Chamber and committees

I thank the petitioner very much for bringing the petition to our attention. The Government has promised action. We will have to see whether that action is forthcoming.

In closing the petition, we could make that suggestion, as Mr Ewing has recommended, together with Mr Torrance’s suggestions. Again, an important matter has been highlighted. Given that the Scottish Government has no plans to amend the legislation, this is probably the most effective route that we can recommend, and we will close the petition on that basis. Are we agreed?

Members indicated agreement.

Unless colleagues have any other comments or suggestions, are we content to proceed on that basis?

Members indicated agreement.

We will keep the petition open and seek further information as requested. I thank the petitioner for bringing the petition back to us, which is one of the routes that we, of course, offer to petitioners after due time and consideration.

Yes. My hesitation in opening up the discussion was because I was struck by a similar point: I do not want us to embark on a duplicatory chain of investigation. On the other hand, I am not clear that the investigation to date has worked in quite the way that the petitioner seeks.

I understand that we are likely to see the Criminal Justice Committee’s submission in November, which is next month. It might be right to ask the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the Fire Brigades Union to give their views to this committee on the aims of the petition. We can then take those into account when we next consider the petition, along with that submission, and decide whether there is further work that this committee could do in advancing the aims of the petition.

We will potentially get an indication of whether that has been incorporated into the evidence heard by the Criminal Justice Committee. When we next consider it, we will be in a better-informed position, if colleagues are content with that.

With that, we conclude our public session, and we now move into private session. Our next meeting will be on Wednesday 8 November.

Agenda item 2 is consideration of continued petitions. I am delighted to say that we are joined by our very good supporters and petition champions, Rhoda Grant and Monica Lennon.

Rhoda Grant joins us in relation to the first continued petition, PE1723, on essential tremor treatment in Scotland. The petition, which was lodged by Mary Ramsay, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to raise awareness of essential tremor and to support the introduction and use of a focused ultrasound scanner for treating people in Scotland who have the condition.

In her written submission, the petitioner states that the current treatment for essential tremor—deep brain stimulation—costs a minimum of £30,000, whereas the magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound service costs £10,000. Twenty-five patients were treated in Dundee with the MRgFUS over 18 months, with 14 of them being eligible for DBS but facing a two-and-a-half-year waiting list.

The national services division has shared that it received an updated application from the lead consultant neurologist working in NHS Tayside for a new MRI-focused ultrasound functional neurosurgery service to treat patients with essential tremor. The NHS Tayside executive leadership team advised that it was supportive in principle of the application but that a paper outlining the proposal in detail had not yet been submitted for executive approval so could not be progressed. The NSD advised that an application should be resubmitted for consideration in 2024-25.

I have to say, before I ask Rhoda Grant to speak, that I am quite sympathetic to what the petitioner said in her most recent submission. She does not put it in this way, but, as has been the case with other health-related issues, those affected being able to present evidence to the committee can sometimes be a powerful additional stimulant in our seeking to progress the aims of a petition.

Rhoda, over to you.

The very actions that the committee was considering taking are the ones that you have just proposed, so thank you very much for those suggestions. Are we happy to incorporate Rhoda Grant’s suggestions in relation to NHS Tayside?

Members indicated agreement.

I thank Monica Lennon for her contribution.

The second petition, PE1871, which was lodged by Karen McKeown on behalf of the shining lights for change group, calls on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to carry out a full review of mental health services in Scotland, including the referral process, crisis support, risk assessments, safe plans, integrated services working together, first response support and the support that is available to families affected by suicide.

Following our evidence session with the then Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, the committee received additional details on the suicide prevention strategy, such as information about the outcomes framework and the reporting cycle.

Information about the mental health assessment units is provided in the submission. NHS Forth Valley, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Lothian and NHS Highland have dedicated units, whereas the remaining health boards have repurposed existing services or resources to provide 24/7 access to a senior clinical decision maker. It is noted that the redesign of urgent care programme will work on improving unplanned access to urgent assessment and care to provide support quickly, at the first time of reaching out and, where possible, close to home.

The recent submission from the Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport indicates that the first annual report on the suicide prevention strategy outcomes will be published in July 2024.

The petitioner has provided another written submission, which, once again, urges the committee to call for a review of mental health services. She feels that that is the only way to determine what is and is not working. She shares concerns about mental health support falling to the third sector, expressing that that is not appropriate in all cases, particularly for people in crisis. There has been some reaction from the Government in how it has moved forward with the petition’s aims.

We are joined by Monica Lennon, who has followed the petition with us through its various iterations. Is there anything that you would like to say to the committee before we consider our next move?