Chamber and committees

We heard from Dr Henrietta Hughes, the Patient Safety Commissioner for England, who produced a report reflecting on her first 100 days in the role, which considered what the remit could be and what could be explored more widely. Could that approach be used as a way to measure how we take the role of the patient safety commissioner forward in Scotland? The report could be made to Parliament.

I am sure that the role will evolve, because different projects will be undertaken and problems will be solved. For instance, an approach that works in one session of Parliament might be different to what works in another session.

It was interesting to read that the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body said:

“The process is complicated, but we are moving into a period in which it is becoming regarded as a casual thing to suggest and implement the establishment of another commissioner”.—[Official Report, Finance and Public Administration Committee, 10 January 2023; c 20.]

That is not the language that I would have used, because I think that ensuring patient safety and addressing and preventing harm are absolutely reasonable. I say that as a former nurse who worked in situations in which there were issues in operating theatres. I am interested in knowing what you would say about the evidence that was submitted to the Finance and Public Administration Committee about the establishment of a new parliamentary commissioner or new commissioners becoming “a casual thing” that takes insufficient account of the associated budgetary consequences for the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. I ask that on behalf of the Finance and Public Administration Committee.

The report is interesting. I have a couple of questions. One is about the report’s recommendations regarding the fun side of sport. Not all women want to be elite athletes. If they do, we give them support to develop. There is a difference between being competitive and engaging with or participating in sport. What did you find out about competition versus participation for fun?

My other question is about the types of sport that are offered to young women and girls. Were you able to determine—by local authority, for instance—whether there was a wide variety in the sporting activity on offer? Jenni Snell mentioned that some facilities might only be in Edinburgh or Glasgow. For instance, the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena seems to be increasing in popularity, and a lot of schools have climbing walls and things like that. However, in Dumfries and Galloway, where I am from, which is rural, people have to go to Carlisle or Edinburgh to compete, or even just to have fun.

I am interested in whether you carried out an audit of the sports offer. There is such a variety of sports, such as track and field, cross country, team sports, individual sports and gymnastics. I have had an opportunity to experience kayaking, which I absolutely love, although it is a bit scary on the water. Did you conduct an audit of the offer for young women and girls?

The minister will know that I am interested in the remit of the patient safety commissioner as far as it covers advocating for people and groups of people. For 20 years now, people in the south-west corner of Scotland have had to get radiotherapy in Edinburgh instead of going to Glasgow, and that means unnecessary travel. I am interested to know whether that might be something that a patient safety commissioner could pick up on by advocating for and listening to people who are really upset after 20 years of asking, “Why am I driving past the Beatson and going to Edinburgh for my radiotherapy treatment?” Could a patient safety commissioner advocate for, listen to and support a specific group of people such as the one that I have just described?

In a previous evidence session, Matthew McClelland talked about direct links between safety, care and compassion, and thought that the patient safety commissioner could play a role in encouraging grown-up conversations about the risks and benefits of medical interventions and so on. At the same session, Dr Chris Williams from the Royal College of General Practitioners said that safety needs to be the focus of the commissioner, at least initially, so that we can target the safety issues rather than the issues that I have described.

Thank you.

Okay. We have six commissioners and an ombudsman. With the potential for future commissioners, does the Scottish Government need to look at how we can ensure that a more strategic approach is taken to resourcing and establishing additional commissioners? Is work being done now to look at that?

Does the way that we measure and gather data need to be flexible because of the technology and because some products are not yet licensed for emissions reduction in dairy cattle? Am I right to say that everything has to be flexible and must be allowed to evolve as the science, technology and support enable emissions reduction by farmers?