Chamber and committees

Fluoride is not added to any drinking water supply in Scotland and there is no plan to do so. The decision on whether to begin adding fluoride to water supplies in Scotland would be one for the local NHS Health Board. They are required to undertake a full public consultation exercise, before applying to Scottish Water, to add fluoride to any drinking water supply.

No-fixed abode also includes individuals with a mobile lifestyle, such as travellers, and people with multiple residences, or those living temporarily with friends or family.

Analysis is based on the number of discharges. Individual patients may appear a number of times in a calendar year and in more than one year.

In 2012 a review of SMR01 data quality, only 67% of the discharge/transfer to code was found to be correct at a Scotland Level, therefore this data should be treated with caution.
(See https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Hospital-Care/Publications/
2012-05-08/Assessment-of-SMR01Data-2010-2011-ScotlandReport.pdf ).

The total number of discharges with a discharge/transfer to code of 'No Fixed Abode' in Scotland each year between 2007 and 2018, reported to NHS Information Services Division is detailed in the following table:

This information is only available from 2016 onwards. Information on ministerial meetings is routinely published on the Scottish Government website, and can be found at:

https://www.gov.scot/search/?q=Ministerial%20engagements&page=1

In 2014 the Heart Disease Improvement Plan was published, the purpose of which was to ensure that priorities remain current and that in Scotland we continue to strive towards improved prevention, treatment and care of heart disease. At its meeting on 28 April the National Advisory Committee for Heart Disease (NACHD) it was recognised that as it was five years since the Heart Disease Improvement Plan's publication, it was timely to discuss the potential for its next steps. Officials will consider if a review is required, and NACHD will discuss this at its next meeting in the autumn.

There are a number of specialist cardiac services and provisions for children with heart conditions in Scotland. These include:

• a paediatric cardiology centre, which includes a nationally commissioned neonatal and Paediatric Cardiac Service, at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow
• a paediatric cardiology centre at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh.

There are also paediatricians with an interest or expertise in cardiology at the Royal Aberdeen Children's Hospital, Ninewells Hospital, and in most district general hospitals that are not in remote or rural areas. Outreach is also provided by cardiologists from Glasgow and Edinburgh to other NHS Boards.

Scottish Specialist Transport and Retrieval (SCOTSTAR) support transfer of sick neonates or children to Glasgow. Other paediatricians and neonatologists are able to perform ultrasound scans of children's hearts and send/discuss these with a cardiologist in Glasgow or Edinburgh, which is especially useful for emergency presentations.

Paediatric cardiac services are arranged as a national service so that skills and expertise can be concentrated to maximise outcomes for the smaller patient numbers. This is in line with the Scottish Government's National Clinical Strategy that some services be planned on a population basis to ensure the greatest clinical expertise and the best outcomes. Services are regularly reviewed.

Standards for both adult and paediatric specialist congenital cardiac services were issued in 2018.

Clinical nurse specialist roles provide support to people living with a range of conditions across the life spectrum and operate across hospital and community settings. The First Minister announced on 7 January 2015 that up to an additional £2.5 million recurring funding would be made available across Scotland to enhance clinical nurse specialist provision and care, with £700,000 allocated to enable the number of specialist motor neurone disease nurses to be doubled, and funded from public funds.

NHS Boards across Scotland have benefited from the additional investment. The Scottish Government's Report on the Specialist Nursing and Care Fund, published in September 2017, shows how this investment has been used by NHS Boards to increase the number of clinical nurse specialists by 31.35 whole time equivalents. Some NHS Boards have used a proportion of this funding to invest in training.

Management information shows the following number of practices were closed to new patient registrations in each NHS board:

Information on the number of people who have been prescribed methadone is not held centrally.

NHS Information Services Division (ISD) publish figures on the Scottish Public Health Observatory (https://www.scotpho.org.uk/behaviour/drugs/data/treatment-for-drug-misuse/ ) on drugs used for the treatment of opioid dependency in Scotland, which includes dispensing of methadone hydrochloride. Published figures show that over the ten year period 2007-08 to 2017-18, the number of dispensed items for Methadone has reduced by 14%, from 492,908 dispensed items to 423,656.

Data for 2007-08 to 2017-18 can be seen in the following table:

This information is not held centrally. Responsibility for sectoral distribution rests with Integration Authorities and Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs). Before integration went live in 2016 this responsibility rested with NHS Boards and ADPs.

In addition to the investment delivered to the third sector through Integration Authorities and ADPs, third sector organisations also have opportunities to bid for funding through the National Development Project Fund, and the Challenge Fund administered by the Corra Foundation. Details of the successful projects and funding levels are available on our webpage here: https://www.gov.scot/policies/alcohol-and-drugs/

Figures for the number of attendances at Minor Ailments Services (MAS) are not held centrally.

Information Services Division (ISD) publishes figures for the number of registrations for MAS across Scotland and data relating to the number of items dispensed only.

The Minor Ailment Service, for the treatment of self-limiting common conditions, allows eligible patients and members of the public to register with their local community pharmacy and receive advice on the self-management of their condition, referral to another healthcare professional or the pharmacist will dispense an appropriate treatment for the condition. Data is not recorded on the number of patients or members of the public to receive advice or referral to another healthcare professional. Those registered can visit the pharmacy a number of times within the 12 month registration period.

The following table sets out the number of current registrations for MAS across the community pharmacy network of around 1,256 pharmacies. Figures are currently available from July 2007 up to 31 March 2017* (*latest published data).

This information is not held centrally. Figures on violence and aggression towards NHS Scotland staff are collated by Health Boards, in line with the relevant policies and procedures.

The following table, from Justice Analytical Services provides data on convictions between 2008-09 and 2017-18 under the Emergency Workers (Scotland) Act 2005.