Health, Wellbeing and Sport
Good afternoon. The first item of business this afternoon is portfolio questions, on health, wellbeing and sport. So that we can get as many members in as possible, I would appreciate short and succinct questions, and answers to match.
Consultant Vacancies (Aberdeen Royal Infirmary)
To ask the Scottish Government what progress has been made in filling consultant vacancies at Aberdeen royal infirmary in the last 12 months. (S4O-05595)
Consultant vacancies in NHS Grampian decreased by 27.9 whole-time equivalent, or 41.5 per cent, between December 2014 and December 2015.
The Scottish Government increased NHS Grampian’s resource budget by 6.7 per cent to £830.1 million for 2015-16. The increase is above inflation and is the largest increase of any mainland board, the budget having increased by 4.6 per cent in 2014-15. The Scottish Government works closely with all boards to support their staff recruitment efforts.
I welcome the progress that has been made in filling consultant vacancies.
Does the cabinet secretary recognise that her Government’s apparent decision to back away from its commitment to a major trauma centre at Aberdeen royal infirmary is causing great concern among clinicians there? Will she undertake to consult and listen to the views of clinicians in Aberdeen about the potential impact of the decision on their ability to recruit and to maintain existing services?
There is no backing away from anything. Clinicians from all four proposed major trauma sites have been involved in the work of the national planning forum from the outset and continue to be involved. It is important that we try to reach a consensus among the clinical community, and I am optimistic that that will happen. We need to allow people to get on with the good work that they are undertaking, and I will keep a close eye on matters as they go forward.
Hospital Beds (Availability)
To ask the Scottish Government what average number and percentage of hospital beds was unavailable to new patients in 2015, and how this compared with the average number of bed-occupied days because of delayed discharges. (S4O-05596)
The official statistics show that just over 18,100 hospital beds in all specialties were occupied on average in the quarter ending September 2015. In that quarter, the average number of beds occupied because of delayed discharge was 1,570. The average number of beds occupied because of delayed discharge has reduced by more than 100 beds compared with the same period in 2014.
Tackling delayed discharge is one of this Government’s key priorities. Our most recent figures, which were published last week, show that significant progress has been achieved, with an 18 per cent reduction in delayed discharge in December 2015, compared with the previous year. That reflects the significant investment that we have made in tackling delayed discharge and improving the availability of social care, not least the additional £250 million that the Deputy First Minister announced as part of next year’s budget.
I welcome the fact that there is once again a downward trend. However, in July 2011, at the beginning of this parliamentary session, the monthly figure for bed-occupied days was 20,000, and the most recent available figure, albeit that it is lower than last year’s figure, is 46,000. Moreover, the total figure for bed-occupied days in England is 160,000. In other words, our bed-occupied days rate is three times that of England.
Given that we are celebrating the anniversary of the cabinet secretary’s promise to end delayed discharges, what progress does the cabinet secretary think will be made over the next period?
We remain absolutely committed to eradicating delayed discharge. That is the aim, and I am glad that Richard Simpson recognises that progress is being made. In January this year, 606 patients were delayed for more than three days, which is a reduction of 19 per cent on the figure of 752 for December 2015 and a reduction of 21 per cent on the figure of 766 for January 2014. Standard delays of more than three days were never lower than that during the previous, Labour Administration.
Delayed discharge is a tough issue to tackle, but integration joint boards—and, of course, the lead agency in Highland—are absolutely committed to tackling it. We have seen progress already—in Glasgow, for example—and we want that progress to take place everywhere. That is why, of course, the investment in social care of £250 million is important.
Richard Simpson mentioned the issue in England. I do not know whether he has seen the material that has been produced by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine. It has been monitoring on a week-by-week basis some of the challenges in English hospitals. One of the big challenges concerns the availability of care. Of course, England has not invested the resources in social care that we have. I would not use England as a model to emulate. I think that it has huge problems and will continue to have huge problems with the availability of social care.
