Press Release
14th March 2005

Public Invited to Take Part in Holyrood Health Debate
Members of the public from across Scotland are to be invited by the Scottish Parliament's Health Committee to take the seats of MSPs at Holyrood and take part in the debate on the future of Scotland’s NHS.

They will join local campaigners, health professionals, health bosses, employees’ representatives, MSPs and others on the floor of Holyrood’s Chamber on Monday April 11^th to debate workforce-related issues facing the NHS and any potential solutions.

This is the first time that the Holyrood Chamber has been used for a public debate in this way.

One of the MSPs who will be taking part is Health Committee Member and MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Duncan McNeil.

“When we published our report at the turn of the year, I told the Telegraph that its key findings needed to be debated properly – and not just by the usual suspects,” he said today.

“The debate on the shape of the NHS has been raging in communities across Scotland for years and this event – the first of its kind at Holyrood – will allow local campaigners, clinicians, health bosses, doctors’ leaders, employees’ representatives and, of course, MSPs, to come together under one roof and thrash out the issues.

“As the problems we’ve been battling here in Inverclyde are a perfect example of the issues facing the whole of Scotland, a number of key figures from Inverclyde will be specifically invited.  But anyone else who wants to participate would be well-advised to apply for one of these additional public tickets.”

The Health Committee’s report:

• Questions the current medical orthodoxy in favour of specialisation which can lead to the centralisation of services and the closure of units; and
• Argues that whilst some services, e.g. cancer care, are best provided in specialist units, the medical case for across-the-board specialisation needs to be further substantiated.

And, while accepting that many of the drivers behind the centralisation agenda are not within the direct control of the Scottish Executive, it nevertheless demands:  

• As  a matter of urgency, a sustained, coherent national strategy to attract health professionals from abroad to work in Scotland; and
• An extra 100 undergraduate medical student places a year at Scottish Medical Schools.

The Presiding Officer will convene the meeting in a similar style to Parliamentary debates.  The morning's debate will address how the NHS in Scotland could be reshaped to better meet patients' needs.  The afternoon will focus on potential solutions to some of the difficulties being experienced.

Invited participants will comprise representatives from local patient groups, those who submitted evidence to the Committee, union and professional bodies representatives, health boards, the Royal Colleges and people who the Committee met during case studies around Scotland during its inquiry.  However, an additional 20 places are being made available to interested members of the public, who can apply for a ticket directly to the Scottish Parliament.

The Committee published its report, “Reshaping the NHS in Scotland?: Workforce Planning in the National Health Service in Scotland” on 25^th January 2005.  The Committee will consider amending its report in the light of the debate.
ENDS

Notes
Members of the public who want to put themselves forward to participate can do so by emailing: healthdebate@ scottish.parliament.uk or writing to:  

Health Debate,
Health Committee,
Scottish Parliament,
Holyrood
Edinburgh EH99 1SP.

The closing date for receipt of bids is Tuesday 29^th March. If the event is over-subscribed, a ballot will be held and those who are unsuccessful will be offered seats in the public gallery.

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