Jenni Minto
Scottish National Party · Scotland
“I would like to reflect on Willie Rennie’s comments. Bute welcomed families from Syria, who are now an integral part of the island. In Lochgilphead, Ukrainian families have settled and helped to revitalise the town’s main street with two new businesses.”
“Mòran taing, Oifigear Riaghlaidh. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I want to start with the words of one of my constituents: “I am not a politician, nor do I ever wish to become one. I am a leatherworker, a father and a business owner.”
“Ben Macpherson: There are many initiatives and policies in this space to encourage and support our young people to ensure that they can fulfil their potential, including the free tuition that the Government has provided for students.”
“Yesterday, I met pupils at Sunnyside primary school in Glasgow, and we talked about climate change, the Celtic and Amazonian rainforests and the fact that Scotland is the proud host of a rainforest. In my constituency, Dunoon grammar school won the world’s best school prize for community collaboration.”
“If any of the Reform members had taken part in my colleague Maggie Chapman’s debate on university education, they would have heard me talk about the Scottish Association for Marine Science, which is in Oban, in my constituency.”
“He spoke about the impact that Brexit had had on his business and how, because of that vote, his order book collapsed. He had to find new ways of marketing and promoting his business to ensure that he and his family survived. He spoke about the support that he had received from the SNP to expand his business.”
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Every one of 586 lines we hold for Jenni Minto, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 11 of 12.
“Does the Scottish Government agree that waiting time targets for cancer need to be reviewed so that health boards and the Scottish Government can first identify and then address the causes of the delay? Jenni Minto: I recognise the sentiments that Neil Bibby expressed in his supplementary question, and my heart goes out to Christina McKelvie’s family, friends and loved ones. This morning, I met Make 2nds Count, another breast cancer charity, and we had long discussions about research and the options for getting on clinical trials. The subject is very close to my heart. I recognise Mr Bibby’s question about waiting times and the need to improve the service. That is what the Scottish Government is investing in. Heart Disease Action Plan 3.”
“Neil Bibby: I lodged the question on behalf of Breast Cancer Now, before the sad passing of our colleague Christina McKelvie. I pay tribute to Christina McKelvie, who was a strong advocate for breast cancer awareness. My thoughts are with her friends and family at this difficult time. The 62-day target for starting treatment following urgent referral has, sadly, not been met for breast cancer for four years. Breast Cancer Now estimates that, had the target been met during that time, over 1,000 more people would have had a timely diagnosis and access to potentially life-saving treatments. The 62-day standard states that 95 per cent of eligible patients should wait no longer than 62 days from urgent suspicion of cancer referral to first cancer treatment. However, the 62-day standard is currently being met by only one of the 14 NHS boards.”
“Action 42 of the three-year cancer action plan is a commitment to “Carry out a clinically led review of latest data and evidence and determine whether there is merit in specific additional or alternative cancer waiting times standards for different types of cancer and cancer treatment.” The Government has been putting in place arrangements for that review, which will be under way shortly. The review will require significant clinical leadership, with appropriate engagement across a range of stakeholders. A project steering group is being established. It will support the review and determine whether any amendments to the standards would enhance patient experience and meet the national health service’s needs for the future.”
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“I believe that violence against women reflects the worst aspects of our society, and we must do more to ensure that women and girls are safe, feel safe and are respected. The Deputy Presiding Officer: That concludes the debate. Meeting closed at 18:15. This is the final edition of the Official Report for this meeting. It is part of the Scottish Parliament Official Report archive and has been sent for legal deposit.”
“Hospitals should be places of safety for patients and staff, and their safety is paramount. Assaults on patients or staff are abhorrent, and all instances of violent behaviour, including sexual assaults, should be reported and escalated to the police as quickly as possible. I have listened to what many members have said during the debate, and I will comment on two points. Tomorrow morning, I will meet Professor Anna Glasier, who is Scotland’s wonderful women’s health champion, and I will take the discussion from the debate to her, in order to have a further conversation with her. I would also be content to engage with members who have taken part in the debate, because I think that it is important that we have a cross-party solution to the issue, and a cross-party approach to how we can work better with our health boards.”