People on the Autistic Spectrum (Healthcare Training for Professionals)
To ask the Scottish Government what training is available for health professionals to provide healthcare to people on the autistic spectrum. (S4O-05597)
A priority of the Scottish strategy for autism is to improve the understanding of autism, focusing on effective education and training for all healthcare professionals.
In partnership with NHS Education for Scotland, the Scottish Government has published an autism training framework. The framework enables all professionals working in the national health service to identify the level of autism expertise that is required for their role and thereafter access appropriate training to meet that need.
Scottish Government funding for training in diagnostic tools has increased the number of practitioners who are involved in autism diagnosis to more than 200 in Scotland.
NHS Education for Scotland is soon to publish a good practice guide for support and intervention in autism. The guide will assist those working across health and social care to plan, adjust and adapt their services for people with autism.
Many individuals on the autism spectrum can struggle with certain healthcare interventions, as the intrusive nature of the examination can trigger a sensory meltdown. In light of what the minister has just said about the various packages and support measures that are available, what steps can be taken to ensure that health boards promote them appropriately to those individuals who work in their area?
I acknowledge Mark McDonald’s interest in these matters and his assiduous campaigning in this Parliament to raise awareness of autism.
In order for people with autism to be met with understanding, all healthcare professionals need an understanding of autism that is appropriate to their role. NHS Education for Scotland has a learning space on autism and a range of resources that help to support workforce development. The training framework that I referred to in my initial answer outlines the knowledge and skills that are required of healthcare professionals, from generic services through to those working in the specialist autism services. It is my clear expectation that all NHS territorial boards should ensure that the staff who need that training are made aware of that opportunity.
I hope that my initial answer reassured Mr McDonald and all members of this chamber that plenty of work is under way. I am always happy to hear suggestions from Mr McDonald or, indeed, any member, about how we can make further improvements.
What proportion of the 6,000 rejected referrals to child and adolescent mental health services involved young people suffering from autism?
I cannot give that specific figure to Rhoda Grant just now. However, I undertake to get back to her in writing.
My clear expectation is that when any individual’s application to child and adolescent mental health services has been rejected, some form of support should be put in place. I recognise that there is more for us to be doing in that regard. That is why that will be one of the key focuses of the recently announced £150 million of additional investment over the next five years into mental health services.
Dundee Integration Joint Board (Meetings)
To ask the Scottish Government when ministers last met representatives of the Dundee integration joint board. (S4O-05598)
On 28 January 2016, Dundee integration joint board was represented at a development and networking session that took place for all integration joint board chairs and vice chairs, which I participated in.
Last Thursday, the Scottish National Party administration in Dundee City Council cut £3.5 million from the health and social care integration joint board budget. Dundee City Council is expecting to receive £7 million from the additional £250 million funding for social care. The chief executive has noted that £4 million of that money is already earmarked to cover planned staff costs, including the living wage.
What reassurances has the cabinet secretary sought regarding care packages, especially given the £500,000 cut to care packages for people with learning disabilities?
Dundee IJB’s share of the £250 million will be £7.65 million. After allowing for the living wage and existing local authority social care costs, for example national insurance and pay increase costs for the authority’s own social care workforce, the IJB will have an additional £3.8 million to fund its investment in additional social care capacity and the reduction in the charging thresholds.
The important thing about the living wage element of that will be the number—thousands, indeed—of social care workers in the city of Dundee who will receive the living wage. The living wage will apply to around 40,000 care workers across Scotland, many thousands of whom will live in the city of Dundee and will benefit from that. I would have thought that the member would welcome that.
Queen Elizabeth University Hospital
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to alleviate pressure on the Queen Elizabeth university hospital. (S4O-05599)
Although there have been some challenges at the new Queen Elizabeth university hospital, we should remember, of course, that it involved an unprecedented migration of four hospitals to one campus that took place on time and on budget. I want to pay tribute to local staff—some 10,000 of whom are working at the new facility—for that achievement.
