To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of concerns raised regarding staffing, training and planning issues for paediatric services in the West of Scotland.

To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to address staffing pressures facing paediatric services in the West of Scotland.

The provision of paediatric medical services is one of the priority issues under consideration as part of a national, partnership-based project to bring medical workforce supply and demand into longer term sustainable balance, and to reduce reliance on trainee doctors for the delivery of frontline services. That project will result in future services being delivered predominately by trained doctors.

Managing that transition is challenging and concerns have been raised by the west of Scotland in relation to the number of medical paediatric specialty trainees. These concerns have been progressed through the National Reshaping the Medical Workforce Project Board, and its working group, which provides governance for the process. After extensive consideration of all the issues, advice was provided to the concerned parties about future planning of paediatric specialty trainees and these will be taken forward by the West Region Medical Workforce Group.