Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has listened to concerns that independent hospices have about the recruitment and retention of staff, and will continue to do so.

As Integration Joint Boards (IJBs) are responsible for the governance, planning, and resourcing of adult palliative care services, including hospices, using the integrated budget under their control, we will continue to work with Chief Officers to support longer term sustainable planning and commissioning for the hospice sector, and will work jointly to develop a national guidance framework to support and improve consistency of local planning and commissioning.

The Scottish Government is committed to working with NHS Boards to deliver our ambition to protect, stabilise and recover planned care. This includes maximising theatre productivity, optimising capacity and regional working.

Regional cancer networks have undertaken, and continue to undertake, improvement work to reduce ovarian cancer surgery waits. This improvement work includes increasing surgery provision and regional support.

The Scottish Cancer Network will be establishing a new National Ovarian Cancer Clinical Network, which will work to ensure equity of access to treatment for all women with ovarian cancer in Scotland.

The Deputy National Clinical Director and Scottish Government officials met with the clinical leads for ovarian cancer in the Northern Cancer Alliance (NCA) and the South East Scotland Cancer Network (SCAN) during Summer 2023.

Ongoing improvements to the service, including waiting times for treatment, and any potential support required from the Scottish Government were discussed.

The Digital Prescribing and Dispensing Pathways (DPDP) Programme is being developed, and it is intended to replace the paper prescription with a digital solution in community settings. The programme has been commissioned and funded by the Scottish Government. It is being jointly delivered by NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) and NHS Education for Scotland (NES) in collaboration with stakeholders across Scotland.

The inclusion of prescriptions for stoma items has been raised by the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer with the DPDP programme team, and consideration is being given as to how stoma items can be brought within the scope of the programme.

The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring that everyone who needs it can access seamless, timely and high-quality palliative care.

We have appointed a National Clinical Lead for Palliative and End of Life Care to drive this, supported by a Clinical and Practice Advisory Group and a wide-reaching Strategy Steering Group.

The Steering Group is currently reviewing the information and evidence we have and need to develop the strategy, including mapping services and support across Scotland.

This is a matter for each territorial NHS Board. The information requested is not held centrally.

Care and support for people with long COVID is being provided across the full range of services delivered by our NHS. This includes assessment in a setting close to home by local primary care teams, and referral to community-based rehabilitation services or secondary care settings for further investigation of specific complications where clinically appropriate.

This is a matter for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. The information requested is not held centrally.

As the Deputy First Minister set out in her Budget Statement on 19 December 2023, the financial position across Scottish Government is extremely challenging and work is ongoing to identify measures to address the continued challenges in 2024-25 and beyond.

Integration Joint Boards are responsible for the governance, planning, and resourcing of adult palliative care services, including hospices, using the integrated budget under their control. We will therefore continue to work with Integration Joint Boards and independent hospices to explore solutions and options for longer term sustainable planning and commissioning for the independent hospice sector.

The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring that everyone who needs it can access seamless, timely and high-quality palliative care.

We are currently developing a new National Strategy for Palliative and End of Life Care for Scotland. As part of this work, we are reviewing the information and evidence we have, and need, to develop the strategy. This includes gathering data on current and projected needs for palliative care at a population level, mapping governance, services and support across Scotland, and building on our understanding of people’s experiences of palliative and end of life care.

The outputs of this work will give us a clearer picture of the delivery and accessibility of palliative care across Scotland, and will inform a new strategy that reflects what really matters to people experiencing serious illness, dying and bereavement.

Scottish Government does not hold this information.

Neonatal cot capacity is managed on a network basis through a daily call attended by all Neonatal Units. The data provided is then collated and is used to identify any sustained or acute pressure on intensive care cots. The availability of beds is not solely down to the availability of neonatal cots, but also maternal beds and the availability of specialists to support both mother and baby. This ensures that for any woman or baby who requires immediate delivery, suitable arrangements are made.