAMHS plays an important role, but I stress again that, when CAMHS provision is not appropriate, children and young people who have been referred there should be signposted to alternative means of support.
NHS Shetland (Funding Allocation)
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the 2015-16 funding for NHS Shetland is 2 per cent below the 2015-16 NHS Scotland resource allocation committee target allocation. (S4O-04065)
Each year, ISD Scotland reviews the NHS Scotland resource allocation committee target share allocations for territorial health boards, and on 24 February it published its revision for 2015-16. For 2015-16, NHS Shetland will receive a total resource budget uplift of 3.1 per cent, which is an increase that is substantially above inflation, following an increase of 2.4 per cent in 2014-15.
I am sure that Tavish Scott will welcome that resource. It should be noted that our practice this year is no different from that in previous years. Because the shares are published in February, we have in previous years used the publication to inform the shares for the next financial year. As part of the budget-setting process for 2016-17, we will maintain our commitment to ensuring that no board is further than 1 per cent from NRAC parity. As part of that process, we will provide additional parity funding to any board that falls further behind that 1 per cent from parity.
Does that mean that, in 2015-16, the cabinet secretary will find ways to improve NHS Shetland’s financial position? It appears from the figures that she has produced that the board is 2.1 per cent, rather than 1 per cent, away from NRAC parity. As she knows, that means that the funding that is coming to NHS Shetland is £900,000 less than should otherwise be the case. Will she recognise that, given the staff vacancies in a number of key areas, those additional resources would be very welcome?
As I have said, the resource that NHS Shetland is getting has increased by 5.9 per cent in real terms. Tavish Scott will be aware that that record level of investment in NHS Shetland has helped to increase its staffing level by more than 20 per cent under this Government, to a record high.
I make it clear that, through the funding that was announced, all boards were brought within 1 per cent of parity. I am saying to Tavish Scott that, for 2016-17, the additional resource through the budget will maintain the position of all boards at within 1 per cent of parity. I am sure that he will welcome that.
Disability Sport (Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley)
To ask the Scottish Government how it supports participation in sport by disabled people in the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency. (S4O-04066)
The Government is clear that everyone should be able to participate in and enjoy sport, whoever they are and whatever their background. That is why, through sportscotland, we are investing £642,000 in this financial year in Scottish Disability Sport to improve pathways into sport for our athletes with a disability and to increase participation.
Through Scottish Disability Sport’s local branch, Ayrshire Sportsability, the area benefits from a growing number of grass-roots programmes that allow young people to take part in mainstream sport and develop local participation opportunities.
The minister is familiar with some of the fine work that is going on in Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley to encourage people with a disability to take up sport. In addition to disabled badminton and cycling clubs, we have the Clan, members of which the minister met recently in Parliament. The Clan is a local rugby team that encourages people with disabilities to train and play alongside non-disabled players. Will the minister join me in congratulating those groups and perhaps, when diaries permit, come and see for himself the wonderful impact that such participation is having on disabled people in my community?
I agree and join Willie Coffey in acknowledging the range of programmes that are being delivered in Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley. I would be delighted to visit and see the provision at first hand.
I am encouraged in particular by the work that is being delivered by the Clan, which Mr Coffey mentioned. The Clan attended the Scottish Rugby Union’s recent parliamentary reception, and I was greatly impressed by the presentation that we received on the Clan’s work. It is a great concept that promotes equality, diversity and social inclusion through participation in the game, and the team is very much to be commended for its efforts.
Waiting Times (NHS Grampian)
To ask the Scottish Government what action it will take in light of NHS Grampian missing the target of treating 90 per cent of patients within 18 weeks. (S4O-04067)
NHS Grampian is receiving additional funding of £49.1 million in 2015-16, which includes £29 million of NHS Scotland resource allocation committee parity funding. That uplift of 6.3 per cent is the largest uplift for any mainland territorial board and is 4.9 per cent above inflation. In addition, the board will receive £2.8 million to tackle delayed discharge in 2015-16.
The board is utilising funding from the budget by investing £5 million of the budget uplift in delivering the waiting time guarantee and standards during 2015-16. The Scottish Government is supporting the board to improve its demand, queueing and capacity-planning process. That will help the board to put in place the necessary capacity to deliver all waiting time standards and guarantees for the people of Grampian in the future.
I am extremely interested that the cabinet secretary chose to answer that question by dealing first with the funding issue. Is that a clear statement by her that she believes that the problems in NHS Grampian are a result of serious chronic underfunding? Why did it take her Government eight years in office to realise that it was not adequately funding healthcare in the north-east?
