Chamber and committees

Good morning. I would like to pick up on what Julie Mosgrove said about remote and rural areas. There are places in our small towns and large villages where people can access optometry services, but there are additional challenges in remote and rural areas. Could you outline some of those challenges in relation to people’s ability to access alternative pathways?

I am interested in social prescribing, which is also known as community prescribing. In the previous session of Parliament, both David Torrance and I were members of the Health and Sport Committee, which did an inquiry into social prescribing and talked about it as an investment rather than a cost. I am interested to hear whether you think that there is scope for wider use of social prescribing?

I have a quick supplementary question about digital exclusion and pop-up health checks. I am aware that the local NFU Scotland branch in Dumfries and Galloway went to an auction mart and did blood pressure, vital signs and blood glucose checks. Should we consider pursuing pop-up health checks at auction marts or in empty shops in town centres?

Yes—my question is directly for Clare Morrison. There is a system called ALISS—a local information system for Scotland—which is used to signpost people to local services. Do pharmacists use it?

I have a wee supplementary question on general practice. The Scottish Government has established the Scottish graduate entry medicine programme, which is a four-year training programme to support general practices in rural areas. Are you aware of, or do you have experience of, ScotGEM?

We know that social prescribing—singing in a choir for pulmonary rehabilitation, walking football and so on—works and makes people feel good. However, are we measuring the benefits accurately enough? Is there a risk that social prescribing will be seen as a replacement for what is perceived as more appropriate care?

The receptionist is primarily the person who takes the phone calls and triages cases. I have heard that some GPs in my area answer the phones and triage calls, identifying themselves as Dr X or whoever, and that their experience has been different and not as traumatic. Could we measure that approach? I am not suggesting that we require GPs to triage, but is it worth considering different experiences? Is there a perception that a receptionist who answers the phone does not have a clue about how to triage, when in fact they are pretty much specialists at that? Should we look at how attitudes differ, depending who answers the phone?

Are the link workers who are signposting people using the ALISS system, which is the national Government-funded local information system for Scotland? I am aware that there might be issues around keeping that system up to date. That is my first question—are the link workers either directing people through ALISS or using it themselves?

Secondly, Dumfries and Galloway basically dingied ALISS and set up its own DG Locator service, which is updated at regional rather than national level. Do you have any thoughts about how we should direct people? Is it the link worker’s job to link into the ALISS system or other systems?

I have another wee question. Previously, we have talked about additional skills to deliver additional services. For example, in one of our members’ business debates, we spoke about the fact that optometrists are often the first people to detect type 2 diabetes, and that would lead to a referral for a blood glucose check. Could that check be delivered in an optometry setting? It would require people to receive additional training to ensure they had the right level of competency and skill.

There we go.

I will pick up on what Jess Sussmann just said and relate it back to her comment about support for art. I had a case of someone who wanted to use self-directed support money for art therapy to help them tackle social isolation. Their proposal was refused, because it related to art and was therefore not seen as important.

Jess, how do you feel about that sort of support being used to benefit people and tackle social isolation in that way? I know that art therapy is really good for that. I see that you are shaking your head. What are your thoughts on that?