Chamber and committees

I will leave the Morgan review and the requirements for strengthening ASN provision and move on to Covid guidance for pupils with ASN. I recently read an article by the EIS ASN network, which suggested that Covid guidance is “totally inadequate” for pupils with ASN. One concern that was raised is that, due to the wearing of face masks, ASN children cannot see their teacher’s face, which impacts on their ability to communicate in the way that they usually would. What is the commissioner’s view on the wearing of face masks in schools, particularly across the ASN estate? Does he believe that it has an impact on the ability of ASN children to communicate effectively with their teachers and peers?

I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests. I am a serving councillor in North Lanarkshire. Thank you for having me here today.

I want to touch on the pandemic recovery and local authorities’ approach to ASN. My first question relates to a time before the pandemic. In 2019, councils—one of which was North Lanarkshire Council, on which I am a serving councillor—undertook a review of ASN provision. The ASN estate had been inherited from the former regional councils—as were many types of estate throughout Scotland—and many policies and practices were out of date. One of the main concerns that came out of that review was about a requirement to update the policies and practices. Can local authorities learn from the experiences of the pandemic and use it as an opportunity to update ASN provision to ensure that it meets the needs of ASN children and young people and to make sure that the provision is strengthened?

Linda or Stephen, do you have anything to add?

We have all witnessed the impact that a front-line medical staff shortage has had on our NHS. Shortages put pressure on our heroic NHS staff, who work tirelessly to ensure that we can receive treatment whenever it is required. The problem is that a shortage of NHS staff creates waiting lists, waiting times and backlogs for many people who are in urgent need of care or treatment. As we have heard in this chamber, people are waiting too long for an ambulance, too long to be triaged at A and E and too long to see their GP.

Our NHS was under pressure long before the pandemic, but it is now at breaking point. We need a solution to the staffing crisis, and we need it now.

If we look in more depth at the shortage of NHS staff, we see that the Scottish Government has presided over an increasing shortfall. Members do not need to take my word on it. When NHS Lanarkshire front-line staff were interviewed by STV, one emergency medicine consultant said:

“From a nursing point of view, the military support is helping as it gets the basic stuff done, like the observations and bloods and initial assessments, but they can only do certain things—we don’t have more doctors. My colleagues and I don’t want to think about winter, as we know it will be worse than it is at the moment. We need a break and we won’t get one. We will cope because there is no other way.”

Health professionals are on the front line and, for them to be able to do their job, there need to be enough of them to cope with the demand of patients.

Staff shortages are not the fault of our NHS; they are the fault of the people who manage and oversee the internal structure of our healthcare service. They are the fault of the Scottish Government, which has not addressed long-standing issues.

The SNP has repeatedly been warned about the increasing shortfall in NHS nurses, doctors and ambulance crew. Despite recent funding commitments from the Scottish Government, more action is needed. As Sandesh Gulhane asked, where is the plan?

Since 2016, the Scottish Conservatives have repeatedly called on the Scottish Government to remove the cap on funded places for front-line medical students. I am therefore pleased to support the motion, which calls on the Scottish Government to do just that, to respond to concerns that emerged during the pandemic and to tackle issues that have existed for years.

It is not just the Scottish Conservatives who have called for the cap to be removed. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow has also called on the Scottish Government to remove the cap on medical school places in Scotland.

The reason is clear. The past two years have presented an unlikely opportunity to create more spaces for students to take their rightful places on medical university courses after exam results were revised due to the exam fiasco that the SNP created. The upgrading of thousands of exam results has led to calls to increase places at Scottish medical schools, to accommodate the students who meet the entry requirements.

I acknowledge that the Scottish Government has increased the number of medical school places, but that is not enough. By further increasing the number of medical students that our universities can accommodate, and by looking at the shortfall in positions across Scotland, we can start to address the issues that all health boards are experiencing.

I want to thank our NHS staff for their dedication and hard work, especially during the peak of the pandemic. They need more support—and by “more support” I mean more colleagues. There is a staffing crisis across our NHS, which is directly impacting our NHS. The best and quickest way to create an opportunity to have more NHS staff is to remove the cap and allow more students to study and gain the qualifications that they need to advance their medical careers.

I join my colleagues in calling for the cap to be removed, to support students and to alleviate the staffing pressures that our NHS has experienced for years.

What plans are in place for consultation on the proposed primary legislation that, if passed, will introduce similar changes to the appeals process for the period prior to April 2021?

I refer members to my entry in the register of members’ interests. I am a sitting councillor at North Lanarkshire Council.

My first question relates to the consultation process. Stakeholders have expressed the view that there has been insufficient consultation on the order. A panel member in a previous evidence session said that what is proposed has come as a surprise to businesses and that they believe that there has not been sufficient opportunity to engage in the process. What are your views on that?

To ask the Scottish Government what support is being provided to NHS Lanarkshire in light of reports that Wishaw hospital accident and emergency department was at full capacity at the weekend with patients being transferred to Monklands hospital.

Some patients who presented at Wishaw general hospital at the weekend were diverted to Monklands hospital’s A and E department to receive treatment, as there was a shortage of beds and there was high demand. The journey time between the two hospitals is 24 minutes.

The cabinet secretary was aware of concerns about Wishaw general hospital and other NHS Lanarkshire hospitals, given that code black was recently announced. Why was no immediate intervention made to prevent patients from having to be diverted to another hospital nearly 10 miles away?

The Scottish Government set a target of 95 per cent of patients being seen within four hours in A and E departments in all NHS localities, but recent figures from NHS Lanarkshire show that only 61.8 per cent of patients are being seen within that timeframe. The Scottish Government has failed to get a grip on the crisis and NHS Lanarkshire patients are paying the price.

Will the cabinet secretary apologise to staff and patients across NHS Lanarkshire and will he commit to getting a grip on the crisis?