Performance issues are not just about funding; they are also about the way in which services are organised and delivered. I am impressed with the new leadership team at NHS Grampian. The chair and the chief executive are focused on the task in hand, which is already beginning to deliver impressive and sustained improvement. I hope that the member will welcome that.
Now that NHS Grampian has had its comprehensive review, and in light of the deteriorating accident and emergency waiting times in other areas, does the cabinet secretary still not concede that the Royal College of Nursing and others who have called for a whole-system review should be heeded? That would include looking at all unplanned and emergency care, including demand issues, NHS 24, general practitioner out-of-hours services, minor and major accident and emergency and the planned trauma centres, as well as acute assessment and clinical decision units. That should be done through a comprehensive mechanism, rather than through the piecemeal or what I have called whack-a-mole approach that the cabinet secretary is adopting.
It is a pity that, in all that, Richard Simpson did not see the need to thank the staff of NHS Forth Valley, who have delivered a figure of 96.2 per cent of A and E patients being seen within four hours. This would have been a good opportunity for him to thank the staff in the area that he represents for that impressive performance.
On the wider issues that the member mentions, I am clear that there are issues that the service needs to look at. They are not just at the hospital front door, although that is why, through a collaborative approach, we have six essential actions to improve how the front door operates. There are also issues to do with tackling delayed discharge, which is why I have put £100 million into the system, why we have integrated health and social care and why we are looking at out-of-hours services to ensure that they are sustainable. Richard Simpson would do well to welcome some of those initiatives, because they will improve the care of our patients.
Perinatal Mental Health Services
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the provision of perinatal mental health services. (S4O-04068)
NHS Scotland keeps under review the range of community and specialist services that it delivers to meet the needs of women experiencing perinatal mental illness. The aim is to identify quickly those at risk and ensure access to appropriate and timely care, treatment and support.
I welcome the fact that there is a specialist perinatal community team in NHS Lothian, but is it not the case that in many parts of Scotland there is no specialist service available and women are telling us that, in many cases, they receive very little help when facing this serious mental health problem? Does the minister agree that the problem is a serious one with profound consequences for a large number of women and children in Scotland, and does he accept that there is a postcode lottery of care with perinatal mental health services?
The 2012 Scottish intercollegiate guidelines network national clinical guideline for health professionals on perinatal mood disorders provides recommendations that are based on current evidence of best practice in the management of antenatal and postnatal mood and anxiety disorders. The guideline covers prediction, detection and prevention as well as the management of primary and secondary care. The Government has published guidance on the organisation and accommodation of services for mothers who are suffering from a perinatal mental illness, and we certainly expect NHS boards to take account of that and other available guidance in the delivery of their local services.
Glasgow Centre for Integrative Care
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the future of the Glasgow centre for integrative care and its funding arrangements. (S4O-04069)
The centre for integrative care will continue to provide services to meet the needs of patients from across Scotland. Funding will continue to be provided by NHS boards that refer patients to the centre.
I highlight constituents’ concerns regarding the withdrawal of homoeopathic services in Lanarkshire and Lothian. NHS Lanarkshire will stop referring new patients at the end of the month and the current patients will be the last. Will the minister clarify whether the Scottish health council was involved in monitoring the consultation?
As the CIC offers a wide range of services, including prescribing of homoeopathic medicines and yoga, mindfulness and self-management programmes, which can be hugely beneficial to people with mental health and stress issues, is the Scottish Government in any way considering a more centralised form of funding for the centre?
As I said, the Scottish Government, NHS boards, patients and the public already recognise the CIC as a national resource. Claudia Beamish is quite right to highlight that the CIC provides not only homoeopathy but a wide range of other services.
We are quite content that the boards that have stopped referring for homoeopathy have undertaken public consultations and carried out reviews in the proper manner. As I said, there are no plans to close the CIC, which we see as having a role for patients across Scotland.
Shingles Vaccine (70 to 79-year-olds)
To ask the Scottish Government what the uptake of the shingles vaccine has been by 70 to 79-year-olds since September 2013. (S4O-04070)
The shingles—herpes zoster—programme was introduced in 2013 and is being offered to those aged 70 to 79 in a phased programme over the next few years, comprising both a routine and a catch-up element each year.
In the first year of the programme, which ran from 1 September 2013 to 31 August 2014, the vaccine was offered to those aged 70, routinely, and those aged 79, by catch up. Uptake rates were 59.7 per cent for 70-year-olds and 55.6 per cent for 79-year-olds. In 2014-15 the vaccine was offered to those aged 70, routinely, and those aged 78 and 79, through catch up. Uptake rates are not yet available, but provisional data suggests that up to January 2015, uptake was higher than at same time last year and still likely to rise.