Clearly, unscheduled care performance at the new hospital has not always been at the level that either the health board or I would have wished. Nonetheless, local staff have been working extremely hard with the full co-operation and support of the national unscheduled care team. As a result, the latest published weekly four-hour accident and emergency performance was 91.9 per cent for the week ending 21 February, which was up by more than 11 percentage points from the previous week. In comparing the 12-week period to 21 February with the equivalent period last year, the new hospital has performed nearly 14 percentage points better than the previous sites.
The health board remains committed to meeting and maintaining the national four-hour standard, and we continue to provide all the support that we can to that end.
Could the cabinet secretary confirm whether the establishment of the new hospital has led to an increase or a decrease in emergency and assessment capacity in Glasgow?
There has been an increase in capacity. The new hospital has developed during the first few months of its existence. One of the innovations that the hospital has developed is the ambulatory care unit, which adds capacity to the assessment unit at the front door of the hospital.
The winter period has been a testing time for all hospitals throughout Scotland, as it is for those in Glasgow. As the figures that I gave to James Dornan in my original answer show, performance is much more sustainable and has improved on where the hospitals were this time last year.
I ask the cabinet secretary to pursue two relatively trivial matters, which I believe would improve both the patient experience and that of my constituents who visit the campus.
First, there is rather poor signage for exiting the hospital. There is lots of signage telling people where to go when they arrive, but not how best to leave, with the result that many people are not departing using an exit that would afford them the speediest route home. That could be improved.
Secondly, a rather swanky discharge lounge has been prepared, but unless the patient is being uplifted by an ambulance, there is no provision for them to be uplifted outside the discharge lounge, with the consequence that many patients are having to be wheeled some distance—in all weathers—to the multistorey car park or to a taxi rank. If that could be attended to, with some subtle alteration the patient experience could be significantly improved.
I will certainly look into both those suggestions, and I will get back to Jackson Carlaw.
Can the cabinet secretary clarify whether there could be an opportunity for other hospitals in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area to help to deliver services in conjunction with the Queen Elizabeth hospital.
Stuart McMillan raises a good point. The new national clinical strategy points towards hospitals working together on a network basis. We want to take that forward through the strategy.
Waiting Times (NHS Ayrshire and Arran)
To ask the Scottish Government what measures it is taking to reduce waiting times in NHS Ayrshire and Arran. (S4O-05600)
The Scottish Government is taking a number of actions to support NHS Ayrshire and Arran to deliver on waiting times, such as providing £2.6 million in 2015-16 to deliver outpatient and diagnostic test standards as well as the legal treatment guarantee. The board has also received £1.3 million from the national unscheduled care fund and more than £433,000 to help to deal with winter pressures during the current financial year.
The cabinet secretary will be aware that exactly 10 years ago I organised and led a march of 5,000 people in Ayr to keep open the accident and emergency unit at Ayr hospital, so I welcome the new facility that was opened last week at Ayr hospital.
However, the cabinet secretary will also be aware of occasional but regular spikes in the number of people who present at A and E departments at Ayr and Crosshouse hospitals, and she will be aware of the 35 consultant vacancies in NHS Ayrshire and Arran and recent difficulties in meeting Government 4-hour waiting time targets.
Even with the new facility, is the cabinet secretary confident, given the lack of staff and available beds, that NHS Ayrshire and Arran will be able in the future to meet its waiting time targets in A and E and in other areas including orthopaedics?
I join John Scott in recognising that the A and E unit at Ayr hospital was saved by the efforts of people locally and by the efforts of this Government. That has led, of course, to £27.6 million being spent on the “building for better care” project, which has given us the new combined medical and surgical assessment units at both the district general hospitals, and the new emergency department at University hospital Ayr.
John Scott mentioned spikes in numbers at A and E. He is correct to point to that issue, with which some A and E departments have more of a challenge than others. Ayr hospital has a particular challenge with that issue and John Scott outlined some of the reasons for that. That said, it is operating better this year than it was last year.
