Author: Rhoda Grant

Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Rhoda Grant, has condemned the announcement that plans to centralise air traffic control (ATC) in the Highlands and Islands will go ahead, despite fierce opposition from local communities, from the Prospect Union and from a cross section of MSPs.

Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) has announced that air traffic control for five Scottish regional airports will be undertaken centrally from Inverness. The airports involved are Sumburgh, Dundee, Inverness, Kirkwall and Stornoway.

HIAL said the change will modernise air traffic control but the Prospect Union say the plan puts 60 jobs at risk and described it as “poorly thought through”. It will rely on remote towers, which will not need to be staffed, feeding information to a new surveillance centre in Inverness.

Rhoda Grant said “From the day these proposals were first aired in 2017 I have received representation from local communities who are desperate to maintain the current system for safety reasons and to protect island jobs.

“I have been told that this project relies on superhigh bandwith to succeed. We all know that many of our remote and rural areas do not have this so how can HIAL press on regardless?

“The proposals to downgrade services at Wick and Benbecula are astounding given the localities have been earmarked as space ports. These decisions also fly in the face of the Scottish Government’s own recently published Islands Plan which seeks to protect and improve services and employment in island communities.

“HIAL appears to be intent on pushing this through despite its own consultants identifying the ‘remote tower’ model as the most costly and risky option.

“While this decision fits with the Scottish Government’s determination to centralise services out of local areas, it is an appalling decision and HIAL and the Scottish Government must stop these plans right now before remote air services are jeopardised and more local jobs are taken out of rural communities.”

Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, David Stewart, questioned the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Humza Yousaf, in Parliament today about facilities for women prisoners from the Highlands and Islands and Moray.

During Portfolio Questions, Mr Stewart asked the Cabinet Secretary what plans the Scottish Government has for a new women’s community integration unit in the Highlands and Islands.

The Cabinet Secretary replied that in 2015 the Scottish Government announced plans for a new eighty place national women’s facility at Cornton Vale and up to five new community based custodial units (CCUs) which would each accommodate around twenty women at locations across Scotland. He stated that custodial arrangements for women in the Highlands and Islands remain as they are at present and that the national facility and the first two CCUs in Glasgow and Dundee were due to be operational by the end of 2021. The Cabinet Secretary said the decision on the next phase of CCUs will depend on risk profile, community locations of women in custody and on lessons learned from bringing the first phase of CCUs into operation.

Mr Stewart however responded to the Cabinet Secretary that in 2019 there were twenty four women in custody from the Highlands and Islands and Moray who were serving their sentences in HMP Grampian or Cornton Vale. The MSP said that distance from families affects relationships at home and behaviour within the prison environment. He asked if the Cabinet Secretary will consider a Community Integration Unit within the Highlands and Islands for women who are serving short sentences, on remand, on community integration or are at the end of their sentence.

The Cabinet Secretary said there were no longer facilities for women prisoners in Inverness due to low numbers of women prisoners in the area but said Mr Stewart makes the important point that locations for the other custody units have not yet been decided upon and that Mr Stewart should make representation to the Scottish Prison Service if he thinks there is a justifiable case for a Cummunity Custody Unit in the Highlands and Islands then he should put that forward.

Speaking afterwards, David Stewart said “Together with my colleague, Rhoda Grant, I will indeed make representation to the Scottish Prison Service on this.

“The new Community Custody Units are being designed to accommodate twenty women. In 2019 there were sixteen women from the Highlands in custody with the other eight being from island communities or Moray.

“Distances within the Highlands and Islands and Moray are already vast and to ask family members to travel further into Grampian or the central belt to visit female relatives is completely unjust. We will be making the case for facilities to be made available within the Highlands and Islands.”

Rhoda Grant who has also campaigned for local facilities said “Prison sentences not only impact on the prisoner but on their families too and we must ensure families, particularly children, can easily visit a loved one whilst they are serving their sentence. This is even more important where that access is to their mother.”

Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Rhoda Grant, has met representatives from the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) and Maritime and Coastguard Agency in Holyrood to discuss the emergency transfer of pregnant women from Caithness.

Mrs Grant said the meeting was constructive and did give some hope that there could be a new service established to fly a medical team to the area to deal with maternity emergencies.

A new initiative called Best Start, looking at overall maternity services, is also considering whether a different skills and resources could be given to the ScotSTAR service, run by SAS and used to fly in medical experts in emergencies to locations across Scotland.

At the moment, ScotSTAR does not have obstetric/midwifery staff and Mrs Grant has raised this with Health Secretary, Jeane Freeman, asking if this gap could be filled to aid remote and rural locations.

“This new development does give me some hope but we are not there yet,” said Mrs Grant.

“There is no timescale for this new venture to come before the Scottish Government as various groups are looking at issues around this.

“So, in the meantime, I will continue to push NHS Highland to look at a risk assessment for emergency transfers and obviously I still have concerns while any new system is being formulated.”

At the meeting, both the ambulance service and the coastguard agency reiterated their view that airlifting women in labour was risky and road ambulance was the best option.