“To do that, we must tackle the root cause of the problem, which—as I said—is gender inequality. Women’s inequality is both a cause and a consequence of violence against women, which is why the equally safe strategy emphasises the importance of primary prevention and focuses on the structures, systems, policies and assumptions that we live with. In addition to working with Healthcare Improvement Scotland, we are working closely with Police Scotland on reporting of sexual crimes, and through our your safety matters partnership group. Claire Baker: Will the minister take an intervention? Jenni Minto: I am concluding. It is through addressing the fundamental causes of violence against women and girls that we can effectively respond to this critical issue.”
“As the minister will know, in six out of seven cases of rape against women, it is a person whom they know who carries out the offence. One would surmise that in a hospital, however, such things might be more opportunistic, with a stranger carrying out the crime. Will the Government look at that and undertake more examination of the figures that we have in the public domain? Jenni Minto: I thank Claire Baker for that intervention. I agree that we have to look at the data and collect more of it, which is why we are continuing to work with Healthcare Improvement Scotland to improve recording and reporting. I hope that that gives some comfort to Ms Baker. Stopping violence against women and girls before it occurs must be central to our collective efforts.”
“The Minister for Equalities recently announced a £2.4 million increase to the delivering equally safe fund for 2025-26. That will allow all funding recipients to continue the vital work that they undertake to prevent violence and to support survivors of violence against women and girls. Stopping violence against women and girls before it occurs must be central to our collective efforts. To do that, we must tackle the root cause of the problem— Claire Baker: Will the minister take an intervention? Jenni Minto: I am just going to continue— Claire Baker: I am trying to be helpful; it is not intended to be— Jenni Minto: I am happy to take an intervention from Claire Baker. Claire Baker: Thank you, minister. We are talking about hospitals.”
“Furthermore, we have been working with Police Scotland and other parties, using the your safety matters initiative, on tackling violence and aggression across our front-line services. In addition, supporting survivors is key. In order to support victims and change attitudes, we are providing more than £5.3 million to rape crisis centres through our delivering equally safe fund. We have taken robust action to tackle sexual offending and we are encouraging more victims to come forward, improving support and modernising the law on sexual offences. It is vital that we progress our vision for justice and that we deliver a truly person-centred and trauma-informed system through the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill.”
“There are limited exceptions for areas such as intensive care units. Within our hospitals, a number of health boards are participating in the equally safe at work employer accreditation programme. Alongside our commitment to the equally safe strategy, NHS once for Scotland policies on gender-based violence and sexual harassment— Tess White: Will the minister take an intervention? Jenni Minto: I am going to continue, if the member does not mind. Those policies are due to be published soon and will provide a standardised approach for all health boards. We are also working with the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh to roll out its “Let’s remove it” campaign, which is designed to raise awareness of sexual misconduct.”
“perpetuate it.” The strategy works to prevent violence “from occurring in the first place” and to build and sustain the capability and capacity of support services and strengthen the justice response to victims and perpetrators. A number of members have commented on single-sex spaces for women in hospitals. Jackie Baillie is correct that, since 2005, we have expected NHS boards to ensure that their facilities comply with guidelines on the elimination of mixed-sex accommodations. In all new hospital developments, there should be a presumption that there will be 100 per cent single rooms, and where existing accommodation has been refurbished, that the figure will be as close to 100 per cent as possible. Tess White: Will the minister take an intervention? Jenni Minto: I am just going to continue, if Tess White does not mind.”
“about being a better guy and reflecting on our own behaviour.” —[Official Report, 5 December 2024; c 116.] Violence against women and girls is, and always will be, an issue that the Government takes seriously. That is reflected in our partnership with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities through “Equally Safe: Scotland’s Strategy for Preventing and Eradicating Violence Against Women and Girls”. The strategy sets out a vision of “A strong and flourishing” country “where all individuals are ... safe and respected, and where women and girls live free from all forms of violence, abuse and ... the attitudes that ...”
