Question reference: S6W-26162
- Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 14 March 2024
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Current status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 26 March 2024
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-25452 by Jenni Minto on 27 February 2024, whether the work planned by RSM UK includes analysis of the accommodation capacity required to ensure that parents do not have to leave their baby overnight under the new neonatal model of care; if so, what standard of provision this capacity is being measured against, what progress is being made by RSM UK with this work, and when its findings will be published.
Answer
The Scottish Government have commissioned RSM UK to provide analysis of the capacity requirements associated with the new model of neonatal care.
The scope of this work is to model the current and future demand and requirements for neonatal intensive care cot capacity, in order to inform regional implementation planning.
The work has involved engagement with operational and strategic stakeholders to collect feedback on implementation considerations, of which accommodation requirements has been documented.
Detailed analysis and quantification of accommodation capacity requirements is not in the scope of this work. However, this is a key part of the model of neonatal care described in Best Start and we expect all Boards to provide emergency overnight accommodation on the unit for parents who need it, with other accommodation for neonatal parents nearby. Boards are expected to include provision for this in their planning.
We also provide support to all families with babies in neonatal care to cover the costs of food, travel and accommodation as part of our Young Patients Family Fund.
The report is due to be finalised by the end of March 2024.