The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
Displaying 595 contributions
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Meeting date: 7 September 2021
Gillian Mackay
I want to follow up the point about GPs. Some GPs have expressed concerns about unhelpful messaging, particularly about GP practices being closed during the pandemic. What is the Government doing to try to improve communication with the public regarding the pressure that GPs are currently under and to ensure that everybody knows that they have access to their GP?
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Meeting date: 7 September 2021
Gillian Mackay
That is me finished, convener.
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Meeting date: 7 September 2021
Gillian Mackay
You have laid out the measures for GP recruitment, but I want to ask about out-of-hours services. The pressure on GPs who do out-of-hours work is particularly acute at the moment because of the pressures elsewhere in the NHS. Those GPs are a particularly dedicated workforce. What else can we do to prioritise GPs’ wellbeing so that they will want to continue to contribute towards out-of-hours services? While we recover from Covid, pressures in other areas undoubtedly mean that more people are accessing out-of-hours services than was previously the case.
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Meeting date: 7 September 2021
Gillian Mackay
I am concerned about recruitment and retention in the NHS recovery plan. You have said that work is under way to recruit at least 1,500 additional front-line staff who are required for the national treatment centres. Are you confident that you will be able to fill those posts?
There have been on-going issues with NHS recruitment, and we have heard that the recruitment of pharmacists into GP surgeries has caused workforce challenges in community pharmacies. There is a risk that moving staff from one part of the NHS to another could cause problems and will not solve anything when it comes to recruitment. How do you plan to avoid that and ensure that there is capacity across all services?
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Meeting date: 22 June 2021
Gillian Mackay
I have no relevant interests to declare.