Chamber and committees

Good morning, panel. To what extent does the third sector have capacity to deliver more socially prescribed activities? I will direct the question to Alison Leitch first and, if anyone else wants to come in, they should do.

To what extent does a lack of reliable up-to-date local information about services hamper the ability of health practitioners to use social prescribing? That question goes to Roseann Logan.

Dr Marshall, in your comments on link workers, you spoke very positively about yours. When you were speaking, I had a wee look online at the numbers between different health boards, and I see that provision is quite patchy. Do you view the link worker as having a key role in your practice for making things work?

We have heard a great deal about the public not knowing much about self-referral—how to do it and so on. How do we do it better? How do we get the message out?

Good morning. I thank the witnesses for their answers to the previous questions, which have been helpful.

My questions are about inequalities. All the witnesses have touched on that theme already. Is there a risk that increased use of alternative pathways to primary care could exacerbate health inequalities?

The witnesses have covered my second question.

Self-referral might not be the best pathway for some people and might lead them down the wrong avenue, so how can we ensure that they access the most appropriate health practitioner for their needs?

My questions are about service design. We often hear from the public that they have not been involved in the changes to GP services. To what extent, and in what way, has the public been involved in co-designing primary care services? How has the general practice workforce been involved?

Good morning, panel, and thank you for your contributions so far. My questions are on digital services. Do you feel that patients have—and do patients feel that they have—direct control over their health with such services? How can we improve them? That question is for Val Costello in the first place and then anyone else who wants to come in.

We have heard evidence that the public are accessing digital services a lot more and, indeed, have done so during the pandemic, but I have heard comments this morning about the move away from that to people going back to their GPs more often and so on. How are we going to get the message out about alternative pathways, doing things slightly differently, digital services and so on? I think that Val Costello touched on that, and I wonder whether she has any more thoughts on the matter.