Holyrood health committee ‘will call more patients and frontline staff’ as witnesses

The Scottish Parliament’s health and sport committee will hear from more patients and frontline staff when holding investigations and scrutinising legislation, its new convener has said.

Scottish Labour MSP Neil Findlay, appointed as convener earlier this month, also said he would like the committee to be “robust” in examining NHS funding.

Managers and civil servants could not provide the same level of perspective, he suggested.

The committee considered its work programme for after the summer recess in private this week.

Speaking during a recent Holyrood round table event, Findlay said:

“The way I would like the health committee to operate is to hear much more from people on the frontline and patients. That is invaluable. We hear from patients and people, as it were, at the chalk face rather than just managers and civil servants, and I hope to continue that.”

The Lothians MSP also said he expected the committee to examine levels of public funding for the NHS.

“There's no money tree. We either collectively pay for that or we don't. I hope that the health committee will be very robust in saying if we want a health service people value and is at the top of its game then we have to pay for it,” he said.