Current Petitions

Thanks very much, convener. I sometimes feel as though I am an honorary member of the committee. You have been patient, although I would say that your patience has paid off. You have been extremely helpful in assisting with some of the issues for St Margaret’s.I should cut to the chase. Members probably know that discussions have been taking place, but the issue of baseline funding has still not been dealt with. In effect, St Margaret’s does not receive its fair share, compared with other hospices, for specialist palliative care. For instance, funding per bed at St Margaret’s is the lowest for any hospice, at £38,000, with the nearest to that being £54,000 per bed and the highest or furthest away figure being £130,000 per bed. That significant disparity is the crux of the argument. It is about fairness in the way in which St Margaret’s is treated.I do not simply ask the committee to continue the petition; I ask you to take positive action by writing to the Government and Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board to ascertain why the funding stream for St Margaret’s is so low. Yet again, I seek assistance from the committee in finding answers to the problem.I know that the committee might be of the opinion that this is a local matter, but although it concerns a local hospice, it is a national issue because it relates to the way in which the funding is divvied up. If nothing else, the committee could be productive by ensuring that we are provided with the answer to the fundamental question, which, despite everything that has happened, we still do not have the answer to: why is there such an enormous disparity in the funding, which impacts on St Margaret’s?15:00

The fact that St Margaret’s receives £38,000 per bed whereas another hospice receives £130,000 per bed certainly raises questions that it is reasonable for the committee to seek answers to. In the long term, the petition might be one that needs to be referred to the Health and Sport Committee, but I do not think that it would be unreasonable to ask the questions that the local member has suggested.

There would be some merit in asking the questions that the local member has recommended that we ask. It would be useful to continue the petition to get answers to those questions. As Joe FitzPatrick indicated, there is a clear disparity in the funding arrangements that seem to be in place for different hospices. As Nanette Milne will be aware, the committee has discussed St Margaret’s many times. We should make one more attempt to get the answer to the underlying question: why is there such a disparity between the payment per bed for St Margaret’s and the payment per bed not only for other hospices throughout Scotland, but for other hospices that come under the jurisdiction of Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board? We could certainly ask the Scottish Government and Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board that question.

No, I have not.

I should let the committee know that there have been on-going negotiations. I must be fair and say that some elements of the negotiations between the hospice and the health board have been positive. I would not like the committee to think that there has been a head-to-head between the health board and the hospice. From my perspective, this is a fundamental issue. We need to know the answers, as does the hospice.I did not want to intervene in the negotiations. The Public Petitions Committee is my forum—it is the place to which I think that I should come to seek assistance. I do not say this lightly: from the early days, the committee has definitely moved the issues relating to the hospice on in a very positive way, and I hope that it will again assist with the matter.