On Saturday evening, I was truly shocked by the news that Alex Salmond had sadly passed away.

Firstly, my thoughts and condolences go to Alex’s wife Moira, his family and friends.

Alex was a formidable politician and is the reason many people moved over to the cause of independence for our nation. As someone who worked for the SNP in Westminster when he was the group and party leader, I also saw how Alex changed the party and the political landscape of Scotland and even the UK.

Whenever you spoke with Alex, his firm, passionate belief in the future of Scotland running its own affairs was immediately clear and became even more evident when he became First Minister.

Scottish politics moved up the agenda for many, and piqued national and international interest, and, as others have stated, he took the SNP from the fringes of Scottish and UK politics into government and led Scotland so close to independence.

The cause of independence is far stronger because of Alex and there are many, many people locally who share the belief that Scotland’s best days are ahead with independence. I have long since held that view, and will never change from it.

Next, I want to highlight the results of my two latest Freedom of Information (FOI) requests regarding the number of local people accessing the health board’s GP Out of Hours service.

In July, 594 patients residing at an Inverclyde postcode accessed the service, half of whom - 297 patients - did so from the comfort of their homes by being given telephone or video appointments.

The figures for August reflect this, with 605 local patients accessing the service and 310 of those being given a video or telephone consultation.

These virtual appointments are hugely welcome as they enable patients to get assessed and receive medical advice quicker, whilst also preventing them from having to travel to an in-person appointment either locally or outside the area – freeing up these appointments for those who need them most.

Of those who were given an in-person appointment in July, more than one in four (28 per cent) were seen at the IRH.

That same month, 31 patients travelled to an appointment using the health board’s free Patient Transport Service and 73 patients were given a home visit.

In August, 24 per cent of patients with an in-person appointment were seen at the IRH; 23 patients benefitted from patient transport, and 85 patients received home visits. 

For both July and August, 120 patients with an Inverclyde address received an appointment outwith Inverclyde.

The fact that these figures are consistent suggests that the newly designed GPOOH service is being utilised by local people, and is working for patients, despite the political ploys at the time.