Chamber and committees

Good morning, minister and officials. I have a couple of questions about leadership.

The Audit Scotland briefing states:

“The health and social care sector needs stable and collaborative leadership to address the ongoing challenges.”

We previously took evidence about how we support leaders. I know that the Scottish Government can lead on leadership. What is it doing to address the challenges in retaining senior leaders in social care?

I am interested in how we will support people who have post-Covid syndrome. Many different symptoms seem to be demonstrated, including neurovascular, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal and musculoskeletal ones. There is a wide range of symptoms. What are we doing in Scotland to support people with long Covid?

I will be quick, convener. The Scottish graduate entry medicine—or ScotGEM—programme, which was launched in 2018, is unique to Scotland. We have just seen 54 graduates come out of it, and it is part of the way in which we are trying to address GP recruitment in rural areas. Can you comment quickly on how successful ScotGEM has been for Scotland?

When it comes to screening such as bowel cancer and cervical cancer screening, if we screen people early, we can diagnose early, which means that the treatment can be more efficient and beneficial. Cancer Research UK said in its briefing that statistics for Scotland have shown that, before Covid, the uptake of bowel cancer screening had increased.

I support continued consideration of how we can improve uptake of bowel cancer and cervical cancer screening, and I know that self-sampling for cervical cancer is in the pipeline.

Good morning. As we come out of the pandemic, I am interested in the reform process and the use of technology that we have already. People have adopted the NHS Near Me service, which means that they can engage remotely with their doctor, whether that is a respiratory doctor, a GP or whomever. I assume that it will be part of the renewal and reform process to continue to use the technology and innovations that have already been developed, in order to support people to engage with their GP and their other doctors in the way that they choose.

Long Covid networking will take place virtually with clinicians and professionals. We are not necessarily talking about bricks and mortar clinics or spaces; we are also looking at virtual engagement, as is happening in England. Is that part of how we will support people?

Across the country, we have urban and rural and remote areas, as well as islands. We have a different geography so, when it comes to supporting people, we cannae just lift and shift a model that might be used elsewhere, although I suppose that we can learn from what is being done in France, Belgium and Germany as well.

Thank you.

Apologies, convener—my internet dropped there.

I want to ask about the impact of Covid on meeting the 13 strategic objectives. We cannot just forget two and a half years of the pandemic and the impact that it has probably had on everybody’s lives. Going back to Edward Mountain’s point about mental health professionals, I know from evidence taken by the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee that digital connectivity supported engagement with mental health services, although we cannot forget the importance of face-to-face appointments, too. How has Covid-19 impacted on island communities and the progress towards meeting the plan’s 13 strategic objectives?

Does the plan need to be slightly revised or renewed to acknowledge the Covid pandemic? After all, as you said in your opening statement, it was launched 12 weeks before the pandemic. Does the plan need to be tweaked at all to make people aware that, although there has been an impact, progress has been made in certain areas?