- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 November 2023
To ask Scottish Government, further to the Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care's ministerial statement on winter planning and resilience on 24 October 2023, how many of the "additional 1,000 nurses, midwives and allied health professionals" (AHPs) from overseas who have joined NHS Scotland over the past two years were AHPs, broken down by profession.
Answer
In October 2022, we announced that further Scottish Government funding of £8m was being made available to recruit allied health professionals and midwives from overseas for the first time alongside nurses whereas the £4.5m funding in 2021 for international recruitment was provided solely for registered nurses.
I am pleased to advise that between October 2022 and 30 September 2023, a total of 109 AHPs have been recruited from overseas and are in posts across NHS Scotland, with further arrivals expected as we continue to support international recruitment. The Scottish Government does not hold data centrally relating to the AHP professions recruited to, that information is held by employing health boards.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Michael Matheson on 14 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether there are exemptions from the Treatment Time Guarantee in certain specialities, and, if so, what these are.
Answer
Exceptions to the Treatment Time Guarantee, as set out by The Patient Rights (Treatment Time Guarantee) (Scotland) Regulations 2012 are as follows:
• Assisted reproduction.
• Obstetrics services
• Organ, tissue, or cell transplantation, whether from living or deceased donor.
Over 2.8 million inpatients and day cases have benefited from the 12-weeks treatment target since it was introduced.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 November 2023
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Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 16 November 2023
To ask the First Minister what immediate action the Scottish Government is taking to address the reported crisis in social care, in light of the letter from the Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland stating that the social care pay uplift is insufficient.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 16 November 2023
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 13 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish any paper on the potential implications of losing intensive care status in neonatal units.
Answer
The Best Start recommendation to move to a model of three intensive care units in Scotland was based on evidence that this will improve outcomes for the smallest and sickest babies.
The Framework for Practice ‘Criteria to Define Levels of Neonatal Care including Repatriation within NHS Scotland’, published on 25 July 2023 describes the care that can be provided at each level of neonatal care. It outlines that Local Neonatal Units can continue to care for babies requiring short periods of intensive care in accordance with agreed pathways.
In addition the British Association of Perinatal Medicine published ‘ Optimal Arrangements for Neonatal Intensive Care Units in the UK’ in 2021, which provides a framework for practice for neonatal care. This sets out the optimal arrangements for neonatal intensive care to provide the lowest mortality and morbidity, and the best baby and parent experience.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 13 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether any clinician from University Hospital Wishaw was involved in the work of the (a) Best Start Review Group and (b) Sub-Group on Neonatal Models of Care.
Answer
The membership of the Best Start Review Group and the Best Start Sub-Groups is published in Appendix E and Appendix F of the Best Start Report .
Dr Ian Wallace, at the time Medical Director at NHS Lanarkshire, was a member of the Best Start Review Group and the Neonatal Models of Care sub group.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 13 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what evidence it considered regarding the potential consequences of separating a mother from their newborn in connection with the proposed location of neonatal intensive care units.
Answer
The Best Start emphasises parents as key partners in caring for their baby and aims to keep mothers and babies, and families together as much as possible in the crucial early weeks, with services designed around them.
The new model of care aims to minimise the separation of families, and to support parents with babies in neonatal care. We have a number of measures already in place to support families:
- Providing accommodation for parents to stay on or near neonatal units;
- Roll out of the Young Patients Family Fund (formerly the Neonatal Expenses Fund) to support families with the costs of travel, accommodation and food whilst their baby is in neonatal care;
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- Repatriating babies to their local neonatal units as soon as clinically possible.
Under the new model of care mothers in suspected extreme pre-term labour are transferred before they give birth (in-utero) to maternity units in the hospitals that have neonatal intensive care units. Experience from the Early Implementer Boards indicates that this will happen in the vast majority of cases. On occasion when it is not possible to transfer mothers before they give birth, the baby will be stabilised and transferred to a NICU by the specialist neonatal transport service ScotSTAR, and the mother will be transferred to the maternity unit in the same hospital as her baby.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 13 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish the scoring methodology and underpinning detail used in identifying which neonatal services should be retained.
Answer
The Options Appraisal Report , published on 25 July 2023 describes the process undertaken to determine the three final Neonatal Intensive Care Units, and the feasibility analysis and testing that followed the conclusion of that process. Annex A of the Report includes the criteria and weighting used for the Options Appraisal Process. Annexes C and D of the report outline the data that supported the Options Appraisal process.
Further detail on the methodology and the scoring of individual units can be found as part of the following Freedom of Information request:
Information relating to Options Appraisal Report: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Patrick Harvie on 13 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Short Life Working Group report arising from the Fatal Accident Inquiry recommendations following the fire at Cameron House Hotel, and in relation to the commitment to establish an expert working group to consider mandating automatic fire suppression systems where historic buildings are being converted into hotels, whether it will confirm (a) the membership of the group and (b) when the group’s (i) terms of reference and (ii) remit will be in place, and when it expects the group to report.
Answer
Membership of the expert group, remit/terms of reference and minutes of expert group meetings group will be published on the Building and Fire Safety Ministerial Working Group website once they have been agreed. A detailed programme of work is currently under development to establish a timeframe for reporting and will be agreed at the first meeting of the group on 28 November 2023.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 13 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration was given to deprivation factors in deciding on the proposed location of neonatal services.
Answer
The locations of the three Neonatal Intensive Care Units was based on clinical evidence that the very smallest and sickest babies, including those born extremely premature (below 27 weeks), do best when they are cared for in larger specialist neonatal units which look after a lot of these babies, and have the right staff and services available on site to give them the very best care. The Best Start report recommended that we move to three of these units in Scotland, to meet the needs of our population.
The Options Appraisal Report , published on 25 July 2023 describes the process undertaken to determine the three final Neonatal Intensive Care Units, and the feasibility analysis and testing that followed the conclusion of that process. Annex A of the Report includes the criteria and weighting used for the Options Appraisal Process. Based on the evidence, the criteria focused on collocated clinical specialist services.
To support all parents who have babies admitted to neonatal care the Young Patients Family Fund provides funds to cover the cost of travel, subsistence and any accommodation required.
- Asked by: Jackie Baillie, MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 October 2023
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 13 November 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what geographical location each proposed neonatal intensive care unit will serve, and what the population density is for each of those locations.
Answer
The three NICU units; Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow, the Aberdeen Maternity Hospital and the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary will serve the West, North and East regions of Scotland. Data on births in Scotland is published on the National Records of Scotland website for every year since 1991, broken down by NHS Board or council area of birth.
