Question reference: S5W-00140
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 19 May 2016
-
Current status: Answered by Shona Robison on 1 June 2016
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to increase the number of specialist inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) nurses in the NHS Lothian area.
Answer
Information on how many specialist inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) nurses there are, broken down by NHS board and hospital, is not centrally held or published by National Services Scotland (Information Services Division).
The Scottish Government has invested over £2.4 million of recurring funding to improve access to specialist nursing and care, including the appointment of additional specialist nurses. It is for NHS boards to determine in which specialities this general investment is spent, but the Scottish Government expects NHS boards to ensure that patients with specialist conditions have appropriate access to a range of professionals, including specialist nurses, to ensure optimum management of their condition.
Furthermore, using funds provided by the Scottish Government, Crohn’s and Colitis UK has established a Scottish IBD Steering Group, with a remit for designing a programme for improving the quality of clinical care and sharing new approaches for the management of IBD.
The Scottish IBD Steering Group is currently in the process of producing a National Blueprint for the treatment of IBD in Scotland. This blueprint includes best practice advice in relation for the provision of specialist IBD nurses across all NHS boards in Scotland, and will be launched in June 2016.