Chamber and committees

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the investigation into the recent spike in deaths of newborn babies. (S6T-00711)

Unfortunately, Presiding Officer, I had only one supplementary question.

I, too, pass on my condolences to all the families who are affected.

Although so little is known about the deaths, it is important that health visits run as normal, despite the huge pressures facing our national health service. Do we have the right resources in place to deliver the three home visits, as outlined in the health visitors home visiting pathway? What mitigations are being put in place while we investigate the causal factors behind these tragic baby deaths?

You mentioned that we must change the way that we deliver our health and social care while maintaining access to services. You have also said that you and John Burns are still discussing how the recovery plans will demonstrate ambition for reform, but that there is still a lot to do on cementing milestones for that delivery plan. As you said, it has been 8 months since the Scottish Government published the recovery plan. What is your assessment of progress, if any has been made, since its publication?

We all understand that there is no quick fix, but the daily statistics on accident and emergency, cancer, delayed discharges and diagnosis are bleak. Is the plan working? What confidence can we have in it?

Retention, which you mentioned and which we have talked about at length, is the key issue. According to damning research by the Royal College of Midwives, midwifery is at breaking point. Three out of four RCM members in Scotland are considering leaving their posts, while 88 per cent are reported to be experiencing work-related stress. NHS boards are being encouraged to optimise the retention of midwives, but midwives tell us that the profession continues to be in crisis. What immediate action is the Scottish Government taking to respond to midwives’ concerns right now, and to improve retention rates and midwives’ health and wellbeing?

You mentioned that the NHS is under pressure; we know that. However, it is always under some form of pressure, and it was always under pressure during all the years that I worked in that environment before coming to Parliament.

The Audit Scotland report notes that

“There is not enough detail in the plan to determine whether ambitions can be achieved in the timescales set out.”

Given the scale and complexity of the challenges that face Scotland’s NHS, do you agree that much greater detail is needed if we are to get the NHS back on an even keel?

The question was about detail, not data.

My question is in a similar vein to the previous one.

Across Scotland, many women are struggling to access hormone replacement therapy due to complex issues in the supply chain. Although the shortages are largely the product of increased demand, it is unacceptable that many women are experiencing severe discomfort and anxiety as a result.

It is welcome that the UK Government has established an HRT task force to get to the bottom of these issues, but what work is the Scottish Government doing to ensure that the short-term and long-term supply of HRT can meet the rising demand in the future? Can the minister confirm whether the Scottish Government is working with the Scottish Medicines Consortium, health boards and community pharmacies to improve the flow of medicines between suppliers, wholesalers and pharmacies?

Scotland has been trailing behind other parts of the United Kingdom for some time on the resumption of breast cancer screening for those who are aged over 71. That is having a real impact on women who are aged over 70. Just last week, I was contacted by a woman from Edinburgh whose request for a mammogram was twice refused by NHS Lothian. However, Margaret was able to get an appointment in Newcastle, where screening revealed an invasive lobular breast cancer, which needed to be removed by surgery and follow-up radiation.

I will ask the First Minister three simple questions. If other UK nations can continue to screen, why cannot Scotland do it? In the meantime, does the First Minister think that it is acceptable for Scots to have to travel to England for screening? Does the First Minister agree with my constituent, Margaret, that her cancer might have been detected much earlier and with a much more favourable outcome if her request for screening had not been refused in Scotland?

To follow that up, we have heard that alcohol-related deaths have increased by 10 per cent since 2020. The minister said that the most recent year with data on ABIs is 2019-20, when the level was 23 per cent higher than the expected standard. However, between 2013 and 2020, the number of ABIs declined by 28 per cent. We heard that you are reviewing evidence, but what can we do immediately and in the short term to really produce an uptick in ABIs, which are critical—particularly in deprived areas?