There is more work to be done. Once we are through the winter period, we want to look at what more we can do to improve performance further—particularly performance in the units that experience those spikes and face more challenges around delivering a consistent service. I am happy to keep John Scott informed on what is happening with that.
Community Health Services (Clydebank and Milngavie)
To ask the Scottish Government what support it provides to community health services in the Clydebank and Milngavie constituency. (S4O-05601)
We are planning a single new-build facility in Clydebank, delivered through the hub programme within an overall funding envelope of £19 million.
A new integrated facility for Clydebank already has widespread stakeholder support, including from local politicians and the local community planning partnership. Such a replacement health and care centre build would enable the co-location of multidisciplinary services—including integrated health and social care teams—within a new facility, giving one-stop access and improved accessibility for patients to an increased range of improved quality services.
I very much appreciate that £19 million has been provided for the new health centre in Clydebank in my constituency. It has been extremely well welcomed by the community in general. Can the minister outline what the next steps will be, or provide an update on bringing this much-needed facility to fruition for my Clydebank constituents?
The initial agreement has recently been submitted to the NHS capital investment group for review and will be considered later this month. Subject to approval being received, it is anticipated that financial close will occur in late 2017 and that construction will begin in 2018.
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (NHS Grampian)
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the recent child and adolescent mental health waiting time statistics showing that around half of patients in NHS Grampian waited over 18 weeks before being seen. (S4O-05602)
There has been a significant improvement in those waiting times over the past few years, despite a significant increase in the number of people being seen. However, the Scottish Government is determined to continue seeing improvements so that all health boards, including NHS Grampian, meet our targets.
The Scottish Government has invested significantly in developing mental health services. There are increased numbers of staff in training and in post, and long waits are being addressed. We have announced an additional £150 million for mental health services over the next five years to help to bring down waiting times and to deliver sustainable improvement to services. Through that substantial funding award, we will be able to extend capacity, improve access to services and promote innovation and new ways of treating children and young people who have mental health conditions, as well as provide psychological therapies for all ages.
I thank the minister for his response, but it will be of little comfort to the young people who face an agonising wait for treatment in my region. Over the past year, the minister has responded to my concerns by telling me first that he had an improvement programme and then, six months ago, that he had a detailed recovery plan for NHS Grampian. Perversely, those have both resulted in a continued decrease in performance. Given that, I should perhaps be reluctant to ask the minister what he plans to do next, but I will give it a go. Just what is the minister planning in order to drive down those waiting times and bring about the drastic change that is needed in waiting times in Grampian?
I will focus first on what has happened in the most recent quarter and the figures to which Alison McInnes just referred. The total number of people who started treatment in the quarter that ended on 31 December 2015 increased by 7 per cent over the same period last year. That means that more children and young people in NHS Grampian are being seen.
I accept that figures that were previously published were not good enough, and I am determined that we see improvements. There have been some improvements in the most recent figures. It is very encouraging to note that the performance against the 18-week target improved month on month during the final quarter of 2015, with 76 per cent of people being seen within 18 weeks during December.
There has been significant work to tackle the longest waits; I have set out the range of investments that we have made. I know that NHS Grampian takes that responsibility very seriously. We have seen the response and we have seen the figures continue to improve, and it is my clear expectation that that improvement will continue so that the target is met.
Alternative Care Providers (Maintenance of Frontline Support)
To ask the Scottish Government how it will ensure that front-line patient and carer support from alternative care providers can be maintained, in the light of the reduction in local authority budgets. (S4O-05603)
Integration of health and social care is one of Scotland’s major programmes of reform. At its heart, health and social care integration is about ensuring that people who use services get the right care and support, whatever their needs, at any point in their care journey. Our 2016-17 budget sets out our plans to transfer £250 million from the national health service to health and social care partnerships to protect and grow our social care services. That is on top of the £500 million that we are already investing over three years to support the integration of health and social care.
