Chamber and committees

I thank Mr Doris for that update.

Still on the subject of preventative action, on Friday I met a lady in Colinton called Shona Harrower. She wanted to tell me about a truly preventative approach from Norway.

“Amazeballs free sports equipment loan scheme for all under 25s with a residential address in Norway”,

she proclaimed.

“Rachel (my daughter) just sent me this awesome photo from Norway. An old school friend visited her, and they borrowed all the camping gear they needed from the (free) Bua shop to make memories like this”.

If a picture could tell a thousand words, that one certainly did. What is there not to like about tackling physical and mental health at the same time, and getting our young people involved in sport and nature?

The NHS in Scotland has been described as

“not sustainable in its present form”

by Professor Paul Gray, the former head of the NHS in Scotland. The SNP has driven the NHS into that crisis. It must adopt the Scottish Conservatives’ proposals from our “Modern, Efficient, Local” healthcare paper to secure the future of our NHS in Scotland.

Will the member take an intervention?

On Friday 1 December 2023 at 10.25 pm, an explosion ripped through homes on Baberton Mains Avenue, tragically resulting in the loss of one life. Some six months on, families living on the avenue and neighbouring streets relive the horror of that night every day when going about their daily lives. Families whose homes were destroyed are none the wiser regarding the future of their homes. No visible or perceivable progress has been made, and the site looks much the same as it did on that bleak morning of 2 December. Last week, one resident described the situation between the City of Edinburgh Council and insurance companies as being like a Mexican stand-off.

Will the First Minister meet me and the families and do all that he can to influence that stalemate and move things on for those who have been left in limbo?

The Scottish Funding Council, Audit Scotland and Edinburgh College have all said that the key issue is the continuation of reductions in funding in the sector, with colleges facing the real threat of running out of cash. The minister himself said that that issue is of long standing and has dogged colleges over the past 10 years. What actions will be required to future proof and provide fair funding for our college sector in order to guarantee stable employment relations as well as the learning experiences for our students?

I am really pleased to have the chance to speak in this debate, as I once considered a career as a physiotherapist, although life clearly took a different turn. I might go back to it later—that is always an opportunity if we get things right.

Amid record vacancy rates and a failure to increase the number of undergraduate training places in Scotland, patients desperately need more physiotherapists. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy says:

“patients’ recoveries are being put in jeopardy by a worsening workforce crisis, with Scotland now lagging behind other parts of the UK on physiotherapy training.”

The shortage in Scotland’s physiotherapy workforce creates further challenges across the healthcare system, which ultimately impacts patient care. Various factors are contributing to the demand for physios, including the ageing population, an increase in chronic conditions and backlogs for treatments, which have been made worse by the pandemic. However, it is not just that there is an increased demand for physios; it is also the case that the supply and training of physios have not kept pace with the demand.

Addressing the shortage requires a multifaceted approach. The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy has started a campaign called “Scotland needs more physios”, which is underscored by the belief that Scotland does not currently educate or train enough physiotherapists to supply the workforce to meet the population’s needs. In England, the number of undergraduate training places has doubled to meet demand, but there has been no such increase in Scotland in the past decade. Although Scottish course programmes are oversubscribed with applicants, not enough places are being funded to meet the needs of Scotland’s national health service.

Increasing the number of training places in physiotherapy programmes and enhancing support for students could and would help to boost the number of new graduates entering the field. Furthermore, physiotherapists have stated that they are finding it extremely difficult to recruit staff for their practices across Scotland, with vacancy rates at a record high. That has a knock-on effect on existing staff morale, with increased levels of stress and work pressures and challenging working conditions. There is competition for staff, which creates an artificial pressure on the environment, with people taking staff from one practice to another. We need better working conditions, the best competitive salaries and opportunities for professional development to retain staff and attract new recruits.

I recently met a physio who made it clear just how important they are to people with arthritic joints. I suppose that I would put myself in that bracket—as someone with arthritic joints, not as a physio. Right now, that condition is becoming much more prevalent among an ageing population and those who have had an active sporting life before coming here. Physiotherapy is a key profession in getting elderly patients who are stuck in hospital—Mr Rowley said this in his opening remarks—more mobile and able to function, and getting them home and much more independent. That helps, in turn, to free up beds, appointments and doctors for other cases.

A self-referral service would allow people to see a physio quickly. That would also make it important for patients to understand that it is as much down to them to be involved in their care—Ruth Maguire talked about how important it was to consistently do the exercises that her physio recommended—and that we have to buy into the treatments that physios give us.

However, it is not just the elderly who need the service. If a person suffers from pain or an injury for a long time, they are likely to get injuries elsewhere in their body as they compensate. That can also affect their mental health.

Physios, including work physiotherapists, are an essential part of our healthcare service, and they should never be underestimated or undervalued. I thank Mr Rowley very much for bringing this important debate to the chamber.

Welcome back. I thank my deputy convener for chairing the first part of the meeting this morning.

Our next item is to hear evidence on the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman’s child-friendly complaint-handling principles. I welcome Rosemary Agnew, the ombudsman, Andrew Sheridan, head of improvement, standards and engagement, and Josh Barnham, improvement standards and engagement reviewing officer, all from the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman—I am having difficulty with saying that.

I believe that you are about to make an opening statement. Rosemary Agnew, you have up to three minutes, please.

I call Liam Kerr—I am sorry; I meant Bill Kidd.

That is where we will draw this morning’s questions to an end. Thank you very much for coming. The public part of today’s meeting is now at an end and we will consider our final agenda items in private.

That was very swift, Mr Kidd, was it not?

That is a good place for us to start. The line of questioning that we are moving to next will, I hope, ask for more specifics.