Chamber and committees

No-one should be the victim of abuse or violence while at work and assaults on NHS staff are completely unacceptable. We encourage Health Boards to support criminal proceedings, where appropriate, against anyone who assaults staff. NHSScotland staff can access a range of services to care for their physical and mental health. This includes employee assistance programmes, trauma counselling services and pastoral support, to ensure a safe working environment.

The wellbeing of our health and social care workforce remains a key priority and we are working to ensure that the right level of support is offered across the system. Scottish Government funding provides our workforce with access to psychological interventions and therapies, self-service resources through the National Wellbeing Hub and the National Wellbeing Helpline delivered by NHS 24 to support their wellbeing. We also provide access to confidential mental health services through the Workforce Specialist Service.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-34124 on 12 February 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Scottish Government does not collate information on medical boarders centrally.

Health Boards operate their own policies for the management of inpatient capacity. Therefore, the member may wish to contact NHS Boards directly for information.

I can confirm in the 12 months to December 2024, 8.7% of planned operations were cancelled, however only 2.3% were cancelled due to capacity or non-clinical reasons.

Cancellation based on capacity or non-clinical reason by hospital includes:

• no beds available
• staff not available
• equipment not available
• theatre session overran

Abuse towards NHS staff is unacceptable, and Health Boards must take appropriate action against anyone who assaults a staff member. It is an employer's duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely in partnership with Health Boards to identify ways to protect staff and deter perpetrators at a national level.

Health Boards have reporting systems in place to capture data on violence and aggression. At present, Health Boards collect this data locally.

We are exploring how we can improve incident reporting systems and investigating proposals for developing standardised approaches to reporting and handling incidents nationally.

We are working to ensure that all staff are aware of currently available reporting mechanisms and ensure they have the psychological safety to report incidents when they occur.

As discussed in answer to PQ S6W-34114 on 12 February 2025, the standard definitions of delayed discharge in use across NHS Scotland since 2016 do not identify patients as surgically fit for discharge, and the reasons for delayed discharge (when patients remain in hospital after being declared clinically ready for discharge) do not allow a direct count of patients who have refused to leave hospital.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Guidance for staff in relation to usage of IT is provided in the IT Code of Conduct, which sets out acceptable usage for Scottish Government devices and networks. It covers:

• personal use of SCOTS and the internet
• misuse of IT misconduct examples
• accidental access to restricted sites
• sharing sensitive data by email
• monitoring

The code aligns with the wide range of legislation to tackle the potential criminal and civil liability issues that may arise from colleagues’ misuse of communication facilities while at work.

Scottish Government has robust controls in place to identify any inappropriate use of devices. Sanctions for device misuse can range from warnings to loss of access and dismissal.

Scottish Government staff sign an agreement to adhere to the IT Code of Conduct. The IT Code of Conduct sets out guidance on the acceptable use of the official platform (SCOTS), in particular email and use of the intranet. The Code also outlines our policy on the personal use of Scottish Government IT facilities.

This is a matter for NHS boards and Police Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally.