Seòmar agus comataidhean

Good morning, everybody, including Karen Lewis and Sharon Wright, who are online. A lot of questions have already been answered, and I was struck by what Sharon said about poverty being the cause of health inequality, universal credit not working and about the removal of the £20 uplift that was provided during Covid. That is 80 quid a month. You used really strong language and words such as “punitive”, “cruel” and “unfair”, and I am sure that even hearing that is demoralising for lots of people. That was just a comment, but I welcome any thoughts on what we need to do to change the situation, such as through a minimum income guarantee or universal basic income, and what we might need to do to progress such ideas, as witnessed in other countries.

I have a local question for Karen. I visited the Hub a couple of weeks ago and witnessed for myself the work that is being done there. Karen should be commended; she certainly helped with my knowledge. I would appreciate further detail on the barriers for people who apply for whatever support they can get.

In Dumfries and Galloway, patients are means tested for the reimbursement of travel costs, whereas in other parts of the country it is a given that people are supported in that way. I think that an agency could advocate to change that model.

I thank the witnesses who are here in Edinburgh and those who have joined us remotely today, because it is really good to hear their input. I am keen for progress to be made with the petition.

One of the challenges that I and my colleagues Finlay Carson and Colin Smyth have had is that Dumfries and Galloway is part of the south-east cancer network although nowhere in Dumfries and Galloway is in the east of Scotland. It is a challenge to look at that and to engage. The health board says that it is up to the Government and the Government says that it is up to the health board. We do not want to dictate how cancer care is provided, but we need people to have a choice of whether to have their radiotherapy in Edinburgh—which might be better—or Glasgow.

That is just one example. Folk fae Stranraer are not given a choice about making a 260-mile round trip. We are told that they are given a choice but we do not really have evidence of or feedback on that. I am interested in pursuing an advocacy approach, whether we do that through a commissioner or an agency, so that we can look at the challenges in rural health care.

The Parliament’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee is undertaking an inquiry into health inequalities. Many of the issues that we have been talking about in this meeting are coming to light.

I am hearing from the other petitioners that there are challenges for remote and rural areas, whether we are talking about Caithness, Galloway or the Borders, and it would be great to be able to join up all the work that has been done and see how we can take it forward to address the needs of our people. I will stop there.

Rather than making a statement, I want to ask Dr Gordon Baird a question that might help us to understand why we should consider an agency to advocate for patients. If we were to have members on each health board that were rural, they might then become embedded in the culture of that health board, rather than having a voice with which to advocate. That is why I would support having an independent agency.

Dr Baird, I am interested in pursuing what you said about the rancour or confrontational issues. When I try to represent constituents in Dumfries and Galloway on health issues, it seems to be perceived as confrontational. That is the last thing that we need when we are trying to secure the best healthcare support as we emerge out of the pandemic. How would an agency that can advocate help to reduce the perceived confrontational stance of MSPs or anyone who is not engaging with a whistleblower? How would an agency help to support that?

Okay. Thanks.

I have a quick supplementary question about a rent deposit guarantee scheme that I have heard about and which is being used to support people going into private tenancies. In social housing, you get your accommodation and that is it, but, in private accommodation, there has to be a rental deposit. Will the rent deposit guarantee scheme help in Scotland more widely? Right now, I have knowledge of it working only in Dumfries and Galloway.

That has been one of my concerns as well, as I learn more about the issue. As part of the eating out, eating well framework, there will be an option for out-of-home menus not to have calories on them, for people who have concerns.

The eating disorder charity Beat has concerns about the matter, and the Scottish Government is working closely with it. I am sure that that will inform the evidence as we move forward. Is Beat one of the charities that is involved in developing the process?

I have a quick question for Danny Boyle about vaccine hesitancy. I worked as a nurse vaccinator during the vaccination roll-out. A number of people—particularly Polish social care workers—talked about fertility issues or were worried about foetal development. How will we tackle fake news and support people in the future to understand that the vaccine is safe? I am sure that we will continue rolling out vaccines in the coming months.

I have a final wee question. Are we comparing how New Zealand handled the pandemic with how, for example, America handled it? In New Zealand there is a high level of social solidarity in tackling things, whether vaccine uptake, diversity or health inequalities. In the USA, there are challenges because healthcare is not available to everybody. Are we able to look at such comparisons to see how other people handled not just vaccine uptake but issues around diversity?

When I asked Gerry McCartney about the living wage last week, he said that we needed to remember the difference between the living wage and the minimum wage. Thinking about the Scottish Government’s mitigating of impacts by encouraging employers to implement the living wage, I wonder whether there is an opportunity to continue to ask for employment law or further benefits to be devolved, so that we have better fiscal control and can deliver public funding in the way that the Scottish Government chooses.