Seòmar agus comataidhean

Thank you. I think that Lorraine wants to come in.

If we have time, I would like to bring in Jane-Claire Judson.

Good morning to the panel. I want to ask about pathways for long Covid sufferers.

The committee previously took evidence from long Covid sufferers who expressed their concern that the pathways did not exist or, if they existed, they were not working. You may have seen that, in the previous evidence session, we heard from Jane-Claire Judson from Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, which has assistance available. She said that it would love to be overwhelmed with patients, but it has not received them because of a lack of signposting. Amy Small said that she felt that those networks do not exist in Scotland and that we do not have long Covid clinics, which exist south of the border.

Do you accept that there is an issue with pathways not existing or not operating properly? What can be done to fix that?

Does Manira Ahmad want to kick off?

Good morning. In case of any conflict of interests, I should say that I am registered as a patient with Dr Shackles’s practice. By the grace of God, I have not troubled him or his colleagues very much so far.

I want to ask about the level of demand for long Covid treatment. We believe that there are 175,000 long Covid sufferers in Scotland, and I am interested in exploring whether there is enough capacity in the system for that level of demand. Clearly, some people will not come forward to look for support, but is there capacity in the system to support them if they do?

Is there a specific issue with inequalities? Are particular groups more likely to be affected—for example, women rather than men, or people who have disabilities—and do they therefore require additional support?

Thank you, Dr Taylor. I know that Lorraine Crothers wants to come in, but I want to follow up on one—quite relevant—point. You have obviously developed a specialism in that particular field. Are you the only person in Scotland who has that level of specialism or are there others?

Did you want to come back in briefly, Dr Taylor?

I think that one of my colleagues will ask about the workforce shortly. I go to Professor Donaldson.

I have a follow-up question for Janis Heaney. Are there plans to develop standardised guidance for use across all NHS boards in Scotland? If so, when is that likely to be in place?

I am conscious that I did not let in Linda Currie. Do you want to come in?

Thank you for letting me come to the committee, convener. I endorse everything that my friend Fergus Ewing has said. He is absolutely right to say that there is strong cross-party concern about the issue. My colleague Jamie Halcro Johnston apologises—he would have been here this morning to support the petition, but he has been detained elsewhere.

We are holding a debate on the issue in the chamber this afternoon, so I will say more about the matter then. However, briefly, to summarise, I have a strong personal interest in the matter. More than 30 years ago, I was involved in a head-on collision on a single carriageway section of the A9, which left me with multiple fractures. I spent weeks in hospital recovering. However, I was one of the lucky ones, because many other people who have been involved in similar accidents have not survived, as Fergus Ewing made clear when stating the stark figures for the past year, during which 12 people died on single carriageway sections.

There is little doubt that, if we had had a dual carriageway with central barriers between the lanes, there would not have been the same level of serious fatality and accident on the A9 as we have seen. It is a crucial issue from a road safety perspective. There was a lot of celebration in the Highlands and across Mid Scotland and Fife—the area that I represent—particularly in Perth and Kinross, when the current Scottish Government announced in, I think, 2011 a timetable for progressing the A9 dualling project to complete by 2025. We know that that will not now happen, which was confirmed by the minister just two weeks ago.

It is important that we keep on the pressure and press for a completion date and that we better understand the reasons why there is not faster progress. I entirely endorse the call for a parliamentary inquiry to be done by a committee of this Parliament. Such an inquiry could drill down into the issues and ensure that we have a proper understanding of what exactly is holding up this vital road safety project. If it does not progress, there will, sadly, be more fatalities over the next few years.