Image source, NHS Tayside

Board member Trudy McLeay has been appointed as the new Non-executive Whistleblowing Champion for NHS Tayside.

It follows former champion Munwar Hussain standing down earlier this month, who claimed his concerns were not being taken serious.

Ms McLeay joined as a non-executive board member earlier this year, having previously worked as a radiographer.

She will be expected to provide NHS Tayside with an additional level of scrutiny on all reported concerns of patient safety and malpractice, challenging on the progress and handling of cases.

Image source, bbc

Ms Freeman explains a a new clinical management led system has been put in place.

Clinical leaders are supported by dedicated operational managers, which puts the focus on improving patient care, she says.

The health secretary says the new leadership team has been at the forefront of the board's response to the mental health inquiry into NHS Tayside.

Ms Freeman highlights recent resignations on the board and explains she is aware of other board members considering their position.

She explains she is in regular contact with the chair of the board and weclomes the appointment of a new whistleblowing champion.

Ms Freeman concludes saying she has agreed to additonal funding for NHS Tayside.

According to The Courier..., external

"Five members of Tayside’s health board have stepped down within three months, it has emerged.

"All of those departures involve non-executive personnel, who are appointed by the Scottish Government to hold NHS bosses to account.

"The Health Secretary is making a ministerial statement to the Scottish Parliament on Thursday following the resignation of whistleblowing champion Munwar Hussain, who quit claiming major concerns he had raised were not being taken seriously.

"NHS Tayside, which says the departures will not prevent “effective corporate governance”, has been lurching between financial crises since it emerged in April that members suspended their own rules to sanction the use of public donations to pay for IT systems."

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman informs the parliament that this is an update on the governance of NHS Tayside following changes made earlier this year.

The chair and chief executive have said the deep-seated structural and cultural matters need to be addressed if reform is to occur, Ms Freeman states.

Five priority areas for the board now are:

• providing clear direciton
• supporting operational leadership
• driving service change
• improve financial and service performance
• ensuring effective regulation and compliance

An independence governance review has been commissioned, she announces.

Image source, NHS TAYSIDE

In April we reported a new chairman and chief executive had been appointed to run NHS Tayside after the health board was put in "special measures" by the government.

Health Secretary Shona Robison took the drastic step after saying she was not confident the leadership was capable of managing its own finances.

She said NHS Tayside chairman Prof John Connell's resignation as a result of her move was the "right decision".

It was later announced that the board's chief executive had also been replaced.

Ms Robison had earlier described Lesley McLay's position as "untenable" as further financial concerns were raised.

Read more here.

Image source, bbc

Health Secretary Jeanee Freeman will now give a ministerial statement on the NHS Tayside board.

Image source, bbc

Resuming at 2:30pm, there will be a ministerial statement on NHS Tayside's board, following recent difficulties.

The rest of the afternoon will be given over to debate on the progress on violence reduction in Scotland.

Image source, bbc

Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse agrees a strong decisive message must be sent to the marine and tidal sector, insisting the Scottish government has provided strong support to the industry.

Perhaps support from elsewhere has not been as robust, he posits.

He insists there is potential for the industry to contibute to Scotland's economic growth.

The energy minister criticises the UK government decision to remove the ring-fense subsidy from marine engery.

He tells the chamber the Marine Energy Group must ensure the sector speaks with one voice.

We are all disappointed the Saltire Prize has not yet been awarded, the minister says.

A flagship tidal energy turbine has generated more electricity in its first year than Scotland's entire wave and tidal sector produced before it.

The Scotrenewables SR2000, with its 2MW turbine, was installed in the sea off Orkney in 2017.

It has now generated three gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity from near continuous operation, its owners said.

It is estimated the seas around the UK could one day be capable of generating 20% of electricity needs.

Green MSP Mark Ruskell says subsidy regimes have failed to support our future energy needs.

The sector struggles to get to commercialisation because small projects struggle to attract investment, he explains.

But the Green MSP adds that these small projects are required to prove the tech works, leading to a vicious cycle.

Mr Ruskell says the UK government must be prepared to work with the Scottish government and industry to reap the many benefits of the sector.

Image source, bbc

Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald praises Mr McArthur for his persistence on the issue of marine energy and also the persistence of those working in the sector itself.

Mr Macdonald points out Scottish Renewables says more devices have been developed in the Highlands and Islands than in the rest of the world put together.

He points out the very success in offshore wind poses a challenge to the wave and tidal sector.

Capital is needed now for the tidal sector, Mr Macdonald tells the chamber.

Image source, Getty Images

A decade ago, a wave of excitement swept over the renewables industry as the Scottish government announced a £10m prize for innovation in marine energy technology.

The Saltire Prize was billed as the world's largest award of its kind.

Its aim was to accelerate the commercial development of wave and tidal energy technology.

But 10 years on, the deadline for the prize has come and gone - and no-one has collected.

That came as no surprise when the competition officially ended last summer.

As far back as late 2015, the Scottish government acknowledged the "likelihood that...it cannot be won", after firms taking part found they could not meet the criteria.

Read more.

Tory MSP Alexander Burnett says offshore developments have an important role to play in diversifying the energy mix and on decarbonisation.

The Scottish Conservatives are clear that diversifying this mix must be evidence-based, Mr Burnett insists.

Since 2010, the UK government has contributed over £90m towards wave and tidal technology, he states.

Mr Burnett critcises the fact the Scottish government has not been able to award to Saltire Prize.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said wave and tidal energy has taken "major steps forward" despite a £10m prize for innovation never being awarded.

The Saltire Prize was launched by Alex Salmond in 2008 to push marine energy towards commercial success.

A decade later, two major competitors have gone bust and none has managed to fulfil the prize's criteria.

The first minister said the path to commercialisation was longer and more difficult than initially anticipated.

Read more.