“I see it every day, and the movement is something that I very much understand and support. Although I have not read the WRN report in its entirety, I have read some summaries of it, and it is shocking. We are, I think united together in our recognition that the drivers of violence against women and girls are firmly anchored in the behaviour of men. It is men who must accept that they need to do much more to deliver the culture and the national change that is necessary to remove that stain that remains with us. As the First Minister said during the debate to mark the annual 16 days of activism against gender-based violence campaign last year, “men must take up the challenge ...”
“Every member who has spoken in the debate today recognises that violence against women and girls is abhorrent and unacceptable. That is the case in our hospital estate, as it is in every part of our society. It is shocking and depressing that it remains the case that there is violence, including sexual violence, at the hands of men wherever women live and work. I agree with what Tess White said in her opening speech that one attack in a hospital or anywhere else is one too many. Such violence has a profound, long-lasting and devastating impact on the lives of women and girls, and those around them. It damages health and wellbeing, limits freedom and potential, and is a fundamental violation of human rights. In my office, I have a 16 days of activism against violence against women candle.”
“Often, people are not getting the right access at the right time and, as members have mentioned, that means that they have worse outcomes. I also think that we need to look at productivity, which is at the heart of it all. There is a huge opportunity for primary research, but if we are to incorporate that in the system of improvement in the NHS, we need to empower staff to deliver advancements on the ground. That is why our amendment encourages the Government to do more. The Deputy Presiding Officer: I call Brian Whittle to close for the Scottish Conservatives. We have a bit of time in hand. 16:40”
“The Deputy Presiding Officer: I will give you another minute, Mr Sweeney. Paul Sweeney: Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. The point that Dr Gulhane made earlier about the quadruple helix and the idea of buy-in from the population is critical to achieving those outcomes. The population is up for it. During the pandemic, there was a lot of doubt about whether the population would go for lockdowns or participate in mass vaccination programmes. In fact, there were huge levels of co-operation. When people see the public health benefits of such initiatives, there is wide buy-in: we could do a lot more to encourage people to buy in. People do not want to be advised, “Unless you think that you’re literally going to die, do not come to A and E—go and see your GP.” We need a more sophisticated way of dealing with people who present at the NHS.”
“They would love to harness new technologies and to work with their community links workers. They would love to have a sophisticated interface for their patients, but they have queues out the door and are dealing with clinics every day—there is no head space to implement innovations. The cabinet secretary needs to think about how he can support our primary care practitioners to develop and deploy technologies that are industry standards elsewhere in the world. We have heard about other parts of the UK where use of those technologies can be achieved. Carol Mochan: As I always do, I am enjoying Paul Sweeney’s speech. Do we need to build confidence among our patient base, particularly in primary care, about use of technology? Would that be an advantage for the practitioners, as well?”
“I have heard from constituents about similar situations, in which not getting people to hospital in time and not getting rapid emergency treatment has often led to lifelong disabilities when conditions were not dealt with quickly. Time is of the essence: ultimately, that is what we are talking about when it comes to technology. Equipping our clinicians—the people on the front line of our NHS—to act more rapidly, more accurately and more effectively to treat our population will, I hope, get better outcomes for everyone and add to our national prosperity. That carries over from acute hospitals into the home setting. Hospital at home has been mentioned, as have housing associations. We need to ensure that such adaptations are carried through to the primary care system. Many GPs say that they are overwhelmed.”
“As many members mentioned in their speeches, we have a real problem with taking companies that have fantastic potential, and keeping them anchored and owned in Scotland, and achieving benefits in concert with the national health service. I earlier mentioned Touch Bionics, which was a spin-out from the NHS that was sold to an Icelandic company in 2016. Many members have touched on the opportunities to harness technology across our national healthcare system, and not just in hospitals. On the critical point that time is the currency of healthcare, Mr FitzPatrick told a touching story about his father’s experience of having a stroke.”
“However, he said, “it was the engineers who made it happen”, and “As usual the medics tried to claim more credit than their due share” for the invention, and that, “through our seeming national incompetence at exploiting our own inventions, we lost out to the Americans and” Japanese, “and ultrasound machines are now only made abroad and imported back” into Scotland. We see that happening with Optos, which was another fantastic innovation company, based in Dunfermline, that was sold to Nikon in 2015. Douglas Anderson—who started that amazing company, which produced ultra-wide-field retinal imaging systems—made a great invention, but why could we not scale it in Scotland?”
“In 2014, I was at a dinner to celebrate the inductees to the Scottish Engineering hall of fame. The late Tom Brown was being inducted. He had been working in Glasgow for Kelvin and Hughes Ltd, mainly in industrial radiography, and had teamed up with colleagues who were clinicians to develop the first diagnostic ultrasound machine. In his acceptance speech, he made the point that, although “It wasn’t an easy birth, nor one that was recognised at the time for the impact it would have on diagnostic medicine in general, and mothers and babies in particular ... it was the ‘little acorn’ out of which would grow the great oak” of that global advancement.”
“The development of CT scanners for the world is a great medical achievement, but the catch is that, despite Britain and Scotland having such great technologies, inventors, universities and creative outpourings—often because working- class people have been able to access education and improvement in a way that has not been achieved in other countries—we seem not to have a knack for turning them into industrial benefit for our society and our country. To return to my point about EMI, I note that that company has since been broken up. It is now owned by American and German companies, and most of the CT scanners in the world are made by American and German companies, so Britain does not benefit from that technology. Similarly, diagnostic ultrasound was developed in Glasgow.”
“Working in concert with the NHS through the 1970s, Godfrey Hounsfield, who ran EMI’s laboratories, used proceeds from the Beatles’ record sales, along with a Department of Health and Social Security grant, to develop what was then known as the EMI scanner. He went on to win a Nobel prize. Not many people realise that the Beatles are indirectly responsible for his winning a Nobel prize for a global medical innovation that has saved millions of lives.”
“Other countries have done so in the past, and we could learn from what other countries are achieving, particularly in creating national champions who can drive forward rapid advancement in healthcare technology. Just last year, I was walking through Liverpool and saw the statue of Brian Epstein, the fifth Beatle, and I thought about what that represented. The Beatles were a great cultural achievement for the UK, but inadvertently, they gave birth to one of the greatest healthcare inventions of all time. What links the Beatles to the computed tomography scanner is EMI, which ran not only the EMI Records label but a massive medical technology research company as part of the industry that it developed.”
“If I have a specific ask, it is that women benefit from being included from the very start, because when we design healthcare solutions for everyone, we will build a healthier and stronger Scotland for all. 16:32 Paul Sweeney: It has been a really interesting and insightful debate. There has been a degree of unity across the Parliament this afternoon on the opportunity for Scotland to harness its great strengths in healthcare—not just to advance our country’s performance, but to make a global contribution to the condition of mankind. As a country, we can all aspire to achievement of that. We have already achieved so much, but we could do so much more by harnessing the unique opportunity that the national health service gives us—internationally, it is a unique model—to rapidly achieve triple-helix effectiveness.”
“That means increasing their representation in clinical trials, ensuring that female-specific conditions receive the attention that they deserve and integrating women-focused research into every stage of healthcare innovation. Let us not forget the economic case. Investment in innovation is not just about better health outcomes. It is also about future proofing the NHS workforce by reducing the strain on hospitals and freeing up staff to focus on complex cases. Innovation helps to make our healthcare system more sustainable overall. Scotland is already advancing rapidly in health innovation. Now, while pushing forward, we must ensure that advancements reach the people who need them most.”
“Remote monitoring services, such as the connect me programme, allow women to track their blood pressure and symptoms from home, thereby cutting down on unnecessary appointments and ensuring that intervention happens sooner, not later. This is where I come on to the solution that I spoke about. Technology alone will not solve everything; rather, it has to be embedded in a system that actively includes women in its design. Women’s symptoms do not always fit the textbook definitions for common conditions, which has real- world consequences, from delayed diagnosis to treatments that do not fully meet women’s needs. We must ensure that innovation is developed with women in mind from the start—they must not be an afterthought.”
