I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

The SPS responds to the social and mental health needs of all prisoners within Scottish penal establishments, including providing access to specialist healthcare provision when an assessed need is identified; and to ensure that we provide prison environments and means of support that encourage positive mental wellbeing to all the people the organisation is responsible for.

Multi-disciplinary mental health teams (MDMHT) oversee the care and individualised clinical management of the majority of prisoners with mental health difficulties including those with severe and enduring mental health problems. A range of options are available for treatment, which commonly follows the advice of visiting specialists in psychiatry.

The SPS are unable to provide a response to part (b) of the question.

There are no plans to extend the current road equivalent tariff pilot.

I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

Treatments and facilities are available for prisoners with severe and ensuring mental health problems. SPS policy Positive Mental Health guides the provision of mental health services available to prisoners and SPS Healthcare Standards states criterion for the delivery of mental health services within prison and provision of facilities.

I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

Since the implementation of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003, the Scottish Prison Service, at both local and national levels, has sought to work with partner agencies and voluntary providers to put in place independent advocacy services for those who require it. SPS continues to work with such providers to develop service across the prison estate. Where services are available, these are advertised and information provided by healthcare staff.

I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

The impact overcrowded prisons have on patients with severe and enduring mental health problems are many, examples include:

A direct effect on mental health as a consequence of, for example, noise, people, or lack of personal space;

It is more difficult to identify prisoners requiring additional support as a consequence of increased demands on staff to carry out other activities;

Access to constructive activity is limited as a consequence of pressure on resources;

Increased time spent isolated in cells, or enforced sharing of accommodation, or the risk of being placed in inappropriate accommodation;

A greater risk of behaviour, such as bullying, that impact on a person''s mental health,

Rapid transfer to another prison without fully adequate preparation because of pressure on an already overcrowded prison.

More documentary evidence is available in HM Chief Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland''s Thematic Review: Out of Site, Severe and Enduring Mental Health Problems in Scotland''s Prisons. A copy can be located at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/244161/0068214.pdf.

As an independent voluntary organisation, the Highland Hospice receives funding for services provided to NHS Highland. This funding is unaffected by the current economic downturn. Any financial loss suffered by Highland Hospice as a consequence of investing with Kaupthing, Singer and Friedlander will require to be pursued by the hospice management, with the bank''s administrators. The Scottish Government is unable to provide assistance to recoup financial losses suffered by Highland Hospice as a consequence of investing with Kaupthing, Singer and Friedlander.

The Scottish Government is committed to providing appropriate care and treatment to all of those who experience depression, including ensuring early identification and diagnosis.

We recognise that a large proportion of people in all age ranges with depression remain undiagnosed, so we continue to work with partners on campaigns to end stigma around mental ill-health and to encourage those in need of help to seek it.

Activity on clinical identification, diagnosis and treatment across age ranges includes ensuring care pathways standards; increasing access to psychological therapies and reducing the reliance on antidepressants; and improving screening for depression for those with diabetes and coronary heart disease.

The GP contract has been enhanced in recent years to improve detection and treatment of depression, and follow-up care. Some health boards in Scotland have locally enhanced services in place to deliver health care services to people in care homes, tailored to specific needs such as monitoring of medication. We are working with NHS Education for Scotland specifically on the issue of delivering psychological therapies for older people, including a particular focus on delivery to those housebound and in care homes.

On mental health promotion and prevention of common mental health problems such as depression, we have funded NHS Health Scotland to work with partners, such as Age Concern Scotland and the Mental Health Foundation, to address mental health in later life. Work focuses on research to underpin health promoting activities with older people and to disseminate the learning from research; building older people''s capacity to engage in mental health-promoting activity at local, regional and national level; and developing information resources.

The number of GP practices in each NHS board signed up to the osteoporosis direct enhanced service is illustrated in the following table.

Practices Signed Up to the Osteoporosis Directed Enhanced Service

NHS Board
Ayrshire and Arran	56
Borders	25
Dumfries and Galloway	33
Fife	55
Forth Valley	51
Glasgow	262
Grampian	80
Highland	82
Lanarkshire	97
Lothian	103
Orkney	5
Shetland	0
Tayside	62
Western Isles	8

 

There is a wide range of rehabilitation services available through the NHS in Scotland. The value of these services are underpinned in the Delivery Framework for Adult Rehabilitation in Scotland.

Additionally, many employers provide access to occupational health and rehabilitation services for their employees.

The Scottish Government is funding three vocational rehabilitation pilot projects, delivered by NHS Tayside, NHS Lothian and NHS Borders, which provides a service that is targeted at employees of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) that do not have access to in-house occupational health services, to assist them back into the workplace. The pilots are intended to end in March 2010.

This data is not held centrally. It is for NHS boards to determine the services they provide to meet local demand for their area, including occupational health services.

The Scottish Government is funding three vocational rehabilitation pilot projects, delivered by NHS Tayside, NHS Lothian and NHS Borders, which provides a service that is targeted at employees of small to medium enterprises (SMEs) that do not have access to in-house occupational health services, to assist them back into the workplace. The pilots are intended to end in March 2010.