In 2016-17, we will allocate more than £8 million for carer support. That includes £3 million for the voluntary sector short breaks fund and £4.75 million going to health boards for carer information strategies. Much of the funding to health boards is distributed to the third sector, including carers centres. The Scottish Government funding proposals for the coming financial year deliver a strong financial settlement for local government.
I thank the minister for that response. Is he aware that the Scottish National Party’s council budget in Clackmannanshire has imposed across-the-board cuts of 7.1 per cent cash—or 8.4 per cent in real terms—on third-sector providers including the Scottish Association for Mental Health and many children’s organisations? That comes at a time when those organisations have been asked to pay a living wage and to implement employers’ pension contributions of at least 2 per cent. Does not that fly in the face of the Government’s stated commitment to the health and wellbeing of children and young people?
No, I do not think that it does. This Government has a strong record on commitment to children and young people. I note that the original question related to carers. We have just collectively, as a Parliament, passed excellent legislation in the form of the Carers (Scotland) Bill, which focuses strongly on the position of young carers.
I have set out the range of direct funding that we have passed on to local government and to health and social care partnerships from the NHS through the £250 million allocation. Again, that is a strong commitment, and we remain committed to delivering on the ground for all Scottish people, including Scotland’s vulnerable people.
Before we move on, I say that I am afraid that we will not make much further progress unless questions and answers are much briefer.
Support for Older People with Dementia (North Angus)
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on whether there is a satisfactory level of support for older people in north Angus with dementia. (S4O-05604)
The new Angus integrated authority is responsible for assessing, planning and commissioning the right level of support for all people with dementia in its four localities, including north Angus. As part of the additional £250 million that has been announced for social care, Angus will receive an additional £5.34 million, including resources to support the growth in social care and the implementation of the living wage, and to address other social care cost pressures.
Angus is taking a strategic approach to moving resources to its enhanced community support initiative, which has now been adopted as the new model of care for older people across Tayside. That approach reflects one of the Scottish Government’s key themes in the new national clinical strategy on moving resources and services into the community and towards primary care.
The minister may be aware that, as a result of local circumstances, elderly mentally infirm care in the Montrose and district area is no longer available for those who live in that community. Given the importance of ensuring that such care can be found within an individual’s own community, is there anything that the minister can do to ensure that the situation is rectified as soon as possible?
I thank Alex Johnstone for raising the issue. I recognise that it is an important one. Local service planners were already aware that increasing rates of dementia were challenging the capacity of services in Angus and that arrangements needed to be reviewed. Consequently, a multi-agency review of residential nursing care will commence in April and report to the Angus integration joint board on completion.
There is already a range of activity under way to support that agenda. For example, there are three community mental health teams for older people in each locality; there has been support from the change fund enabling Angus to enhance its dementia liaison team; Angus has had a post-diagnostic support service since 2004; and there are more than 110 staff from health, social care and the voluntary sector as dementia ambassadors. However, I recognise the particular issue that Alex Johnstone has raised and it is on the radar of the integration joint board. The work is under way, and it will be reported back to the board soon.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (Meetings)
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and what matters were discussed. (S4O-05605)
Ministers and Scottish Government officials regularly meet representatives from health boards, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, to discuss matters of importance to local people.
I attended a meeting of the save Lightburn campaign group on Monday of this week. The chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde was also invited, but he declined to attend the event. Does the minister share my concern that an official paid to the tune of a reported £190,000 per year cannot take the trouble to attend that event? A look at the hospitality registered by Mr Calderwood will show a round of golf or something that he is quite keen to attend, but he cannot take the time to attend an event in the east end to assure local people that their local hospital will not be closing.
I am not going to get into issues about individuals, but, as I have said to Paul Martin before, I know that local people very much value the local hospital. I also know about the issue from the correspondence that I have had from Parkinson’s UK. I have responded to assure it that the contents of the draft discussion paper have not in any way been accepted as concrete proposals by the board, and nothing has come to me for approval.
I have also made it very clear to Paul Martin previously that there would have to be some material change from the position that was held when Nicola Sturgeon was the health secretary in 2011, when she rejected what was at the time a formal proposal to close Lightburn hospital because she had heard repeatedly—not least from local patients and clinicians—that the hospital provided a high-quality service that was greatly valued by the local community.
