Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government funds the NHS Research Scotland Dementia and Neuro-progressive Research Network to support eligibly funded and commercial clinical studies hosted by the NHS in Scotland.

Researchers based in Scotland can also apply for funding to the Chief Scientist Office’s funding committees. Details of these are available from the CSO website https://www.cso.scot.nhs.uk/funding-2/response-mode-funding-schemes/ .

Scotland has a wide range of researchers in this field and our commitment in Programme for Government to establish Scotland's Brain Health Centre - the first of its kind - will help enhance focus on dementia research, including in the area of prevention.

The Scottish Government committed to publishing the data provided by NHS Boards, which informed the report “Findings of Scottish Specialist Pain Workforce Study early in the New Year and we are on track to meet this commitment.

On behalf of the National Advisory Committee for Chronic Pain (NACCP), the Deputy Chief Medical Officer commissioned Scottish NHS Boards to provide information about the quantity of different healthcare professionals working within specialist pain services across Scotland, as well as qualitative information about recruitment/ retention challenges and succession planning for this workforce group. This work was supported by Officials in the Scottish Government’s Planning and Quality Division.

The subsequent report ’Findings of Scottish Specialist Pain Workforce Study’ was produced by officials across the Health and Social Care Directorate with analytical support.

The NHS in Scotland continues to invest in improving our approach to the dispensing of medicine in hospitals, such as in the use of robotic dispensing systems. The Scottish Government has identified the implementation of Hospital Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (HEPMA) as the priority focus to reduce medication errors and improve patient safety and we expect all NHS Boards to implement HEPMA in the next 3-5 years.

However, it is essential that we consider all emerging digital opportunities to further improve patient safety and medicines reconciliation processes. Whilst automated medicine cabinets are not widely available in Scotland at present the Scottish Government will consider the forthcoming research from the Centre for Medication Safety and Service Quality (CMSSQ) who are conducting an independent academic study into the benefits of cabinet technology within UK hospitals. This research is expected to evaluate automated medication cabinets in terms of their effect on medication errors, financial savings, productivity improvement and workforce efficiencies.

Work undertaken by the Scottish Government in relation to the contribution of Physician Associates (PA) and Physician Associates (Anaesthesia) (PAA) has focused primarily on gathering information about their use in Scotland and assessing the risks presented by their scope of practice. The Chief Nursing Officer’s Transforming Roles programme has established a short life working group to provide a framework of professional governance to support the development of these roles in the delivery of safe and effective care in Scotland.

Ministers of the devolved administrations wrote to the UK Government in September 2015 in agreement that, in the interests of safety, professional accountability and to maximise the utility of these roles through supplementary and independent prescribing, PAs (and PAAs) should be subject to statutory regulation. It was agreed in the summer of 2019 that the General Medical Council (GMC) should assume this responsibility. A project planning board has recently been established by the GMC to develop the regulatory framework for PAs and PAAs, representation on which includes the four administrations, medical Royal Colleges, deaneries, professional associations and other key stakeholders.

I refer the Member to the answer to question S5W-26524 on 10 December 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

The information requested on how many physician associates are employed by each NHS board is not centrally available.

ISD holds information on the Physician Assistants sub-job family within medical and dental support which includes the following sub-categories:

• Physician Associates
• Physician Assistants (Anaesthesia)

The whole time equivalent for Physician Assistants by NHS Board can be found on the following table:

Medical and Dental Support Staff – Physician Assistant (WTE)

The relevant information available at national level is shown in the following tables. The data are sourced from the Costs Book which is the national data collection covering annual expenditure by NHS Boards in Scotland. The figures shown cover expenditure that Boards have identified as relating to Mental Health services delivered in hospitals or in the community, and that are aimed specifically at children and adolescents. Note that, within the Cost Book, some Boards may not distinguish all expenditure relating specifically to this age group meaning some elements of expenditure are likely to omitted. Therefore, year on year trends should be regarded with caution.

 Table 1: Child and Adolescent Mental Health Expenditure (£000)

Source: Scottish Health Service Costs, Report R300, R340, R04LSX, SFR 5.9 and SFR 8.3, ISD Scotland

Table 2: Percentage of Total NHS Expenditure on CAMHS Services

Source: Scottish Health Service Costs, Report R300, R340, R04LSX, SFR 5.9 and SFR 8.3, ISD Scotland

Table 3: Percentage of Mental Health Expenditure on CAMHS Services

Source: Scottish Health Service Costs, Report R300, R340, R04LSX, SFR 5.9 and SFR 8.3, ISD Scotland

We have recently written to Parkinson’s UK to ask them to meet with Scottish Government officials early in the new year to fully discuss and consider the recommendations in their report, “Get it on Time”.

We will also continue to engage with all stakeholders in the neurological community in order that we can ensure that everyone living in Scotland with neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, is able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put the patient at the centre of their care.

Public health messaging on diet, weight and physical activity is an important and sensitive area of work to which we will be giving more attention, drawing on the evidence and learning from other policies. Over the coming year, with NHS Health Scotland and other stakeholders, we will be considering what action national agencies and frontline services should take to ensure our messaging will be effective in promoting positive health change without stigma or discrimination.

More generally, the Scottish Government commissions market research where necessary to ensure that communications are informed by audience insight. Communications are also informed by behavioural insights and evidenced models of behaviour change.

As part of a wellbeing pilot project to tackle underlying causes of various health risk behaviours, including physical inactivity and poor diet, we have commissioned independent qualitative market research with target populations to inform how messages are framed and the language used. The research has highlighted factors that contribute to people undertaking behaviours that are bad for their health and the communication approaches that will be most effective in encouraging behaviour change to improve health outcomes. The findings will inform the development of a mental health and wellbeing pilot campaign in February 2020.