“It was ovarian cancer. Sandesh Gulhane: I apologise—we spoke to people from Target Ovarian Cancer. We have also had people come to talk to us about how women are struggling to get their mastectomy operations done. When it comes to women’s health, especially in the AI and technology fields, how can we ensure that women get the same level of treatment as men? Karen Adam: I will come on to that later in my speech. That is why I chose this specific topic. I will get to it after a couple more paragraphs. Technology can now track menstrual cycles, which is flagging early signs of conditions such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome. We are already spotting heart disease and cancer earlier than we were previously.”
“It is part of the Scottish Parliament Official Report archive and has been sent for legal deposit. Published in Edinburgh by the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, EH99 1SP All documents are available on the Scottish Parliament website at: www.parliament.scot Information on non-endorsed print suppliers is available here: www.parliament.scot/documents For information on the Scottish Parliament contact Public Information on: Telephone: 0131 348 5000 Textphone: 0800 092 7100 Email: sp.info@parliament.scot”
“We are taking the actions that I have referred to because we recognise the need to raise awareness and further integrate services to prevent, detect and manage conditions such as ARBD. However, we need to go further. Working with partners on the implementation of the core mental health standards, the established protocol on treatment for dual diagnosis, the population health framework, support for better integration through work on the NCS and the delivery of our substance use national mission, I believe that we will be able to drive a more holistic approach to support for people who are living with or impacted by ARBD. The Deputy Presiding Officer: That concludes the debate. Meeting closed at 18:26. This is the final edition of the Official Report for this meeting.”
“We have committed to publish a service specification for substance use treatments and support services, which will set out what is required locally to deliver on the rights that are set out in the charter. We have also committed to follow that with service standards that will help to improve support for conditions such as ARBD. The introduction of medication assisted treatment standards is already showing some positive change, and similar standards for alcohol services will help to drive improvement there, too. We have worked with partners to deliver successful public health campaigns on substance use stigma and on naloxone to reduce the risk of death from drug overdose. We will consider the merits of similar campaigns on ARBD, and I would be happy to meet Carol Mochan to discuss that further.”
“The National Care Service (Scotland) Bill seeks to drive further consistency across services. Work on the bill has helped to prepare strategies for better integration by helping areas to take more holistic approaches, as both Foysol Choudhury and Alexander Stewart noted. For example, a new support and improvement framework, improved health and social care standards and a charter of rights will help to deliver the better integration that is necessary to improve support for conditions such as ARBD. In relation to alcohol policy, some of those strategies are already being delivered through our national mission. A charter of rights on substance use, which was developed by our national collaborative of people with lived and living experience, was published in December 2024.”
“Public Health Scotland has made recommendations on revitalising alcohol brief interventions, which have helped to deliver prevention messaging, raised awareness and helped with referrals to specialist support. To ensure that people with co-occurring mental health and substance use conditions have access to high-quality, person-centred care via joined-up services, in 2023, we published mental health core standards, which promote equality and human rights and help individuals, families and carers to understand what to expect from services. They also aim to eliminate stigma—members have raised that issue today—and discrimination in treatment for those with a dual diagnosis. The need for services to integrate was one of the drivers of the creation of the integration authorities.”
“The work on FASD includes clear messaging from the chief medical officer on alcohol consumption during pregnancy, which is included in the “Ready Steady Baby!” guide and on the NHS Inform website. Education and training on FASD, as well as support for families and individuals, are now more available through our work with the Adoption UK FASD hub, which supports individuals and families, including children and young people. The University of Edinburgh is delivering training to raise awareness among professionals. There is also support for the Aberlour Child Care Trust, which encourages mothers to regain their lives and create the best possible future for themselves and their young children.”
