Seòmar agus comataidhean

I have a quick question for Dr Kennedy about the NHS Scotland resource allocation committee—NRAC—formula. I was at the NHS Borders update on Friday, and Ralph Roberts, the chief executive, was talking about how the NRAC formula works for the funding of remote and rural areas. Do you think that the NRAC formula needs to be revised or altered in any way?

Dental nurse work is taking place in a range of locations. It could happen at an NHS hospital—indeed, you mentioned Borders general earlier—as well as in dental practices, so there is a wide range of opportunities to implement those skills. Is that right?

There are also challenges facing dentistry in remote and rural areas. For a start, there is a crisis with the lack of dentists in Dumfries and Galloway. Is there a role for dental nurses to step in at some level to support good oral hygiene, especially in children and young people? Childsmile has been quite a success, but is there a role for dental nurses to help support people through our dental crisis?

I have a quick question for Jaki Lambert about remote and rural midwifery practice. Because NHS Dumfries and Galloway stopped allowing babies to be delivered at Galloway community hospital in 2018, women are now having to travel 72 miles, and babies are being born at the side of the road. Indeed, Michael Dickson might want to pick up this question, too. I know that there are challenges with regard to education, competency skills and recruitment, and safety, too, is obviously a huge issue, so I would be interested to what Jaki Lambert has to say about the necessary requirements for skills, development and safety when it comes to delivering babies.

Thanks, convener and good morning to you all.

I will pick up on innovation, but also link it to advocacy for communities—the staff as well as the people who are receiving the care. Is there a role for the new national centre to advocate for the people in the communities? One of the submissions was from Dr Gordon Baird on behalf of Caithness Health Action team, the “Save our services” campaign on the Isle of Skye, and Galloway community hospital action group. Dr Baird wrote that he was

“hoping to work with the new centre to provide information and understanding of national and regional issues and prevent ineffective repetition through feedback on the effectiveness of local solutions.”

Throughout his submission, I am thinking that the word “advocacy” is a part of that. Would you support that being part of the work of the national centre?

I have just a quick question. Outside of current issues, does the Scottish Ambulance Service have enough capacity to deal with remote and rural areas? We are talking not just about emergency transfers, but patient transfer to appointments, too. How would you respond to that? Is there enough capacity?

I forgot to remind the panel that I was a clinical educator in a remote and rural area delivering what you are talking about—ECG, blood draw and things like that. It was part of my job. I forgot to remind colleagues and the panel about that. Thanks.

I was going to ask about the numbers of OTs who are employed by local authorities and by the NHS, but we can get that information later.

Thanks, convener. Good morning to you all. I have a brief supplementary for Neil Carnegie. You talked about pockets of good practice. I know that we have heard from the CEO of NHS Borders, Ralph Roberts, about prehab and also reablement. Is that part of good practice? Can you give us an example of what OTs can contribute on the ground that makes a difference?

I am interested in continuing professional development. I think that one of the witnesses has already alluded to the importance of it. The committee has taken evidence on the clinical skills managed educational network, and we have heard about the mobile skills unit that goes out to rural areas to provide simulation training and so on. I am interested in your thoughts on the requirements to value education. I say that as a former clinical educator, and I am still a registered nurse. My job was to work with allied health professionals and nurses in teaching clinical skills across NHS Dumfries and Galloway. What needs to be valued when it comes to continuing professional development?