11. To ask the Scottish Executive what recent discussions it has had with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde regarding future funding and co-operation with the St Margaret of Scotland Hospice. (S3O-13357)

The chair of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is to meet the chair of St Margaret of Scotland Hospice tomorrow. I have asked the board to provide me with a report immediately following that meeting and I hope for a positive outcome.

Has the cabinet secretary given any indications to the chair of Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board about what she would like to come out of tomorrow’s meeting? We have waited a long time to get that meeting up and running. Does she want to give a sense to the chair of that board of the sort of outcome that she is looking for on how the board should conduct itself and take the discussions forward?

It would not be right or appropriate for me to pre-empt a two-way discussion between the health board and the hospice board tomorrow but, as I said when I last spoke about the issue in the chamber, the situation has changed fundamentally. The developments—or the lack of developments—at Blawarthill open the way for a very open discussion between the parties. The health board must do what is right for the people whom it serves and what is right to give certainty about the situation to patients, older people, their families, staff and the providers of care. I hope that we will get a positive outcome from tomorrow’s meeting. As I said, I have asked for a report on it tomorrow and I look forward to receiving that.

Question 12 was not lodged.