“As Ms Mochan will be aware, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care has announced the commissioning of Public Health Scotland to carry out a review of the evidence for the range of options that are available to the Scottish Government in relation to alcohol marketing under devolved powers. Like Elena Whitham, I recognise the importance of cross-portfolio working and that the issue is wider than public health. Last week, I met Ms Todd and Ms Don-Innes to discuss early childhood development. One area that we covered was our commitment to increase awareness of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, which is an issue that Rona Mackay raised. Supporting improved diagnosis is part of helping to deliver on our key priority to eliminate child poverty.”
“This Parliament has supported the decision to continue minimum unit pricing and to increase the minimum price from 50p to 65p per unit. Public Health Scotland’s evaluation of MUP estimated that it has saved hundreds of lives and reduced alcohol-specific hospital admissions. The increase in the minimum unit price is expected to lead to further positive impacts. However, it is not a magic bullet. The Scottish Government and its partners are developing a population health framework, which will be published in spring. The framework will build on our preventative public health policy of recent years, with actions that seek to tackle the root causes of ill health. It is clear that alcohol harms fall unequally, and targeting the causes of ill health and health inequalities is vital to reducing alcohol harm.”
“It estimated that the condition impacts around 1.5 per cent of Scotland’s population and 30 per cent of dependent drinkers. We also know that it disproportionately affects people in our less well-off communities. The guide notes that holistic support will help to improve prevention, detection and management. I am pleased that the guide will be supplemented by the United Kingdom’s first alcohol treatment guidance for clinicians, which the UK Government will publish soon. The guidance will cover ARBD-related clinical requirements in diagnosing and treating the condition, which Carol Mochan raised as an issue, and is being supported by a UK-wide expert group, which included Scottish representatives. A Scottish response was provided to the public consultation, and we anticipate publication in spring 2025. ARBD is preventable.”
“I saw that in action when I recently attended the official opening of the Scottish Government-funded expansion to the Maxie Richards Foundation residential rehab in Tighnabruaich. Such services—members mentioned services in other areas—play a crucial role in supporting individuals to reduce harms before they reach the level of ARBD. Our investment of up to £38 million to add residential rehab capacity is a marker of the actions that this Government is taking to reduce alcohol harms as part of our national mission. A number of members mentioned Penumbra in Edinburgh, on which I understand that a decision will be made imminently. The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland published a guide on ARBD for professionals in 2019.”
“I, too, thank Carol Mochan for securing this debate on alcohol-related brain damage. I support her motion. Like Elena Whitham, I thank everyone who supports people with ARBD. There is still a lot to do to improve lives and reduce harms caused by alcohol. ARBD can be underrecognised as a significant cause of physical, psychological and social impacts. I hope that members’ contributions to the debate will help to raise awareness of the condition and the need for closer working between services. The provision of the support that people who are affected by ARBD require is shared across healthcare, social care, mental health, primary care and alcohol treatment services, including rehabilitation. The person who is affected must be at the centre of the support pathway across services.”
“However, according to Public Health Scotland, as of December 2024, only 72.1 per cent of cancer patients, including those with suspected cervical cancer, started treatment within that timeframe. Can the minister outline the urgent measures that are being taken to ensure that 95 per cent of patients with suspected cervical cancer can begin life-saving treatment within the 62-day target? Jenni Minto: I re-emphasise the investment that the Scottish Government is putting in to reduce waiting times and improve diagnosis. We have been speaking directly with the two laboratories that check for diagnosis. I am very much looking forward to meeting Annie Wells and the other Opposition spokespeople for women’s health, alongside Professor Anna Glasier, at the end of April, when we can discuss the matter further.”
“Public Health Scotland expects to publish cervical screening statistics for the years 2022-23 and 2023-24 this summer. Following the publication of the 2021-22 statistics on cervical screening, the cervical screening programme board agreed the introduction of new key performance indicators to better align with the Healthcare Improvement Scotland cervical screening standards, and Public Health Scotland has been working with screening organisations to implement that transition. We welcome the new reports and key performance indicators as they will better support our efforts to increase the uptake and reach of the cervical screening programme. Annie Wells: The Scottish Government set the 62-day standard to ensure that 95 per cent of patients who are urgently referred with suspected cancer would begin their treatment within 62 days.”