I noted that the Parkinson’s UK submission for this afternoon’s debate was stressing very much that it did not want the issue to become party political. It wants support from across the board and does not want it turned into a party-political issue. That is perhaps something that we should all take notice of.
Delayed Discharge (NHS Grampian)
To ask the Scottish Government what progress it is making in tackling delayed discharge in the NHS Grampian area. (S4O-05606)
Grampian has seen a 35 per cent reduction in bed days lost to delay in December 2015 compared to December 2014—the lowest level since April 2015. The partnership has received £2.73 million from the three year delayed-discharge funding, and I expect the partnership to utilise that money to develop community services aimed at reducing unnecessary emergency admissions and delayed discharges.
I thank the cabinet secretary for her answer, which was welcome news indeed. What impact have junior doctors had on making this welcome reduction? How much has protection of the existing deal for junior doctors helped NHS Grampian’s recent success?
The reduction of delays in Grampian is the result of the continuing hard work and dedication of all health and social care staff across the partnership, including junior doctors. To ensure continued success it is essential that professionals across health and social care continue to work together as part of a multidisciplinary team to maximise people’s wellbeing and ensure that they receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.
The cabinet secretary will be aware that I lodged an amendment to the Carers (Scotland) Bill to the effect that discharge planning should start as early as reasonably possible on the patient’s hospital journey. Does she know whether any hospitals in Scotland are adopting that approach? If it was successful, it would contribute significantly.
As I understand it, Dumfries and Galloway has been trialling that approach, and we hope that it will provide good practice models for boards elsewhere. I am happy to write to Nanette Milne with a bit more detail on what Dumfries and Galloway has been doing.
The cabinet secretary will be aware of the continuing high levels of cancelled operations in Grampian. How far is that issue related to continuing levels of delayed discharge?
The percentage of operations that are cancelled because of capacity issues remains very small. The figure was around 2.8 per cent in the recent statistics, and that has been pretty consistent over the past few months.
Any cancelled operation is to be regretted, but there are circumstances when emergencies will need to take precedence over planned procedures. That is why we will invest £200 million over the next five years to develop more elective centres along the lines of the Golden Jubilee hospital model.
Outstanding Practice and Contribution in the National Health Service
To ask the Scottish Government how it seeks to identify and acknowledge outstanding practice and contribution in the NHS. (S4O-05607)
We are committed to rewarding the outstanding contribution of hardworking NHS Scotland staff to the delivery of high-quality patient-care services for the people of Scotland. Unlike the other United Kingdom countries, in 2015 we accepted the pay review bodies’ recommendation of a 1 per cent across-the-board uplift in pay for all NHS staff from 1 April 2015, which ensured that NHS staff in Scotland remain the best rewarded of such staff in the UK. The pay increase was supplemented by additional measures for the lower paid.
Over the past couple of years, my family have been grateful for the professional healthcare that hospital staff provide. NHS Lothian organises an annual event to recognise outstanding healthcare practice, and one category offers patients, carers and relatives the opportunity to nominate a healthcare worker who they believe is a true health hero. Will the cabinet secretary join me in encouraging people in the Lothians to nominate a hardworking healthcare professional who has provided exceptional patient care?
We should welcome any opportunity to recognise the hard work and dedication of staff across the NHS. That is why every year the Scottish Government works in partnership with the Daily Record to deliver the Scottish health awards, which recognise the outstanding achievement of staff across a range of roles and disciplines.
East Lothian Community Hospital
To ask the Scottish Government whether the new East Lothian community hospital will be fully operational by 2019 and provide at least all of the services that are currently delivered at Roodlands general hospital. (S4O-05608)
The timeline for completing the new hospital remains unchanged and we fully expect NHS Lothian to welcome its first patients there in 2019. The new hospital will be home to a range of services, such as in-patient continuing care beds, mental health in-patient beds and orthopaedic and rehabilitation beds, as well as shared therapies such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, dietetics and music therapy.