I am grateful to the minister for that answer and the encouraging statistics. How can she encourage further uptake?
Those eligible for a vaccine receive a letter from a general practitioner practice, inviting them to attend for immunisation. GPs can, if they wish, offer the shingles vaccine at the same time as the seasonal flu vaccine, and a poster and leaflet are available to promote the programme and help uptake rates. As I said in my previous answer, uptake rates are rising and we are confident that the upward trend will continue.
Given that there are some 7,000 people in Scotland aged 70 and above who are affected with shingles, does the minister agree that the vaccine should be made available at the earliest opportunity for all people in the 70 to 79 age bracket? I understand that the vaccine is less effective after then.
The minister has told us a bit about the roll-out of the vaccine, with the catch-up element starting at age 79 and working downwards until it meets the routine element, which is moving upwards. How long will that take, and can it be speeded up?
I am not able to do the maths right away, but, through the routine element moving up the way and the catch-up element moving down the way, everybody in that age cohort should be covered within the next few years.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Mental Health Officers)
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to increase the training, recruitment and retention of mental health officers across child and adolescent mental health services. (S4O-04071)
Local authorities have a legal duty to appoint a sufficient number of mental health officers to discharge functions under the relevant legislation. They must decide on the number of mental health officers appointed in their area, taking into account local needs and circumstances. The Scottish Social Services Council’s latest report on mental health officers indicates a 39 per cent increase in admissions to mental health officer award programmes in 2013-14.
In 2012, the Scottish Government removed the bursary given to each trainee in educational psychology, which resulted in a 70 per cent drop in applications for such courses. The Scottish children’s services coalition noted that that drop, coupled with the retirement of a quarter of educational psychologists in the next four years and the doubling of the number of children identified as having support needs, will leave “a major gap” in the profession. How does the Government plan to address the deficit in educational psychologists at a time when the need for them is increasing, and how will it fulfil its promises to address child and adolescent mental health services?
I think that I first might have to write to Mr Hume to draw the distinction between mental health officers and educational psychologists.
We expect to work very closely with educational institutions to make sure that we always have a steady and constant supply of the necessary health professionals across the whole range of the national health service.
NHS Fife (Additional Support)
To ask the Scottish Government what additional support it has given NHS Fife to help improve its performance. (S4O-04072)
An additional £12.43 million has been allocated to NHS Fife. From that, £2.1 million will be allocated in 2015-16 to alleviate drugs pressures, and the Fife partnership will receive £6.73 million over the next three years, which will go towards developing local community services that will help to reduce unnecessary admissions and ensure timely discharge from hospital.
Can the cabinet secretary tell me how much it costs NHS Fife per year to pay for the new public-private partnership Victoria hospital, which was built under the last Labour Government? Do the large repayment commitments seriously impact on front-line services?
The forecast unitary charge for the Victoria hospital private finance initiative contract is £21.7 million. PFI costs are a considerable burden on the system. I can tell the member that PFI contracts will cost the health service £235 million in 2015-16.
Obviously, NHS Fife, like other boards, is funded according to the NHS Scotland resource allocation committee formula. Under that formula, NHS Fife has had a significant uplift; its budget increased by £145.9 million from 2006-07 to 2015-16. Although there are always pressures on the system, we would expect NHS Fife to use that resource to improve patient care.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (Meetings)
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met representatives of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and what issues were discussed. (S4O-04073)
Ministers and Government officials regularly meet representatives of all NHS boards, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, to discuss matters of importance to local people.
I notice that the new south Glasgow university hospitals have been mentioned a couple of times already today. Although there are issues still to be dealt with—on which my Glasgow colleagues and I have written to the health board for clarification—we have to accept the project’s being delivered before schedule and under budget is one of the great achievements of the Government.
Can the cabinet secretary give me further information on what final steps are in place to ensure the smooth opening of the hospital in a couple of months, which will benefit patients, visitors and staff?
I am happy to confirm to the member that the £842 million project for the new south Glasgow hospitals remains on time and on budget. Work is now under way to equip and test the new facilities—which will provide the gold standard for co-locating state-of-the-art adult, children and maternity services—and to train staff ahead of the migration of clinical services between late April and June.
This is, of course, a massive logistical undertaking that the health board has been planning over a number of years. The board has assured me that it has robust plans and contingency measures in place to ensure the effective migration of services while it continues to deliver high-quality services for the benefit of patients. The Government has been and will remain in close touch with the board as that important work is taken forward over the next few weeks.