“There will be a brief pause before the next item of business to allow front-bench members to change positions. The Promise (Third Oversight Board Report)”
“Listening to those who are living with such conditions is key, and my officials are doing that as part of their on-going work to determine how to allocate the additional £4.5 million that has been announced in the draft budget to deliver new specialist support services across the country for long Covid, ME, chronic fatigue and other similar conditions. Allocation of that resource is subject to the passage of the budget bill, and we continue to ask the Parliament to unite behind the budget so that the funding reaches the people who need it most. The Deputy Presiding Officer: I appreciate that there is a lot of interest in asking supplementaries, but unfortunately we have already gone beyond the allocated time and we need to move on. That concludes portfolio questions.”
“I thank the minister for her recent response to my letter, but I am advised by Mrs McMullen that there have been no major improvements in Jonathan’s case and that persistent symptoms continue to significantly affect both him and his family. The £4.5 million that is contained in the draft budget for specialist support for long Covid is very welcome, but can the minister outline how she thinks that it can be used by health boards to bring tangible benefits to Jonathan and others who are in his situation? Jenni Minto: I am very sorry to hear of the difficulties that Jonathan and his family continue to experience. I absolutely recognise the role that Mr MacGregor has played in advocating on their behalf.”
“The 2025-26 budget includes new investment of £4.5 million to deliver new specialist support across the country for long Covid, ME, chronic fatigue and other similar conditions. Additionally, we have commissioned NHS National Services Scotland to operate a long Covid strategic network, which is delivering a programme of virtual educational sessions that are targeted at general practitioners working in Scotland. Those sessions will look at topics including speech and language issues and vocational rehabilitation. Fulton MacGregor: I know that the minister is aware of my constituent Tracy McMullen and the healthcare support provided to her son Jonathan, who is suffering from long Covid.”
“I take on board the points that Mr Doris has made, and I know that he has met with the cabinet secretary, who would be happy—as would I—to meet with him again. I am content to write to the NSC to understand the timeline for when its decisions will be made, which I appreciate is cold comfort to families who are already in this situation. I can confirm that all four UK chief medical officers are aware of the NSC’s plans and rationale for the review. I emphasise again that we are moving towards a way forward for implementation if the NSC makes that determination.”
“Delayed diagnosis and treatment drastically reduce the beneficial impact of treatment. Consequently, Grace will now have substantial lifelong care needs. It did not have to be that way. The cabinet secretary previously told me that the focus is to plan for SMA screening so that we can act when the time is right. Given that the benefits of screening for SMA are both transformational and crystal clear, and that it appears to be a case of when and not if that will happen—despite the sluggish pace of the UK National Screening Committee, which I am dissatisfied with—when can we just get on with screening and change the lives of babies like my constituent young Grace? Jenni Minto: My heart goes out to Baby Grace and her family, and to other families in a similar situation. I absolutely understand the benefits of early diagnosis.”
“Scotland’s screening policy relies on recommendations made by the UK National Screening Committee, an independent scientific body that provides advice on screening policy to all four United Kingdom nations. To date, the National Screening Committee has not recommended spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA, screening through the existing blood spot test. However, I am aware that the committee is currently considering the matter. I hope that Mr Doris can rest assured that we are following developments closely, and that we, along with the organisations that are responsible for screening, are already considering how to implement SMA screening as quickly and effectively as possible should a recommendation be made. Bob Doris: Had my constituent, Baby Grace, been screened for SMA at birth, early treatment would have been transformational.”
“As a result of the meeting that I had with her and Ms White, we wrote to the UK Government to see whether we could extend the trials. I have had a response back, which I believe that I shared with Ms McNeill. It is an area that I am keeping a close eye on and I will continue to have communications with our chief pharmaceutical officer. Spinal Muscular Atrophy Screening 3.”