Seòmar agus comataidhean

Oh! I thought that I had been dismissed.

Recently, it was reported that NatureScot issued 46,985 licences over five years to authorise the culling of native wild species, including thousands of geese, ravens and iconic mountain hare. Does the First Minister share the concerns of animal welfare organisations—and me—about the size of that number? I declare an interest as the convener of the cross-party group on animal welfare.

I put it on record that I fully support the Scottish Government in helping folk to cope with the UK cost of living crisis by negotiating those settlements within its fixed budget. However, the Scottish Government has no control over inflation, which is running at 8 per cent. Is it not crystal clear that the constraints of devolution are there for all to see—causing us to eat into other budgets to the amount that the cabinet secretary just disclosed—and that we need to be independent of this failing UK sooner rather than later?

To ask the Scottish Government what impact recent public sector pay settlements are having on the provision of services. (S6O-02465)

Presiding Officer, you will be delighted to learn that I am not going to mention the words “point of order.”

It is a privilege to lead this debate, and I thank all members who signed the motion to allow it to proceed.

Hospital is a scary enough place for adults, and more so for children. For their parents and carers, it can be very stressful and, indeed, upsetting. The philosophy behind ambulatory paediatrics—which is a bit of a mouthful—is that children should not be admitted to hospital unless it is absolutely necessary to do so and that, as far as possible, care should be arranged in their own homes. I might add that that is perhaps especially important in rural areas, with long distances to hospitals—whether local or outwith the area—and with the issues of remoteness and limited public transport. I have no doubt that the ambulatory paediatrics process helps with the entire experience, including children’s treatment and healing and recovery process. Indeed, on seeing the success of the paediatric ambulatory units, adult services have since built similar models. So, tonight, I am pleased to congratulate NHS Borders paediatric ambulatory care unit, which has recently celebrated its 20th anniversary.

The unit is based at Borders general hospital—known locally as the BGH—in Melrose, and I understand that the ambulatory care unit is a fundamental part of wider innovation in children’s healthcare at NHS Borders, which also includes social care, with a focus on keeping children at home and, as I say, avoiding them having to spend time in hospital where possible.

As I stated, the unit was set up on 20 May 2003 to allow the children to receive treatment and return home rather than have to be admitted to a ward. Over the past 20 years, thousands of children have attended the unit to have a range of assessments, procedures, investigations and treatments.

Located in ward 15 of the BGH, the unit—named “only for the day”—was set up to provide day care for children who require such things as blood tests, medical assessments and allergy testing. Before the unit opened, those children would have gone to the Noah’s ark ward and been treated alongside children who had been admitted to ward as in-patients. The unit also runs BCG immunisation clinics.

Importantly, the service separates in-patient and out-patient services. The only for the day ward also provides a friendly, relaxed environment for the children. The nurses can dedicate their time to caring for them and can build up relationships with the children and their families—again, that all helps the healing process. Of course, that means that there is less time waiting for treatment and less anxiety for everyone.

The success of the unit is a credit to the paediatric nursing team’s commitment, quality of care and innovation in developing the service and contributing to a better experience for children and families who have been able to avoid being admitted to hospital, thanks to the unit. Indeed, former patients and parents have shared their thanks for the unit, including one mum whose daughter was the first child diagnosed with a nut allergy at the unit and who has just celebrated her 24th birthday. As I have said, adult services have built in similar models because of the success of the unit.

I want to end on a quote from Dr Andrew Duncan, consultant paediatrician and associate director of medical education at NHS Borders. He said:

“Over the past 20 years, the backbone of the service has been our amazing paediatric nursing team. They have shown huge amounts of flexibility and imagination in development of the service.

New skills have been developed in intervention, blood tests, psychological support and undertaking specific procedures such as specialist immunisations and accessing medical devices. This has meant many children have been able to have treatment locally, rather than travelling outwith the Borders. We know staying at home makes a huge difference to the lives of children and families and we are proud to have provided this service for the past 20 years.”

