Seòmar agus comataidhean

Dr Makin, I see that you want to come in, too.

It seems that not very much money is being offered to GPs for that, which makes it difficult for them to do.

You mentioned Highland, Dr Makin, and I would just note that there has been a big report on bullying at NHS Highland. I am not going to talk about the Western Isles, Professor Smith, as I have not heard anything from there, but I have certainly heard about NHS Highland. How can we get better integrated rural healthcare, given the endemic culture that the report found in that health board?

In your answer to my question about primary care, you talked about those who are on the ground getting things done. I assume that the approach will be similar in secondary care, but how will we move forward in that respect, given the issues that have been highlighted?

I am sorry—go on. I thought that you had finished.

Thank you very much. I have a final question, if I may. I want to touch on the thrombectomy services that you mentioned. We are still struggling to get thrombectomy services in Glasgow, which is a very urban area. I also want to go back to the issues that we are having with maternity services in Caithness being downgraded and not being upgraded again, which you spoke of right at the beginning. I would like to hear from you, Dr Makin, if I may. You said that you are not a woman giving birth—that is true—but you must have spoken to patients who are worried about that. What pressures does the situation put on people in the area? What solutions could be put in place to help?

Good morning, panel. I declare an interest as a practising NHS GP.

I will start by asking about primary care, which is obviously a focus of mine. Dr MacGilleEathain mentioned the GP contract that was introduced by the Scottish Government. What did it do to rural primary care? Did it have a positive or negative effect?

I want to ask a direct question about the 2018 GP contract. Was the Scottish Government told that the GP contract would negatively impact rural and island GP and primary care settings?

We have talked about all of those things, but I asked a very direct question. If you do not know the answer to it, perhaps Stephen Lea-Ross does. Was the Government told back in 2018 that the GP contract would negatively affect rural and island communities?

There was certainly a lot of discussion at the time—and at this point I should declare an interest, not just as a practising NHS GP, but as someone who sat on the BMA Scottish general practitioners committee at the time of the contract. I know that rural GPs were making a lot of noise about the contract negatively affecting those areas. How much of a gap was there between the introduction of the 2018 contract and the putting in place of all the things that Siobhan Mackay mentioned?

That would be very helpful. Thank you.

My next question is for Stephen Lea-Ross. Tess White asked about numbers. What are the numbers of physician associates in primary care in the Highlands or in other rural settings?

But that number is growing.