In September 2019 Mrs Grant called on Ms Freeman to launch an urgent review into the availability and suitability of emergency air transport for pregnant women across the whole of the Highlands and Islands. Ms Freeman responded by suggesting Mrs Grant meet with SAS.

Mrs Grant’s plea came after her further investigation into the case of a Caithness mother who went into labour at 30 weeks with twins. The babies were born 50 miles apart in a dash by a road ambulance to Raigmore Hospital.

Mrs Grant asked NHS Highland, SAS and the Health Secretary further questions after receiving an edited version of a Significant Adverse Event Review into the incident. She previously asked First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to investigate.

She repeated her call for a full risk assessment to be carried out on such emergency transfers and that a suitable craft can be made available for airlifts.

Mrs Grant said then that after receiving the responses, for any woman in labour and needing emergency help going by road ambulance is really the only option and air transfer is almost a non-starter.

The mother of the twins, who wants to remain anonymous, is supporting Mrs Grant’s campaign for a review.

Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Rhoda Grant, who has campaigned for a decade for better broadband in the Highlands and Islands has said she is dismayed to hear that the procurement of the R100 contract for the north will be delayed again, causing untold frustration for constituents throughout the region.

The MSP was informed of this by way of a government inspired question from Paul Wheelhouse, the Minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands, who advised that BT plc has been selected as the preferred bidder for the contract covering the north area and the government had intended to finalise governance and sign this contract in coming weeks.  However, the award is now subject to a legal challenge from Gigaclear Ltd, which the Scottish Government is currently considering and seeking advice on.

Mrs Grant said “Yet again, we have delays with the Highlands and Islands getting access to improved broadband.  Contracts in other parts of Scotland are signed and sealed but the north remains in limbo.

“This is a far cry from the Scottish Government’s claims to have everyone in Scotland connected to superfast broadband by 2021.  At this rate, we could be lucky if contracts are signed by then, never mind the infrastructure improved.

The MSP continued “It is not good enough, the north deserves, and needs, better.”

ENDS

Details of the Government Inspired Question is below.

SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT

WRITTEN ANSWER

19 December 2019

Index Heading: Organisational Development and Operations

Stewart Stevenson (Banffshire and Buchan Coast) (Scottish National Party): To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on procurement contracts relating to its Reaching 100% programme.

S5W-26766

Paul Wheelhouse: Following my announcement on 10 October that BT plc was the sole bidder for lots 2 and 3, covering Central and South Scotland, I can confirm that these contracts were signed on Monday 16 December.

BT plc has also been selected as the preferred bidder for lot 1, covering the North area. We had intended to finalise governance and sign this contract in the coming weeks. However, I can confirm that this award is now subject to a legal challenge from Gigaclear Ltd, which the Scottish Government is currently considering and seeking advice on. This will include consideration of the potential impact on the North lot and I will update Parliament as soon as I have more information. This development does not impact the Central and South lots.

 

Yesterday, I lambasted the Scottish Government following its statement in Holyrood over the Ferguson Shipyard Ferry Fiasco.
You can see my contribution and the Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work response above

Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Rhoda Grant, has said that the Scottish Health Council (SHC) and the Scottish Government’s Minister for Public Health, Joe Fitzpatrick, have ‘totally missed the point’ about calling in the Uist dental decision.

Mrs Grant said “I contacted both organisations on 12 November asking them to now call in the decision to centralise dental services in Uist.

“Had the IJB taken the decision the Scottish Health Council would not have had the power to call it in as there is a loophole in legislation which prevents the SHC from calling in a decision made by an IJB.  This decision however was eventually taken by NHS Western Isles and the Comhairle so I have asked that the SHC now calls it in as they do have the power to scrutinise decisions made by health boards.

Mrs Grant continued “Taking local services out of communities is to be avoided at all cost and I will try, yet again, to have this damaging decision reversed.”

Health chiefs have told an MSP that it is short of more than five full-time mental health nurses on a ward which was recently closed.

NHS Highland said the Strathy ward, in Migdale Hospital, Bonar Bridge, stopped taking “new admissions” in the middle of November, but the health authority has now said it has “no patients” on the ward at present.

Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Rhoda Grant, wrote to NHS Highland’s Chief Executive, Iain Stewart, to ask more questions about the closure, following representations from a concerned constituent.

“The Chief Executive’s reply reveals a very shocking picture of mental health staff shortages which are especially felt in a rural area such as Sutherland,” said Mrs Grant.

“The small ward cares for ten older, adult elderly requiring assessment. Having that facility closer to home would have been a boon for the patients but also for their families and friends.

“It brings home the dire shortage of such staff and prompts the question of whether facilities such as the Strathy ward can ever reopen without a huge investment in both training and funding.”

Mrs Grant is writing to Health Secretary, Jeane Freeman, to ask what steps the Scottish Government is taking to ensure that mental health facilities and services are retained and expanded in the region.

The health authority’s reply highlights that the full establishment for the Strathy ward for qualified staff is 10.32 whole time equivalents (WTE) but there are 5.64 WTE registered mental health nurse vacancies.

