Seòmar agus comataidhean

Item 4 is a round table with stakeholders to discuss key themes and issues facing the NHS in Scotland. It is intended to inform the committee’s discussions on its future work programme. I welcome Dr Sue Robertson, who is deputy chair of the British Medical Association’s Scottish council; Donald Morrison, who is a general dental practitioner with the British Dental Association; Ross Barrow, who is vice-convener of the Allied Health Professions Federation Scotland; Graeme Henderson, who is executive director of delivery and strategic development for the Scottish Association for Mental Health; Kate Seymour, who is head of advocacy for MacMillan Cancer Support; and Colin Poolman, who is director of the Royal College of Nursing in Scotland.

With six witnesses, we have a little bit of housekeeping to go through. I have asked committee members to direct their questions to specific individuals. If any of the witnesses wish to come in and add anything, please use the chat function; if you put an R in the chat box, the clerks will relay that back to me. I will try to bring you in as much as possible, rather than have everyone answer the same question—we do not have the time for that, sadly.

First, however, I want to open things up by asking a question of everybody—this will be the one exception to the housekeeping rule that I just set out. What do you want the Scottish Government to prioritise in the health and social care portfolio—not only the portfolio of the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, but the relevant ministerial portfolios—over the next five years?

Yes, that is a lot better.

Our third and main agenda item is a round-table session with public health stakeholders that is intended to inform the committee’s future work programme discussions.

I welcome Professor Sir Harry Burns, professor of practice and a special adviser at the University of Strathclyde; Professor Sir Michael Marmot, professor of epidemiology at University College London and director of University College London Institute of Health Equity; and Professor Katherine Smith, professor of public health policy at the University of Strathclyde.

I will kick off and set the agenda for the meeting. We have called on you all to help inform us on where the major themes lie in public health and where the committee might want to focus its efforts in relation to scrutiny and adding value to what the previous committee did. We also want to look at the landscape more generally to help us to prioritise our work programme. Your advice on that is greatly appreciated.

I will come to each professor in turn and ask where you think the committee should focus its efforts in our scrutiny of the public health agenda and where we might be able to add value. I turn to Professor Katherine Smith first.

To whom would you like to address that first?

Thank you. I am afraid that we have time to hear only from Donald Morrison and Graeme Henderson. If other members of the panel have anything else to say or feel that anything has been missed, they can, of course, email us and let us know.

Paul O’Kane has a question. I am aware that other witnesses want to come in. I am bringing in members to put some other things into the mix, and then the witnesses can pick up on any of the issues that have been raised.

I am very conscious of time. I am going to bring in Gillian Mackay and then Sandesh Gulhane, and then we will have to wrap up.

I will bring in Marie McNair on this theme—[Interruption.]—I did not realise that Stephanie Callaghan had a supplementary. Stephanie, carry on.

Carol Mochan has questions about inequalities.

Sandesh, do you wish to ask a supplementary question about what I have just raised? I would ask you to make it short, please, and I will then move on to Gillian Mackay.