Current status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 January 2016
To ask the Scottish Government whether it can provide an update on how each NHS board is delivering the plan to increase motor neurone disease specialist nurses.
Funding to double the number of motor neurone disease clinical nurse specialists (MND CNS) was allocated to those NHS boards who have strong links with Scotland’s neurological centres and who currently employ MND CNS i.e. NHS Grampian, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Highland, NHS Lothian and NHS Tayside.
NHS Grampian will recruit one whole time equivalent (WTE) MND CNS by 31 March 2016. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have appointed two new full time MND CNS who took up post on 18 January 2016. NHS Highland has increased the existing MND CNS’s hours by 0.2WTE. The remaining 0.4WTE post has been advertised with interviews taking place in February 2016. NHS Lothian have increased the capacity of their existing MND CNSs to 1.6WTE and they will recruit an additional 0.25WTE post by March 2016. In addition, NHS Lothian have transferred a proportion of their funding to NHS Forth Valley who will employ one 0.75 WTE MND CNS to support patients with MND in NHS Forth Valley and NHS Fife. NHS Tayside has increased the WTE MND CNS complement to 1.6WTE by increasing the hours of the existing post-holder. Interim arrangements are in place using neurology specialist nurses to provide 2.0WTE specialist nurse support until a substantive appointment to the remaining 0.4WTE post is made.
The Scottish Government expects NHS boards to ensure that patients with MND have appropriate access to a range of professionals, including specialist nurses and allied health professionals, to ensure optimum management of their condition.