To ask the First Minister when the Cabinet will next meet. (S6F-03599)

The Cabinet will next meet on Tuesday.

Rural healthcare is a key priority for the Scottish Liberal Democrats. The Government listened to some of our demands by including in the draft budget yesterday provisions for a long-overdue replacement for the Belford hospital in Fort William. Now, we need shovels in the ground. However, the Government stopped short of replacing the Gilbert Bain hospital in Lerwick or ensuring 24/7 access to emergency care at Portree hospital.

I will remind the First Minister about what is going on in the far north. Mothers are forced to travel 100 miles through snow and ice to give birth in Inverness. An investigation by the Scottish Human Rights Commission received testimony that the situation was “barbaric”. Women have been left terrified by four-hour drives in the dark, with deer on the road. Some women have even lost their fertility because of delays in accessing Raigmore hospital in emergencies. No wonder people are moving away or choosing not to have any more children.

Liberal Democrats have repeatedly asked for midwife-led maternity care in the far north. What is the First Minister going to do about it? Those mums are still in danger.

Mr Cole-Hamilton has raised a number of issues with us, both in our discussions and in the points that he has put to me today. We have set out in the budget a number of steps that will address some of the issues with access to general practice services. We will look further at the issues relating to Portree that Mr Cole-Hamilton mentioned. I am glad that we have made progress on the Belford hospital, and my colleague the Deputy First Minister is delighted with that announcement, too.

The Caithness situation is slightly different, because it is informed by assessments of patient safety, given the volume of maternity cases that can be dealt with at Caithness general hospital. It is a question not of investment but of the clinical safety of the service that is involved. I totally understand the challenges and difficulties with that journey that Mr Cole-Hamilton narrated to me—it is a long and difficult journey. However, when ministers receive advice on clinical safety, we have to have very strong reasons for not following that advice.

I will happily engage with Mr Cole-Hamilton and his colleagues, as will the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, on this important question to try to address the concerns that I know exist in Caithness about that issue and to find a way of reassuring the individuals on whose behalf Mr Cole-Hamilton asked the question.