- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 5 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to implement the recommendations of the Independent Review of Audiology Services.
Answer
The Scottish Government accepted the recommendations of the Independent Review of Audiology Services in principle on 14 December 2023.
Audiology is being considered as a clinical priority area, and improvement work is being progressed through a task and finish group under the governance of the National Planning and Delivery Board led by the Chief Operating Officer for NHS Scotland.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 26 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 5 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to support NHS boards in relation to workforce planning, following a reduction in full-time hours for NHS Agenda for Change staff.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s commitment is to progressing towards a 36-hour working week for Agenda for Change staff, building on an initial 30-minute reduction in working hours implemented from 1 April 2024. Whilst extensive guidance has been issued setting out the overarching principles to be applied in facilitating this transition, the Implementation Group and the Scottish Government have been clear that specific decisions on how the reduction will be achieved should be made at a local level and in partnership, based on the needs of a given service.
We have also made clear that the first half hour will be used as a learning process with a national evaluation carried out to identify the challenges and opportunities associated with further reductions. Health Boards (under the 1978 NHS Act) are required to undertake workforce planning and we would expect to see appropriate consideration around the impacts of the Reduced Working Week on services within their planning activity.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 5 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what work is being done to upgrade the NHS Scotland Resource Allocation Committee (NRAC) funding formula.
Answer
The NRAC formula is an objective measure of the need for health care services across Scotland.
The Scottish Government have committed to continually review the funding formula. This process is managed by the Technical Advisory Group for Resource Allocation (TAGRA) and supports vital work to reduce health inequalities; ensuring that we continue to allocate funding according to the relative need for healthcare in each Board area. Work is underway to review this, however, funding formulas are inherently complex and the review will take time.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 5 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the work of the Technical Advisory Group on Resource Allocation (TAGRA).
Answer
The Technical Advisory Group for Resource Allocation (TAGRA) oversees the maintenance and development of the NHSScotland Resource Allocation Committee (NRAC) formula. The formula is an objective measure of the need for health care services across Scotland and aims to provide a transparent and fair mechanism for dividing resources for hospital and community health services and GP prescribing between the 14 territorial Health Boards.
The Scottish Government have committed to continually review the funding formula to support vital work to reduce health inequalities and ensuring we continue to allocate funding according to the relative need for healthcare in each Board area.
The funding formulas are inherently complex, and the review will take time, however TAGRA members continue to meet to review the appropriateness of the current formula.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 20 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 3 December 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will implement a primary care community
audiology service during the current parliamentary session.
Answer
The Scottish Government remains committed to its vision for an integrated and community-based hearing service in Scotland. However, in considering the future direction for the audiology sector, it is right that we move forward in step with the work of the Independent Review of audiology and this – together with the wider financial and strategic context in which we are currently operating – has necessitated the re-phasing of our commitment on community hearing. We are continuing to fund “RNID Near You”, a third sector after-care scheme offered to hearing aid users and delivered in partnership with the NHS within five Scottish health board areas.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 02 December 2024
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 5 December 2024
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government's position is regarding any potential risk to the environment of excessive removal of peat during excavation projects.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 5 December 2024
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 21 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will ensure that any upcoming inspections of maternity services account for any local discrepancies between safe staffing requirements under the common staffing methodology and current staffing levels, so that the quality of care can be evaluated in this context.
Answer
Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS)’s Healthcare Staffing Programme monitors NHS Boards’ compliance with the Common Staffing Method. The HIS Healthcare Staffing Operational Framework sets out HIS’s methodology for monitoring compliance. The HIS Healthcare Staffing Programme forms part of the HIS Safe Delivery of Care (SDoC) inspections, both in terms of pre-inspection activity and as part of the onsite inspection team. The SDoC inspection methodology is used for the current acute hospital inspection programme and will therefore also be applied to the maternity inspection programme when it commences from January 2025.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 19 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government what specific actions it will take in the event that any gaps are identified between safe staffing requirements and actual staffing levels across NHS boards.
Answer
The Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019: Overview - Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019: overview - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) commenced on April 2024, the Act places duties on Health Boards to ensure that at all times suitably qualified and competent individuals are working in such numbers as are appropriate for the health, wellbeing and safety of patients, the provision of high-quality care and the wellbeing of staff.
Under the Act, there is a Duty on Health Boards to submit a report on how they complied with their legislative requirements. Following this, Scottish Ministers must publish these reports alongside setting out how they have taken into account and plan to take into account, in their policies for the staffing of health service, the information included in the combined report. The first Health Board Annual Reports are due 30 April 2025.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 19 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether there is evidence that vacancies advertised in maternity services align with the workforce plans of NHS boards for midwifery.
Answer
Whilst the Scottish Government sets the strategic policy direction for the NHS in Scotland, operational matters including staffing requirements are in the first instance the responsibility of the relevant NHS board. Recruitment is a matter for health boards who will take into account turnover, retention, absence rates and budgets when making recruitment decisions. This can mean that vacancies fluctuate across boards and by specialism. It is for health boards to ensure safe and effective staffing levels, and recruit to these to provide services.
- Asked by: Sharon Dowey, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 12 November 2024
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 19 November 2024
To ask the Scottish Government whether the number of vacancies for midwives in Scotland meets the (a) needs of maternity services and (b) workforce plans of NHS boards, and what the evidence base is for its calculations, in light of reports that many recent midwifery graduates, educated in line with Scottish Government commissioning numbers, are seeking employment outside of Scotland.
Answer
Whilst the Scottish Government sets the strategic policy direction for the NHS in Scotland, operational matters including staffing requirements are in the first instance the responsibility of the relevant NHS board. Recruitment is a matter for health boards who will take into account turnover, retention, absence rates and budgets when making recruitment decisions. This can mean that vacancies fluctuate across boards and by specialism. It is for health boards to ensure safe and effective staffing levels, and recruit to these to provide services.
