- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 11 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to integrate the findings of Significant Adverse Event reviews into professional development and training for hospital staff.
Answer
Significant Adverse Event Reviews are conducted at a local level within each NHS Health Board and the learning and improvement actions that are identified as part of that review process are considered within the Health Board to reduce the risk of the same event recuring in the future. When relevant this will include actions to ensure that findings inform related professional development or training plans and delivery. The Scottish Government is clear that this learning should be shared nationally to enable other Health Boards consider if their processes can be improved as a result.
The Scottish Government has funded the Joint Commission for Safety, Openness and Learning – delivered by NHS Education for Scotland (NES) – which has developed Compassionate Communication Skills training to support staff in having difficult conversations after adverse events, reinforcing a commitment to learning and patient-centred care. NES has developed professional development and training resources, such as Human Factors/Ergonomics (Safety Science for Patient Safety), which can be accessed by all NHS Scotland staff.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 04 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 11 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what action it is taking to address any shortfalls in the radiology workforce and the impact that any such shortfalls might have on cancer patients.
Answer
Whilst Scottish Government sets the strategic policy direction for the NHS in Scotland, operational matters including staffing are the responsibility NHS Boards. NHS Boards take account of national, regional, and local priorities, and we expect NHS boards to plan and provide safe, effective, and high-quality care, in line with their statutory service provision and workforce planning responsibilities.
To help address recognised workforce pressures, Scottish Government continues to invest heavily in radiology training. Scottish Government is currently funding around 190 specialty training places in clinical radiology, including 78 extra places which have been added since 2014. This enables doctors to train and enter the workforce following completion of training - which takes a minimum of 5 years. Clinical radiology specialty training programmes have been filled at 100% in Scotland from 2014 to 2024, with 230 resident doctors successfully completing training in this period.
To further support a coordinated response to pressures in cancer services, Scottish Government commissioned the National Oncology Coordination Group. This group considers real-time assessments and develops proactive risk mitigation proposals aligned with the strategic aims for cancer. This collaborative approach across NHS Boards in Scotland is ensuring that services can deliver for people with cancer.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 September 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 11 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to make Significant Adverse Event reviews more accessible to relevant communities of practice.
Answer
Work is underway to support health boards to share learning from SAERs locally and nationally, to make them more accessible to healthcare professionals. In February this year Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) published an updated version of A national framework for reviewing and learning from adverse events in NHS Scotland: February 2025 – Healthcare Improvement Scotland. The revised framework includes an updated shareable learning template, which NHS Health Boards should complete following a Significant Adverse Event Review (SAER). These summaries, which will support local and national learning, will be published on an online community of practice for NHS staff which HIS will launch soon. It is the responsibility of health boards to share learning within their organisations and to ensure that relevant staff groups are aware of changes to policies and processes as a result of learning and improvement actions.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to promote financial literacy to young people in schools.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the importance of Financial Education in equipping learners with key life skills. Financial literacy is embedded in the curriculum in Scotland through numeracy and maths, business studies and personal and social education classes. Financial Education is a key feature of Curriculum for Excellence “Experiences and Outcomes” for Numeracy and Mathematics, assisting learners in understanding the benefits and risks of bank cards, effectively managing money, making appropriate use of technology and appreciating the importance of budgeting.
Education Scotland provides professional learning resources enabling educators to reflect on their own understanding and knowledge and to support future learning and teaching about money. Guidance is available for primary and secondary schools highlighting the links between financial education and Curriculum for Excellence. In addition, a wide range of teaching resources are provided by the private and Third Sector. These include Barclays LifeSkills, financial education guidance from the Money & Pension Service and the work of the charity, Money Ready.
Education Scotland are currently reviewing the curriculum in line with the Curriculum Improvement Cycle programme. As part of this review, work is taking place to review the place of financial education within the curriculum. Education Scotland are engaging with a wide range of practitioners and stakeholders, including children and young people, to review current Financial Education teaching and practice and plan how it can most effectively be integrated into the curriculum, ensuring an equitable approach.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 01 September 2025
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 2 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to reduce NHS waiting lists, in light of new analysis reportedly showing that waits of over two years are now more than 800 times higher in Scotland than in England.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 2 September 2025
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 August 2025
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 4 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason it is reportedly downgrading fire station services across the country, including in Helensburgh.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 4 September 2025
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 27 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many calls to the Scottish Ambulance Service have been responded to (a) within (i) under 10, (ii) 10 to 29, (iii) 30 to 59 and (iv) 60 to 120 and (b) after over 120 minutes in each year since 2021-22, broken down by triaged category of call.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this information. You should, instead, request this from the Scottish Ambulance Service directly.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the delivery of the BE FAST (balance, eyes, face, arms, speech, time) stroke awareness campaign in NHS Forth Valley’s accident and emergency department.
Answer
The Scottish Government has not received any information regarding the delivery of a BE FAST stroke awareness campaign; therefore, no assessment has been made.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 27 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of NHS Forth Valley delivering the BE FAST (balance, eyes, face, arms, speech, time) stroke awareness campaign in its accident and emergency department, whether it is considering rolling out the campaign to other NHS boards’ accident and emergency departments.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not plan to instruct NHS Boards to utilise BE FAST in emergency departments. The use of FAST is supported by both Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland and Stroke Association.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 30 July 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 26 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to ensure that NICE-compliant specialist services for myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) are introduced by NHS boards, and that these services comply with the principles contained in the delivery plan for ME/CFS to ensure that people in Scotland with the condition do not receive inadequate care compared with those in England.
Answer
There are no devolved elements of the UK Government’s delivery plan on ME/CFS. It covers the population of England only.
We are unable to formally endorse the Plan due to differing healthcare systems and statutory structures.
However, the 2025-26 Scottish Budget includes an additional £4.5 million to deliver new specialist support across the country for long COVID, ME/CFS and other similar conditions. We want this money to have maximum impact and we are working closely and carefully with health boards across Scotland to allocate it as quickly and effectively as possible.
The provision of healthcare services is the responsibility of NHS health boards. In commissioning boards’ plans for this funding we have stressed the importance of ensuring that services are informed by current clinical best practice, such as National Institute for Excellence in Healthcare (NICE) guidelines NG:206 and NG:188– which are available to clinicians across the UK - and that care is delivered in line with the relevant recommendations, wherever applicable.