South Glasgow Hospitals (Parking and Transport)
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the proposed parking provision and transport links for staff and visitors at the new south Glasgow hospitals. (S4O-04074)
Further to my previous answers, the Scottish Government arranged a meeting on 2 March that was, as I said, attended by representatives of all the partners, all of whom are working closely to ensure that suitable travel and parking arrangements are in place.
The attendees agreed to pursue plans for the temporary car park to cover the period until the third multistorey car park opens, and to continue to provide strong support to staff, patients and visitors to the campus in relation to appropriate travel arrangements. Support measures that have been or will be put in place include changing staff shift patterns to make use of public transport easier, putting more bus services in place, and the upcoming provision of specific functionality in the widely used Traveline app to help users to reach key national health service locations, beginning with the new hospital campus.
I thank the cabinet secretary for that reply and for her previous answer regarding parking spaces.
The cabinet secretary will be aware that the Western infirmary and Yorkhill hospital in my community will close, with the services moving to the new south Glasgow hospitals. It is therefore imperative that the new campus has proper transport links. With regard to the temporary spaces, if it were the case that more parking spaces were required, is there any indication that Glasgow City Council would give permission for that?
It has also come to our attention that there is a development in relation to a possible bridge to link Govan and Partick. Does the cabinet secretary agree that such a positive move would be beneficial, particularly for the people from my side of the river?
The development of a bridge would be helpful. We will keep a close eye on developments in that area, although I think that the project is in its very early stages.
The planned car parking provision at the new hospitals, of 3,500 spaces, is already in line with the maximum provision that is allowed by the planning approval for the development. More car parking would therefore have to be the subject of a planning application to Glasgow City Council. As Sandra White is aware, a planning application has been made for the 600 temporary spaces until the third multistorey car park opens next year. That application is currently being considered by the council.
Many people in the southern part of my constituency, in the Drymen and Strathendrick area, will be travelling to the new hospital. There are no useful public transport links from the area to the hospital. Could particular cognisance be given to the challenging issues that those people will face in relation to travel to the new hospital, and could the cabinet secretary ask the NHS board to consider the area in particular?
I will ask the NHS board to write to Bruce Crawford to make him aware of what provisions are being put in place.
NHS Lanarkshire (Meetings)
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met NHS Lanarkshire. (S4O-04075)
Ministers and Government officials regularly meet representatives of all health boards, including NHS Lanarkshire.
Will the cabinet secretary continue dialogue with NHS Lanarkshire about soft ancillary services at Hairmyres hospital? I also ask her to meet regularly and discuss issues with Unison, which has organised a petition that is aimed at bringing those services back into public service.
I thank Linda Fabiani for her on-going interest in the matter. She will be aware that the Scottish Futures Trust has carried out some work around NHS Lanarkshire’s procedures and processes in relation to the contracts to which she refers. That report has been seen by the board and will be discussed by it later this month.
On Monday, I met Unison to discuss the issue, and a number of further actions have emanated from that meeting. We have also been in touch with NHS Lanarkshire in order to ensure that Unison is very much involved in discussions, including discussions around the report and decision making on the contracts, which will take place later this month. The issues are complex; of course, the contracts would never have been issued under the arrangements that resulted from the action that this Government took in 2008 to prevent soft facilities management services from being contracted out in the future. The contracts that we are discussing are ones that we have, unfortunately, inherited.
I will call question 15, but we must be very brief.
Maternity Scanning Services (Highlands and Islands)
To ask the Scottish Government how it supports the provision of locally accessible maternity scanning services in the Highlands and Islands. (S4O-04076)
Although the Scottish Government provides the policies, frameworks and resources for high quality healthcare in Scotland, it is for each national health service board to decide how best to deliver services to meet the needs of the population.
The NHS is committed to providing services as close to home as possible, but it also needs to ensure that those services are safe and are provided by an appropriately trained and skilled workforce.
Briefly, please.
Notwithstanding NHS Highland’s welcome recent announcement that it hopes to reintroduce local maternity scanning services in Argyll and Bute from late 2016, does the minister understand the frustration and concern of my mother-to-be constituents who, since 2013, have had to make inconvenient, time-consuming and stressful journeys to hospitals in Glasgow, Greenock or Paisley for their maternity scans? As a father whose wife used the local services four times—
I must hurry you along, Mr McGrigor.
What guarantee can the minister give that funding will be available for local scans in Campbeltown, Dunoon, Islay, Lochgilphead, Oban and Rothesay?
Answer as briefly as possible, minister.
I agree with Jamie McGrigor that it is not satisfactory that mothers-to-be have to travel so far outwith the area, but like him I am pleased that NHS Highland has agreed that local services should be resumed as quickly as possible.
That concludes question time.
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