- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 3 February 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive when the practice of removing patient information from monitoring screens in order to meet four-hour targets ceased at Monklands Hospital.
Answer
NHS Lanarkshire have stated that they do not, and have never, removed patient information from monitoring screens.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 3 February 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether plans for the winter at Monklands Hospital took into account the closure of 23 orthopaedic beds and 16 surge beds.
Answer
NHS Lanarkshire have stated that they have not closed any orthopaedic beds at Monklands Hospital.
NHS Lanarkshire has a comprehensive system-wide winter plan. All hospitals operate as an emergency clinical network during periods of peak activity. In December, Monklands achieved 98% against the four hour accident and emergency target with a performance of 97% in January.
Previously, there were a total of 16 surge beds in Monklands used between December and March. Four of these were in renal with another 12 in Ward 11. However, only eight of these were used. Over the years it became clear that surge capacity was required for patients requiring enhanced discharge support rather than acute care on a hospital site. NHS Lanarkshire therefore took the decision to allied health professions staffing and now use up to 12 beds in this facility for this group of patients.
NHS Lanarkshire have stated that these arrangements provide adequate capacity through the winter period.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 2 February 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive how many supervisors of midwives will reach retiring age in each of the next five years.
Answer
Specific information about the numbers of supervisors of midwives about to retire is not held centrally. However, we expect Local Supervising Authority Midwifery Officers to succession plan to ensure the appropriate number of supervisors are in place if, and when, staff choose to retire. We are also committed to maximising the skills and expertise of all staff in NHS Scotland, including those in the ageing workforce. We are currently jointly funding with NHS Education for Scotland and the South East (NHS) Education Forum, research on the ageing workforce to determine what NHS Scotland can do to recruit and retain those in this section of the workforce.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 2 February 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the NHS boards in which the National Sexual Health (NaSH) system is in operation and when it expects the remaining boards to begin operating the system.
Answer
The NHS boards currently using the National Sexual Health (NaSH) system are:
Ayrshire and Arran
Borders
Dumfries and Galloway
Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Lanarkshire
Lothian.
Tayside and Grampian NHS Boards will be live by the end of March 2009 and all remaining boards will implement NaSH by December 2009 when the Implementation Programme is scheduled to finish.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 2 February 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any NHS boards are failing to meet the Nursing and Midwifery Council minimum standard ratio of one supervisor to 15 midwives and, if so, which ones.
Answer
Seven NHS boards in Scotland do not meet the Nursing and Midwifery Council requirement. They are: NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Fife, NHS Forth Valley, NHS Grampian, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, NHS Lanarkshire.
All potential supervisors of midwives must successfully complete a supervisor of midwives course and these boards are putting in place plans to increase the number of supervisors in order to meet the required standards.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Nicola Sturgeon on 2 February 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what quality assurance measures are in place to ensure that no patient information is deleted from accident and emergency unit monitoring screens prior to being seen and treated.
Answer
In relation to the Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) only EDIS administrators are able to delete information. EDIS administrators are normally senior clinicians or senior members of staff or members of the IT department and there would be an audit trail if any information was deleted.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 2 February 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what the breastfeeding rates were in maternity wards or units dedicated to women suffering from substance misuse in the last year during which such wards or units existed.
Answer
The information requested is not centrally available as maternity ward or unit level information cannot be identified from national data collected on breastfeeding rates.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 2 February 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcome was of each of the 19 investigations undertaken by supervisors of midwives or the local midwives supervising authority in 2007-08 and what the method was for reporting each of the outcomes.
Answer
Notification of the outcomes of supervisory investigations is provided in the same way in all Local Supervising Authority regions within Scotland. The Local Supervising Authority Midwifery Officer (LSAMO), midwives involved in the investigation and their named Supervisor of Midwives will be informed in writing of the outcome. The Head of Midwifery in the relevant NHS board will also be informed if a midwife requires developmental or supervised practice. Issues relating to system failures highlighted during the investigation will be discussed by the LSAMO and the Head of Midwifery.
The outcomes of the investigations carried out in 2007-08 are set out in the following table.
| No issues identified | 4 |
| No further action | 4 |
| Developmental support or supervised practice required | 13 |
| Referred to NMC | 2 |
| Suspended | 1 |
| Contract terminated | 2 |
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 2 February 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what additional remuneration and dedicated resources it would recommend as incentives for midwives to become supervisors.
Answer
Under current nationally agreed terms and conditions, an allowance of £500 per annum is available for supervisory midwives in recognition of the statutory regulatory duties they perform. The provision of any additional resources is a matter for NHS boards.
- Asked by: Dr Richard Simpson, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 22 January 2009
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 2 February 2009
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure that the rising birth rate and the increased workload resulting from a renewed focus on pregnant women with substance misuse problems is matched by increased numbers of midwives.
Answer
It is for NHS boards to determine the staff required in their local areas. However, we expect NHS boards to take account of local population needs and changes in service provision to ensure a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency approach to the provision of care for this vulnerable group of women.
The Nursing and Midwifery Workload and Workforce Planning Programme has been assisting NHS boards to support the implementation of Birthrate Plus and Professional Judgement tools. Following a review of this process a new tool for Maternity Services in Scotland will be developed, taking account of the experience gained from Birthrate Plus and Professional Judgement tools, and taking into account the Midwifery 2020 Programme which NHS Scotland is leading on behalf of the UK.