I once again congratulate everyone on the team, NHS Borders and the BGH on the service, and I look forward to hearing contributions from other members to see whether the good practice is reflected in other parts of Scotland.

On a point of order, Presiding Officer. I seek your guidance. Is it not important that a member who takes part in the debate speaks to the motion that is before the chamber and does not deviate so far that they are not actually speaking to the motion?

It is unfortunate that you are taking this opportunity to attack the health service—

It is unfortunate that the member is taking this opportunity to attack the health service rather than, just for once, congratulating the unit at the BGH on something that it is delivering. You were doing so well until then, but you have disappointed me entirely.

I congratulate Clare Adamson on securing the debate and on her long-standing commitment to the issue.

In my constituency, we have many inland waterways, which historically powered local industries. In the Borders, the River Tweed and Gala Water turned the looms in the knitting and weaving sheds; in Penicuik, the River Esk powered the paper mill; and the reservoirs in the Pentlands keep the water on tap in the city.

Those industries are long gone, but the rivers and waterways flow on, put to other uses, often leisure. However, they are not always benign and are often more lethal in the sleepy summer months. Like reservoirs, the river waters can be bitterly cold when the sun blazes on.

Four people died from accidents in water in the Scottish Borders in 2021, including 15-year-old Ellice Murray from Kelso, who died while kayaking with her dad and brother in the River Tweed, and 19-year-old Jack Reid, who died after getting into difficulty in the River Tweed near Innerleithen.

No water fatalities were reported in 2022 in the Scottish Borders. Following the tragic deaths in 2021, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service ran a water safety initiative centred around the River Tweed to educate the public. Flyers giving advice on water safety were posted at more than 40 locally known areas for swimming and other water-based activities. A water safety event was held at the River Tweed in Kelso, where water rescue teams performed live rescue scenarios in front of the public, highlighting the importance of their actions should they get into difficulty in the water and, in addition, what they can do to help others, including how to deploy lifebelts.

Another aid is learning to swim and to swim safely. I am pleased to say that the new Galashiels academy will have a swimming pool, as will the replacement Beeslack secondary school in Penicuik. Both Peebles and Penicuik high schools already have access to swimming pools nearby.

However, learning to swim is only one of the safety measures to take for prevention. As I have indicated, inland waters in particular can be pretty risky. I speak from experience, as I had to instil water safety into my two young sons at the earliest of ages. We lived in a cottage in Minnigaff, in Galloway, where the sunny back garden ran down to meet two rivers: the Penkiln and, beyond that, the River Cree. Beyond that was the lade that had powered a mill.

I knew that to forbid my sons from going near the rivers would make them even more attractive, so, day in, day out, we walked along the banks with Roostie, our Irish setter, to observe the rivers in their seasonal moods. With their friends, they would play in the Penkiln in the summer holidays, building a dam to make a pool large enough to swim in. I dipped my toe in, so I can testify that the water was icy cold—incidentally, good for cooling an evening libation of chardonnay. The boys were immune to the temperature. Over the summer months, the river would run so low that the dorsal fins of the trout would rise above the water mark.

So it was, on a hot summer’s day while I was pottering about in the kitchen, that Angus, my eldest son, came running in to tell me that the Penkiln was in spate. I looked down the garden, but, because of the banking, I could not see the river below, and I quickly dismissed what he had said. Above, the sky was a blistering blue, with not a cloud to be seen. However, something niggled me, so I changed tack, took to my heels and ran down the garden and, sure enough, although the Cree beyond was hardly moving save for the floating river weeds, the Penkiln was a muddy torrent. A sudden and distant thunderstorm in the hills was all it took to sweep away their dam and tear lumps out of the river bank. Any child who was unaware of the things of the river could have been caught up in it, with little chance of survival. I hope that, in part, it was my lessons that paid off.

This is not a party-political point, because it relates to a Tory-led council in the Borders and a Scottish National Party-led council in Midlothian. As I said in my speech, I commend both of those councils for making pools an integral part when they commission new schools and replacements, if there is not one there already.

What about the IMA and the sale of snares?