PUBLIC PETITIONS COMMITTEE Wednesday 12 May 2004 (Morning) Session 2 £5.00 Parliamentary copyright. Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body 2004. Applications for reproduction should be made in writing to the Licensing Division, Her Majesty‟s Stationery Office, St Clements House, 2-16 Colegate, Norwich NR3 1BQ Fax 01603 723000, which is administering the copyright on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. Produced and published in Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body by The Stationery Office Ltd. Her Majesty‟s Stationery Office is independent of and separate from the company now trading as The Stationery Office Ltd, which is responsible for printing and publishing Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body publications. CONTENTS Wednesday 12 May 2004 Col. INTERESTS ........................................................................................................................................... 761 NEW PETITIONS..................................................................................................................................... 762 Health Service Provision (North Clyde) (PE735).................................................................................. 762 Houses in Multiple Occupation (PE736).............................................................................................. 771 Civil Partnerships (Solemnisation) (PE737)......................................................................................... 779 Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 (PE721) ................................................................................................ 789 Green-belt Sites (Scottish Executive Policy) (PE724) .......................................................................... 791 TETRA Communications System (Health Aspects) (PE728) ................................................................ 793 Autism Treatments (PE729)............................................................................................................... 794 CURRENT PETITIONS .............................................................................................................................. 801 Institutional Child Abuse (PE535) ....................................................................................................... 801 Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990 (PE601) .................................................. 803 Local Archives (PE628) ..................................................................................................................... 805 Forestry Commission (Consultation Guidance) (PE691) ...................................................................... 807 Traffic Commissioners (PE692).......................................................................................................... 809 Disabled People (Local Transport) (PE695) ........................................................................................ 810 Census Forms (Legal Status) (PE697) ............................................................................................... 811 Minority Sports (Funding) (PE699) ..................................................................................................... 811 PUBLIC PETITIONS COMMITTEE THE FOLLOWING ALSO ATTENDED : 8th Meeting 2004, Session 2 Susan Agnew (Marchmont and Sc iennes Community Council) Dav id Bruce CONVENER Vivien Dance *Michael McMahon (Hamilton North and Bellshill) (Lab) Stephen Harte (Holy Trinity Metropolitan Community Church) DEPU TY CONVENER Margaret Mitchell (Central Scotland) (Con) *John Scott (Ayr) (Con) Dav id Morrell Jeremy Purvis (Tw eeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale) (LD) COMMI TTEE MEMBERS Dav id Stay (Marchmont Action Group Promoting Initiatives *Jac kie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab) for the Environment) *Helen Eadie (Dunfermline East) (Lab) Rosemary Street (Holy Trinity Metropolitan Community *Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP) Church) *Carolyn Lec kie (Central Scotland) (SSP) Campbell Martin (West of Scotland) (SNP) CLERK TO THE COMMITTE E *John Farquhar Munro (Ross, Skye and Inverness West) (LD) Jim Johnston Mike Watson (Glasgow Cathcart) (Lab) ASSISTANT CLERK COMMI TTEE SUBSTITU TES Joanne Clinton Frances Curran (West of Scotland) (SSP) *Susan Deacon (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab) LOC ATION Phil Gallie (South of Scotland) (Con) Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP) The Hub *attended 761 12 MAY 2004 762 Scottish Parliament New Petitions Public Petitions Committee Health Service Provision (North Clyde) (PE735) Wednesday 12 May 2004 The Convener: The first new petition is PE735, from Vivien Dance, which relates to the national (Morning) health service. The petition calls on the Parliament to urge the Executive to require NHS Argyll and [THE CONVENER opened the meeting at 10:01] Clyde and NHS Greater Glasgow to make a special agreement on transferring responsibility for the design and provision of health services in the Interests north Clyde area and, where appropriate, to amend existing legislation so that the boundaries The Convener (Michael McMahon): Good of the two health boards are adjusted in order to morning everyone and welcome to the eighth transfer authority for the north Clyde area from meeting of the Public Petitions Committee this NHS Argyll and Clyde to NHS Greater Glasgow. year. We have received apologies from Mike Vivien Dance is present to give evidence in Watson, and we have been told that Carolyn support of her petition. She is accompanied by Leckie will be arriving late. Susan Deacon is in David Bruce and David Morrell. I welcome them to attendance as a substitute for Mike Watson. I ask the committee. You have three minutes in which to her to declare any relevant interests. make a presentation, after which we will ask Susan Deacon (Edinburgh East and questions. Musselburgh) (Lab): I have no registrable Vivien Dance: Good morning. I thank all of you interests to declare. for inviting us to the committee and for giving us the opportunity to address you today. We are joined—in the body of the kirk—by two of the other principal petitioners, Leila McKichan and Eileen Gorie. We are delighted to be here. We are not, in any sense, an elected group. W e have all carried responsibility for NHS governance, both locally and nationally. Based on our collective experience, we are confident that we have a thorough understanding of the issues that have resulted in the need for us to make a direct appeal to our elected Government. There is a serious crisis affecting NHS provision in our area and we believe that our petition gives you a unique opportunity to stop what is a rapidly deteriorating situation. We look to you to give our fellow patients in the north Clyde area a bold and constructive solution to this crisis. That solution would be welcomed by the vast majority of the population. The theme of our short presentation is organising for reform, which is taken from the Scottish Executive‟s “Partnership for Care: Scotland‟s Health White Paper”. I have asked Mr David Bruce to read our agreed statement. David Bruce: Good morning. I will be clear about what exactly it is that we are asking for. We are looking at the needs of the 140,000 patients who live north of the Clyde estuary, in the catchment area of NHS Argyll and Clyde. They are a third of that health board‟s patients, so they account for about a third of its budget—about £200 million. We want responsibility for those patients and that budget to be transferred to the 763 12 MAY 2004 764 Greater Glasgow NHS Board. Our reasoning for The Convener: Jackie Baillie has expressed an that is laid out clearly in chapter 7 of “Partnership interest in the petition. Does she want to speak for Care”, which states: before the committee asks questions? “To support the development of integrated, decentralised Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): As the local healthcare services that meet the needs of individual member for the area involved, I support the patients and local communities, w e need to remove principles that underlie the petition and its desired unnecessary organisational and legal barriers.” outcome, which is to deliver quality health care as We are here today to ask you to intervene to locally as possible and, when local services are ensure that one particular barrier, which at present not possible, to ensure that people have prevents patients from being treated in the reasonable access to services. The petitioners geographical area of their choice, is removed. have helpfully recognised some of the pressures, such as junior doctors‟ hours, the shortage of Vivien Dance said that we face a crisis—that is consultants and the increasing drive to not an exaggeration. Public concern is running increasingly high as patients and carers see their specialisation, which all lead to a need for review and reform of future health service provision. services being withdrawn from local hospitals and relocated across the river. The key issue is reasonable access, as well as We understand fully that many district general regional planning. People in my area must make a five-hour return journey by public transport to hospitals—including Vale of Leven hospital and access a district general hospital in Paisley. I am Lorn and Islands district general hospital—face change as a result of developments in modern sure that the petitioners will be able to expand on that. It would take 20 minutes by public transport medicine and population changes. Many services for them to access a similar standard