Skye MSP Kate Forbes has welcomed a cross-party Holyrood committee’s decision to keep a long-running petition on the controversial re-design of healthcare services in Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross open. Last week the Scottish Parliament’s Public Petitions Committee decided it would return to the matter at a future date, pending the implementation of Sir Lewis Ritchie’s recent report into healthcare provision in the north of Skye.
The Holyrood petition from SOS Skye, which was first heard in 2015, calls for an Independent Scrutiny Panel (ISP) to be established to examine NHS Highland’s major service change proposals in the region.
Last week’s committee meeting was the tenth time the petition had been discussed by MSPs.