To read my speech click here
Marion Wallace Dunlop – Inverness born Suffragette recognised
Motion Number: S5M-14757
Lodged By: Rhoda Grant
Date Lodged: 14/11/2018
Title: Marion Wallace Dunlop
Motion Text:
That the Parliament acknowledges the role played by Inverness-born, Marion Wallace Dunlop, a key member of the Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU), and the first suffragette hunger striker; notes that Marion was arrested in 1909 after using a rubber stamp to print the words “Votes for Women” on a wall of St Stephen’s Hall in the House of Commons; understands that she was jailed at Holloway Prison for her actions and went on hunger strike for the suffragette cause; acknowledges her strenuous work in securing women the vote, and is pleased to note that she is being remembered this week as part of Parliament Week at Westminster.
Mary Ramsay launches petition – please sign
You may remember Inverness constituent Mary Ramsay who has Essential Tremor and is campaigning to get ground breaking technology brought to Scotland – ideally to Ninewells Hospital.
The Magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) technology uses MRI imaging to guide high powered, focused ultrasound to a very small point to alleviate conditions with tremor.
Molecules are vibrated extremely quickly, which creates intense local heat. The equipment allows clinicians to target a very specific focal point – with very little heating produced in front of and behind that point, so only the targeted tissue is affected.
A surgery team at Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust, London, already uses the equipment and has performed this procedure on 16 patients successfully reducing their tremors in every case.
The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) has assessed this technology. It has been approved for the treatment of essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease in the USA and in Europe.
Mary has now launched a petition (see link below) and is currently lodging another petition with the Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee.
Please sign this to help bring this to Scotland.
Photo shows Rhoda with Mary
Statement about DeeAnn Fitzpatrick from Rhoda Grant MSP
“I am absolutely appalled by the treatment of DeeAnn Fitzpatrick over the review into her case,” said Highlands and Islands Labour MSP Rhoda Grant.
“There are no two ways about it, it is an absolute cover up and no member of staff should be treated in this way.
“At the very least the First Minister should have invited DeeAnn to a private meeting to discuss the review and the conclusions, but what happened was that a public statement was issued before consulting with DeeAnn.
“I’ve written to the First Minister on a number of occasions asking for a meeting with her and with DeeAnn and I have requested that once again.
“The behaviour that DeeAnn experienced should be called out and not buried and the chapter closed without her seeing the full report.
“DeeAnn’s treatment by the Scottish Government is just abysmal.”
MSP asks First Minister how she plans to support mountain rescue teams
To read more about this click here
Proud Ness
My Question on Skye Tourism (Support)
To read about this click here
Rhoda raises questions on the financing of MV Loch Seaforth in the Scottish Parliament
To read the full speech please click here
Celebrating 10 years of BBC Alba
I have been told no extra funding for Skye and Lochalsh out of hours health services
The new Scottish Government Health Secretary is admitting that there will be no new investment in Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross health services when it comes to out-of-hours recommendations in the recent Sir Lewis Ritchie report.
Jeane Freeman has told me that “in the main” any investment will need to come from the budgets of NHS Highland, the Scottish Ambulance Service or NHS 24.
This has taken me aback by the frank admission, querying how improvements can be made without any extra money. I wrote to Ms Freeman asking about more resources, especially in the light of money made available for the Caithness health services redesign.
I am sure this will be a revelation for most patients on Skye who are expecting more from the Scottish Government,
I’ll be contacting constituents and the chief executives of the health authority, ambulance service and NHS 24 with copies of the letter and would like to know their reaction to this.
The message from the Government is really – we’ll make the right noises, we’ll consult the community and sign up to an independent report but don’t expect a penny more from us!
If the health authority is to get no extra money, then the Government need to answer how on earth they can maintain Portree and at the same time build a new hospital in Broadford?
The Health Secretary told me:
“This is not comparable as the Caithness budget relates to the reprovision of services across Caithness which includes the building of care hubs and the refurbishment of Caithness General Hospital and that expenditure is more comparable with the expenditure estimated for the new hospital build at Broadford.
“In the main the recommendations contained in Sir Lewis’s report are focussed on utilising existing services in a different way and these do not require significant investment.
“Where there will be investment, whether by NHS Highland, The Scottish Ambulance Service or NHS 24 in supporting the delivery of the recommendations in Sir Lewis’s report, I expect those boards to identify and account for that from within their existing allocations. Some of that expenditure may not be known as it will depend, in parts, on the discussions with the people in Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross as they coproduce solutions with the board.”