The Chief Executive said that shortages meant that on the ward there would have been only the equivalent of just over two full-time staff available to work there, considering staff on sick leave and maternity leave.

NHS Highland said it was doing “all we can to recruit staff and in due course reopen the ward”.

“Every effort is being made to obtain nursing staff on a temporary or permanent basis with bank posts being fast tracked through recruitment and temporary contracts being offered to bank staff to ensure that the ward can safely open to admissions,” said the health authority.

“Clearly the risk of using bank and agency staff is that their attendance cannot be guaranteed therefore we cannot guarantee the safety of patients admitted to a ward based only on this staffing model. This is particularly relevant to patients requiring mental health care.”

It was also stressed that Migdale Hospital’s general Kylesku ward remains open and busy.

In November NHS Highland announced the ten-patient ward had both vacancies and sick leave affecting staffing numbers, and while every effort had been made to obtain registered mental health nursing cover including staff members working additional hours, bank and agency support there had been little success in getting the cover required.

It said then that older patients requiring inpatient mental health care would need to be admitted to New Craigs in Inverness.

Mrs Grant added: “I know that New Craigs has its own staffing problems and that community services have been cut.”

Migdale Hospital opened in 2011 at the cost of £8million.

 

 

Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Rhoda Grant, says enough is enough and that the decision to close local dental surgeries in Uist in favour of a centralised hub simply must be stopped.

The MSP has been raising objections to the proposal for three years.  She was advised in December 2017 that the Western Isles Integration Joint Board (IJB) had stated that the decision would be communicated to the Scottish Health Council (SHC) which would determine whether the proposed arrangements would constitute ‘major service change’ and, if the SHC did consider the new model for dental services ‘major service change’, then the case would be referred to Scottish Ministers.  The MSP was later advised however that the SHC has no formal role in processes led by integration authorities.

Mrs Grant asked the First Minister during First Minister’s Questions on 7 December 2017 if she would impose a moratorium on the IJB decision until the regulation surrounding ‘major service change’ was checked.  The First Minister said no.

The MSP then sent a further letter to the then Health Secretary, Shona Robison, on 9 January 2018 asking specifically for clarification from her as to whether a decision made by an IJB can be called in for scrutiny whether it is deemed to be major service or not.  Shona Robison replied that the Scottish Government was satisfied that robust arrangements for public engagements are in place for integration authorities.

Rhoda Grant said “The First Minister, the previous Health Secretary, Shona Robison, and now the present Minister for Public Health, Joe FitzPatrick, have all hidden behind muddied legislation to avoid doing anything to right this wrong.  However, given that the final decision to close the local practices has been taken jointly by NHS Western Isles and the Comhairle, I am assuming that this decision can at last be called in for proper scrutiny.

Mrs Grant continued “Dental infections if left untreated can lead to systemic spread of infection and we simply cannot make access to dentists difficult.  We cannot ask people to travel a 60 mile round trip to see a dentist.

“I have also asked questions of the IJB on how the outreach service is going to be provided and who will receive this service, if consideration has been given to re-visiting the participatory budgeting process which implemented the current bus services in 2017, are travel expenses going to be paid for patients who have to travel to Benbecula and is the proposal going to be island proofed?  The response I got was that these questions will be addressed as part of the delivery plan which is in development and they would revert to me at that point.” said Mrs Grant.

“That says to me that this proposal is totally flawed with no answers to these very pertinent questions which people the length and breadth of Uist are asking.  Enough is enough – this decision simply has to be called in and I have asked the Scottish Health Council and the Scottish Government to do this.”

The job losses at CS Wind at Machrihanish, Campbeltown, were raised by Highlands and Islands Labour MSP, Rhoda Grant, at First Minister’s Questions today.

Mrs Grant said: “The First Minister will be aware of the announcement by CS Wind that they are reducing their workforce in Campbeltown by three quarters.

“This is a devastating blow for the workforce and also for the whole country because this is the only manufacturer of wind turbines in Scotland.

“Can I ask the First Minister what steps she has taken to protect these jobs and assist the workforce in this difficult time?”

Nicola Sturgeon thanked Mrs Grant for raising the issue, admitting that it will be an “exceptionally difficult time for workers who have been issued with redundancy notices.

The First Minister said the Energy Minister had spoken with the company’s management a couple of days ago to discuss the reasons behind the move. Ms Sturgoen said that the Scottish Government believed it was “a gap in the order book” not about its future prospects or long term sustainability. She added that the Government and Highlands and Islands Enterprise were committed to doing all they can to mitigate the impact of the redundancy notices and dialogue continued with the company to support it to ensure its long their sustainability and success.

Afterwards Mrs Grant said: “This is a huge blow for this area as it is understood that 73 out of 94 jobs are to go.

“The amount of manufacturing work awarded to Scottish renewable manufacturers remains too low for a country which has a huge number of windfarms, especially in the Highlands and Islands.

“Promises of employment in the low-carbon and renewable energy (LCRE) economy has not translated into the jobs boom promised and there’s been a failure of an industrial policy to ensure that workers, businesses and Government in Scotland benefit from Scotland’s natural resources.”