Chamber and committees

All overseas visitors are eligible to register as temporary or permanent patients of a general practice and receive free treatment. As such, GPs do not need to check the eligibility of overseas visitors to free NHS care and, as under the previous contract, are not able to charge a fee for services provided under a general medical services contract.

It is a long-standing principle that everybody in Scotland is entitled to register with a general medical practice and receive primary medical services without charge. Patients should register on a permanent or temporary basis depending upon on their length of stay in a practice area and not upon their legal status to remain in the UK. GPs are paid for this work as with any other patient.

Police and prosecutors already have powers available to them to deal with the theft, vandalism or misuse of community defibrillators. These offences potentially put lives at risk but according to the UK Resuscitation Council, instances of Public Access Defibrillator theft and vandalism is relatively uncommon.

The estimated uptake rate of the pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccination in people aged 65 and over is set out in the following table. Data is only available from 2010-11 onwards:

The general medical services contract provides resources to practices on the basis of their expected workload. As under the previous general medical services contract, Scottish Government will annually increase the level of resources to be allocated in line with increases in the registered population whether from ordinary residents or overseas visitors.

Under the new contract, practices will be required to report on numbers of Temporary Residents in 2018-19 to allow funding to be reformed and uplifted on the basis that resources will follow activity as soon as practicable and by 2020-21.

We will ensure that the appropriate level of funding is available as we take forward the implementation of the Oral Health Improvement Plan.

We have an excellent record in NHS dentistry and have invested significantly in dentistry in the last decade and will continue to do so.

There are now over 5 million people registered with a NHS dentist in Scotland, a record figure and we have also seen an unprecedented increase in the number of dentists providing NHS dental services, up 33 per cent under this government since 2007.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland have published the Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer, Quick Reference Guide which is distributed to GPs across Scotland. This document includes guidelines for referring Haematological cancers. We plan to publish updated guidelines later this year.

It is a matter for individual clinicians and GP practices to ensure they have up to date training. As a result, the Scottish Government don’t have any specific plans to increase awareness of Myeloproliferative Neoplasms.

Scottish Government published the Implementation Plan ‘It’s Not Rare to Have a Rare Disease’ in June 2014. Through this plan, we are working together with partners to improve the outcomes and support for people with rare diseases.

One of the aims of this plan is to put in place education and training programmes that enable health and social care professionals to better identify rare diseases, to help deliver faster diagnosis and to ensure that patients have access to appropriate treatment pathways.

The Scottish Government cancer strategy ‘Beating Cancer: Ambition and Action’ complements the actions of the rare disease plan through its focus on early detection, diagnosis and treatment for all forms of cancer, including rare cancers such as Myeloproliferative Neoplasms.

The Scottish Government is committed to increasing the number and locations of Changing Places toilets (CPTs) in Scotland. The provision of CPTs in hospitals is important as they provide an accessible network across Scotland for people with complex needs attending hospital appointments.

The Scottish Government works closely with PAMIS, the only organisation in Scotland that works solely with people with profound and multiple learning disabilities and their families for a better life. PAMIS are continuing to progress the CPT campaign and have engaged with a range of stakeholders particularly in areas where there are limited or no CPTs. There are currently 167 CPT facilities across Scotland.

Additionally, the Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning has proposed a requirement for CPTs in certain types of new large buildings, including hospitals, through review of Scottish building regulations for certain types of new buildings. These include: large enclosed shopping centres (30,000 m 2 and above); hospitals; leisure centres (particularly swimming pools); large stadia and arenas; and future-proofing schools.

NHS Lothian have confirmed that they are committed to implementing three CPTs in the new Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh. There is also CPTs planned for the redevelopment of the Royal Edinburgh Hospital and the new East Lothian Community Hospital. NHS Lothian are also currently reviewing existing hospitals with a view to accommodating CPTs.

The information held centrally is not recorded at this level of detail. The number of clinical nurse specialists in post can be found on the workforce statistics web site, with the most recent data as at 30th September 2017: https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2017-12-05/Clinical_Nurse_Specialists_S2017.xls . Note that this information is published annually in December.

Clinical nurse specialists make a valued contribution to delivering services and supporting patients and families who require specialist care. The Scottish Government has invested over £2.4 million annually in the Specialist Nursing and Care Fund since 2015.

The Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland; however, the statutory responsibility for delivering or commissioning services at a local level lies with local authorities, NHS Boards and integrated health and social care partnerships. Operational decisions, including whether there is a need for myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) specialist nurses, are therefore matters for these bodies.