Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13707 on 23 January 2023. 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

As well as action being taken to improve the use of digital technology across health and social care in general, as set out in our Care in the Digital Age: delivery plan 2022 to 2023 , digital technology has been used by a significant number of the projects we have funded to support delivery of the aims and commitments of the Neurological Care and Support: Framework for Action 2020-2025 . These include training resources for staff; patient and carer information; self-management tools that enable engagement with healthcare professionals before and after appointments; data gathering and healthcare surveillance systems; and engagement with service users using video technology.

I further refer the member to the Neurological Care And Support: A Framework For Action 2020-2025 – Midpoint Progress Report , which was published on 13 July 2022. The report contains case study examples of innovative projects we have funded which use digital technology to better integrate services and neurological care provision.

We have also published practical guidelines for health professionals on conducting virtual appointments in neurology, covering use of different technologies and their suitability for assessing a range of neurological conditions: Digital Consulting in Neurology | TEC Scotland . We delivered an online seminar for Allied Health Professionals to support the launch of this guidance.

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) are taking steps to introduce Flying Finish across NHS Boards, to benefit the workforce and the service. Work has already taken place to put in place a national Retire & Return policy within the NHS.

On 30 August 2022 the Interim National Arrangements on Retire & Return was announced, which offers a process that supports retiring employees to return to employment in their health board on a part time basis, should they wish to do so. The process enables retiring employees to continue employment that is suitable to them and the service, taking a person-centred approach which supports and manages the retirement in a tailored and individual way.

Equally Safe at Work is an innovative employer accreditation programme developed by Close the Gap, Scotland’s policy advocacy organisation working on women’s labour market equality. It supports employers to improve their employment practice to advance gender equality at work and prevent violence against women.

Public Health Scotland, NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Dumfries and Galloway and Healthcare Improvement Scotland are taking part in this pilot which commenced in July 2022 and will take approximately one year to complete. A further five Health Boards, NHS Borders, NHS Shetland, NHS Orkney, National Education Scotland and NHS Fife, are part of the shadow group.

The Scottish Government see good accessible workforce data as a key tool for effective future planning within the Primary Healthcare Workforce. We have a number of ways in which we do this.

In General Practice, Public Health Scotland published workforce planning data through the General Practice Workforce Survey in November 2022 that gives us access to the latest General Practice workforce wte data, this is followed by the General Practice Workforce and Population Survey that gives us accurate headcount data across General Practice, published most recently in December 2022.

Workforce data on general dental practitioners is published by NES biannually, the latest data was published in December 2022.

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery intends to publish a report on workforce planning for the eyecare workforce by end March 2023.

Reporting arrangements are in place to monitor progress of Health and Social Care Partnerships against their Primary Care Improvement Plans (PCIPs). This includes progress on establishing Multi-Disciplinary Teams. Further information is provided in our annual statistical publication that published in March 2022.

As committed to in the National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care, we have been undertaking a data collection exercise to inform future decisions about workforce investment. This work is being led by the Scottish Cancer Network, which is engaging with local boards and professional representatives.

A final report, including recommendations, will be provided to the National Oncology Taskforce in the first quarter of 2023. The Taskforce is made up of NHS Board Chief Executives and Medical Directors, and will seek national solutions to ensure the longer term resilience of oncology services in Scotland.

All NHS boards have utilised the funding available to build the infrastructure in their recruitment teams and appoint an international recruitment lead.

I refer the member to the Scottish Government’s second Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan which committed to offering up to 500 apprenticeship opportunities across NHS Scotland in 2022/23.

NHS Boards deliver a wide range of employability programmes, following the ‘No One Left Behind’ overarching approach which is place-based, needs-led and person-centred. Programmes delivered in 2022-23 have focused on a wide range of groups, including: young people at risk of long-term unemployment, care leavers, veterans and service leavers, and lone parents over the age of 25.

We remain committed to the increasing in the Health and Social Care workforce by 1% over the next 5 years, as outlined within the National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care.

NHS Scotland official workforce statistics published on 06 December 2022 show that staffing levels have increased by over 2,800 permanent whole time equivalent in the last year (or 1.8% of the NHS Scotland workforce) – representing 10 consecutive years of staffing growth.

This information is not held centrally. This is a matter for Skills Development Scotland and NHS Boards.