Chamber and committees

Patients using Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) should have access to a blend of technician and nurse specialist advice and support at follow-up clinics, drop-in service or telephone helplines.

Guidelines are available from the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) and the National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE).

The Scottish Government reports to the Health and Sport
Committee on the financial position for all Integration
Authorities on a quarterly basis and the reports are publicly
available on the Scottish Parliament’s website:

http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/Current
Committees/108233.aspx

The first two quarterly reports are available at:

http://www.parliament.scot/S5_HealthandSportCommittee/
Inquiries/20180502_NHS_Finance_letter_from_Cab_Sec.pdf

http://www.parliament.scot/S5_HealthandSportCommittee/
Inquiries/20180822_Letter_IN_from_Paul_Gray_-_Budget_
Scrutiny.pdf

The Scottish Government expects all Integration Authorities
to continue to develop their plans and work towards delivering
a balanced financial position and for the consolidated overspend
to reduce throughout the year as savings plans continue to be
developed, expenditure patterns become clearer and use of
reserves and additional financial support from partners is
confirmed. Additional funding from Health Boards to address
the overspend is factored in to the overall Health and Sport
Portfolio budget, which remains on track to deliver a balanced
outturn position.

ISD Scotland does not centrally hold workforce information broken down by local authority. However, the number of school nurses employed by NHSScotland is published quarterly by Health Boards.

Data from 2015 to the most recent data, published on 4 September 2018, can be found at https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2018-09-04/Non-Medical_Trend_J2018.xls .

The information in relation to delayed chemotherapy treatments is not collected or held centrally. However on 26 September 2018, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde confirmed since January 2018 16 patients at the Royal Hospital for Children have had their chemotherapy treatment delayed.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-14195 on ‎20 February 2018. 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

This information is not held centrally. NHS Scotland health boards have fully devolved responsibilities for the for the recruitment, retention and deployment of staff. The Scottish Government works closely with boards to support their recruitment efforts.

Under this government, whole time equivalent staffing levels have increased by over 12,000 (Sept 06 – June 18). Quarterly statistics on vacancies, staffing and turnover are published by NHS Information Services Division.

Over the next 3 years the Scottish Government is investing over £4 million in recruitment and marketing campaigns, which will focus on on attracting GPs, social care workers, nurses and midwives to NHS Scotland.

This information is not centrally held.

Musculoskeletal (MSK) waiting time data is collected to allow measurement of the allied health professional MSK target. Physiotherapy is one of the 4 MSK professions (physiotherapy, podiatry, occupational therapy and orhtotics) included and measured for this target. MSK physiotherapy data has been collected from July 2015 but only as NHS Boards were able to provide data of sufficient quality for publication. The MSK data is considered to be developmental.

Further information on waiting times can be found on the ISD website - http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Waiting-Times/

The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government. Where a claim for compensation is made and settlement is agreed the information held under the Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Indemnity Scheme (CNORIS) does not distinguish as to whether liability had been admitted or not.

The CNORIS annual report provides summary details of the number and value of claims made during the financial year, along with historical values. The annual reports are published online at: https://clo.scot.nhs.uk/our-services/cnoris/frequently-asked-questions.aspx

On 3 September 2018 I received an email from Munwar Hussain in which he wrote that, on 27 June 2018, he received an email from a former junior doctor about bullying allegations. He stated that he then informed NHS Tayside’s Chair. NHS Tayside confirmed that the bulling allegations relate to Adult Mental Health Services which are presently under General Medical Council Enhanced Monitoring measures, of which Scottish Government officials were already aware.

My officials meet regularly with NHS Lothian to discuss waiting times including the specialty of urology. I am aware that waiting times for urology in NHS Lothian is below the level I expect. NHS Lothian has received £3.7 million as part of the £25 million initially issued to Boards from the £50 million announced at the end of May 2018. The Board are using £162,000 for urology services to support additional outpatient activity and theatres with a further £344,000 allocated for urology diagnostic tests. This should support activity for around 1,500 patients. I expect to see improvements during this year.

The recently published programme for Government committed me to publish a plan to substantially and sustainably improve waiting time performance in the face of rising demand for services - this plan will be published shortly.