NHS Lothian will submit its full business case to the Scottish Government later this year. During the process, options and proposals for surgical services are being reviewed with staff. That work links directly to the issue of maximising all NHS Lothian’s assets and ensuring effective use of revenue funds. NHS Lothian’s local clinical objective is to improve services in the local community and I am confident that the project will deliver on that.
The timeline has not been unchanged, because the hospital was due to open in 2009, but I am glad to hear that there should be no further delay. Discussions are under way on reducing day surgery services, eliminating day surgery under general anaesthetic and cutting bed numbers. I have talked to staff about those proposals, which they reject. Will the cabinet secretary tell NHS Lothian that a new hospital should provide more, not fewer, services?
There will be surgical services at the new hospital. No final decisions have been taken, but a group has been established that brings together clinical and leadership experts, including surgeons, anaesthetists, endoscopists and theatre nurses, as well as trade union colleagues. As part of the review, they will work together to ensure the best outcome for patients.
Although NHS Lothian’s business case is yet to be finalised, we are looking at an increase of about 60 per cent in the number of in-patient beds—from approximately 78 to around 132. I hope that that reassures Iain Gray that the number of in-patient beds will increase and not decrease.
Specialist Nurses (Recruitment)
To ask the Scottish Government what progress NHS boards have made in recruiting extra specialist nurses and whether the resources allocated for that purpose have been fully spent. (S4O-05609)
In 2015-16, the Government invested more than £2.4 million of recurring funding to improve specialist nursing and care, which included the appointment of additional specialist nurses. NHS boards are responsible for ensuring that those funds deliver maximum benefit for patient care and they are submitting regular progress reports on how the funds are being invested. NHS boards are recruiting additional specialist nurses or increasing the hours of existing nurses. Patients are already benefiting from the changes.
I welcome the motor neurone disease nurses who we know about and I hope that additional specialist nurses have been recruited for relatively common conditions such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s. In the week when we marked rare disease day, will the cabinet secretary say whether any rare diseases have benefited from additional specialist nurses, using models such as that of the single gene complex needs specialist nurses who operate in Edinburgh and other cities?
The specialist nurses will cover a range of conditions. I can see from the list of specialist nurses who are employed by boards that a wide range of specialties is covered, but I am happy to write to Malcolm Chisholm with some of the detail—the list runs into quite a lot of detail.
Neonatal and Maternity Services (Review)
To ask the Scottish Government what progress there has been on the review of neonatal and maternity services. (S4O-05610)
Since the review was launched last year, a chair has been appointed and the review group has been established. The review group has met on five occasions, and it is supported by four sub-groups, which were established in January this year. The sub-groups focus on maternity models of care, neonatal models of care, the workforce, and evidence and data. In total, around 100 national health service staff, academics and other professionals, and service user representatives are involved in the review main group and the sub-groups.
The review has a strong focus on engagement, and events are taking place with service users and maternity and neonatal care professionals in each of Scotland’s 14 territorial NHS boards. In addition, further engagement is planned with other interested stakeholders, including professional bodies, academics and third sector representatives. A communications plan—including a regular newsletter, a blog, a Twitter feed and a website—is in place to inform a wide range of interests.
I thank the minister for her detailed answer. What recommendations are likely to be made on upskilling nurse practitioners and extra training for general practitioners to back up maternity services in rural and remote centres?
The review group has set up a sub-group to consider workforce issues in relation to maternity and neonatal services. The sub-group will provide recommendations to ensure that we have a modern, flexible and efficient workforce that can deliver safe, effective and high-quality maternity and neonatal services that put mothers, babies and families at the centre of care. That sub-group will consider the role of the workforce in remote and rural locations.
I ask for the review to look closely at the variation in stillbirth levels—which was highlighted in NHS Ayrshire and Arran recently—to determine why those significant variations occur.
That work is under way.
Next
Health