Meeting of the Parliament

Meeting date: Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Official Report 966KB pdf

Point of Order

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I raise a point of order under rule 13.5 of the standing orders, on written questions.

I submitted two questions on 1 October that were due to be answered by 4 o’clock today. Holding answers came in at 4 pm asking for more time, which is strange, as I submitted the questions a whole four weeks ago and they pertain to a letter that was written to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport in April of this year—which has never been acknowledged, let alone afforded a reply—and an official right to reply submission that was submitted to Healthcare Improvement Scotland, also in April, which has never seen the light of day.

Both the letter and the right to reply submission are about the very serious matter of the breast cancer service in Tayside. In April, a review from Healthcare Improvement Scotland shocked the Parliament by reporting that dosages of chemotherapy are lower in Tayside than they are throughout the rest of Scotland. The oncologists responsible for that care strongly defend their care of their patients and the fact that there is no set regimen for docetaxel levels across Scotland. Their defence was contained in their right to reply submission to the HIS report, which was submitted in April, but it has never been published or seen the light of day. Healthcare Improvement Scotland is refusing to publish the doctors’ side of the story.

The letter to the cabinet secretary was from the head of mathematics at the University of St Andrews, who set out the scientific case for the treatment regime that Tayside was conducting. He believes that there is sound scientific evidence—and many people agree with him—and that the doctors have been hung out to dry. The cabinet secretary has not afforded the eminent professor either an acknowledgement or a reply.

I am confused by the delay. It is our job in the Parliament to shed light and get to the truth of all matters of public interest. The public in Tayside, families who have been affected, and those who will develop breast cancer in the coming months deserve a full account of what has gone on so that we can begin to restore confidence in our local breast cancer service.

I am disappointed that the cabinet secretary has not used the opportunity of my questions to publish the right to reply submission, and I hope that she will now instruct her officials to do so, and to reply to Professor Chaplain, so that we can start to shed a bright light on this very serious issue.

I thank Ms Marra for letting me know, ahead of my coming to the chamber, her intention to raise a point of order. I am disappointed that Ms Marra has only received a holding response after four weeks, but a holding response does meet the requirement under our standing orders to offer a reply within that timeframe.

However, I am sure that the Government will also be disappointed not to have given a substantive response, and I am sure that it does not need my encouragement to offer one as soon as possible. The point is therefore noted.