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 304 contributions
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Meeting date: 25 October 2022
James Dornan
I agree with everything that you have said. Data is the important issue here. We need to collate it so that we know what it is that we are facing and how we can improve on it. One of the things that we will be fighting against is what we saw with the named person legislation, which is that people are very unwilling for others to get the data that is required. How do we overcome that?
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Meeting date: 25 October 2022
James Dornan
Thank you.
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Meeting date: 25 October 2022
James Dornan
It is about informal care expectations. How did you figure out the low, high and mixed levels of expectation? When you say that the expectation is low in the UK countries, I take that to mean that there is not an expectation that your family will look after you, but we all know of cases of families looking after people.
09:45Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Meeting date: 25 October 2022
James Dornan
I appreciate that, and I agree completely. However, that is what the named person legislation was meant to be about, but opposition to it was so great that we could not move forward. You are right—without that information, we cannot help people like the man you described.
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Meeting date: 25 October 2022
James Dornan
That was a good answer, but I still think that such a balance will be quite difficult to achieve in practice.
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Meeting date: 25 October 2022
James Dornan
Can I ask just one more—small—question, convener?
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Meeting date: 27 September 2022
James Dornan
As someone who, unfortunately, has been a user of the health service quite a lot over the past 12 months—and continues to be—I will start by saying what a great service it still is. In every single department that I have had to attend, the care and attention shown to me have been just incredible. Also, as Emma Harper said earlier, when someone is waiting in accident and emergency, most people are getting some kind of attention.
I want to discuss this issue. We have talked about targets, and we are focusing on this winter. In the emergency situations that we have gone through over the past couple of years and that—who knows?—we might face again this winter, do targets help or hinder? I understand why they were brought in, and sometimes it is great to be able to say that we are the best in the UK. However, looking at the situation from outside, I sometimes feel that it focuses attention on the wrong thing: rather than being about the people who are getting treatment, it is about those who have not been able to get it because of the pandemic or for other reasons.
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Meeting date: 27 September 2022
James Dornan
I want to go back to something that Sandesh Gulhane said, which concerns me greatly. He said that pharmacy staff close on Saturdays at lunchtime, so that the staff can go and work at double time elsewhere. If that is a fact, it is shameful that pharmacies behave in such a way. If it is not a fact, it is shameful that that accusation has been made in a public committee such as this one. Can we clarify whether there is anything to back up that statement?
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Meeting date: 27 September 2022
James Dornan
I have no interests to declare, but I ask members to look at my entry in the register of members’ interests.
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 2 March 2022
James Dornan
Alastair Sim and Paul Little have made a lot about this legislation being unnecessary, but, given that they have just told us how they were able to work in partnership when the 2020 powers were invoked, why is there a problem with it? Following on from Ross Greer’s questions, I would suggest that the Government must surely have powers to act quickly when required. You must trust the Government, given that you have worked with them for a number of years under the 2020 legislation. Why are you panicking in your responses with regard to these powers?