Chamber and committees

NHS Territorial Boards continue to make limited use of the independent and private sector for health care services. Total spend decreased from £78.5 million in 2015-16 to £72.0 million in 2016-17.

Spend by each Board for 2016-17 is set out in the following table. Figures for
2006-07 to 2015-16 were provided in response to question S5W-05822.

One of the key principles of the Vaccination Transformation Programme will be to implement new models of delivery that do not adversely impact on uptake rates. While GPs will no longer be responsible for the delivery of vaccinations, it is likely that general practice premises will still be used to deliver vaccinations allowing opportunistic immunisation to continue. Different delivery options and a changing NHS and public health landscape may also provide opportunities and benefits which are not possible within current arrangements. At present local variation in uptake of the flu vaccine across GP practices is monitored closely and appropriate interventions applied to improve uptake. New Primary Care clusters will work closely with HSCPs and make use of intelligence and data to continue monitoring uptake in their areas and provide support as necessary.

The Vaccination Transformation Programme will not mandate how Health Boards will deliver vaccinations in their area. Rather the programme will support Health Boards in implementing local delivery solutions that best suit them, their patients, and their geography. The solutions developed may involve establishing immunisation teams, contracting local GPs, or a combination thereof. As service providers, the local Health Board will ensure that the service they design provides best value for money.

A core principle of the Vaccination Transformation Programme is that services will continue to be delivered to patients in a safe, sustainable and acceptable way. It will be a matter for Boards locally to determine whether or not any change in service provision will warrant consultation with the public, for example if there is a meaningful change in how patients access services, but in many cases this is not likely to be necessary.

In some parts of the country NHS Boards have already taken over responsibility for delivering vaccinations previously delivered by GPs, and all NHS Boards currently deliver school-based vaccinations.

Action 16 of the Mental Health Strategy 2017-27 committed to fund the introduction of a Managed Clinical Network to improve the recognition and treatment of perinatal mental health problems. Recruitment to the network has been completed and it is now operational.

In its review of current provision, the network will pay particular attention to pathways into care for women who may live some distance from an existing MBU and will make recommendations on improving access where difficulties emerge. Both existing MBUs have put in place online resources which provide information for the public and professionals on accessing MBU care and what to expect if an admission takes place.

Action 16 of the Mental Health Strategy 2017-27 committed to fund the introduction of a Managed Clinical Network to improve the recognition and treatment of perinatal mental health problems. Recruitment to the network has been completed and it is now operational

The network is conducting a review of services (both statutory and voluntary), available to women who experience any perinatal mental illness, across Scotland. This will be completed within the coming year. The network will then make recommendations regarding the adequacy of provision and how any identified gaps in service provision could be filled.

Action 16 of the Mental Health Strategy 2017-27 committed to fund the introduction of a Managed Clinical Network to improve the recognition and treatment of perinatal mental health problems. Recruitment to the network has been completed and it is now operational.

The network is undertaking a review of current education and training across disciplines, including mental health nursing, over the course of the coming year. The network is also working with NHS Education for Scotland to identify a training plan for professionals, including mental health nurses working within specialist perinatal mental health services and those working in general mental health services.

Regulation for the Licensing and Safety of Medicines is currently a reserved area for the UK Government.

The Scottish Government meets regularly with the MHRA to discuss medicine safety issues. This includes discussion on Primodos. Furthermore, I wrote to the UK Government urging them to conduct a thorough examination of all materials in the Review and also to ensure that families in Scotland were given the opportunity to engage with the independent Review.

The Scottish Government has arranged to meet with the Chair of the Association for Children Damaged by Hormone Pregnancy Tests to hear first hand their experience and learning from observing the Expert Working Group Review.

Since 1999 the data on the community nursing staff categories, including district nurses, has been subject to a number of reviews.

The number of district nurses by NHS Board, from September 1996 to September 2005,

can be found on the workforce statistics web site:

http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Historic-Data/WFE01_HB_REG.xls.

In 2006, recording of NHS staff was moved from Whitley to Agenda for Change. As a result statistics presented from 2007 onwards are not directly comparable to information prior to 2006. Information for 2006 is not available as this was a transitional year.

The number of district nurses by NHS Board, from September 2007 to September 2014, can be

found on the workforce statistics web site:

https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2017-09-05/Non-Medical_Trend_J2017.xls.

A review of the data on community nursing staff categories, including district nurses, was undertaken in 2014 to ensure more accurate and consistent reporting for these staff groups. Data prior to the completion of the review is not comparable with data from 2015 onwards.

The number of district nurses by NHS Board, from March 2015 to June 2017, can be found on the workforce statistics web site:

https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2017-09-05/Nursing_and_Midwifery_SIP_J2017.xls.

The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 is due to come into effect on 1 April 2018. There is currently no centrally held data for the number of people receiving respite breaks.

The Scottish Health Survey for 2012-2015 shows that around 2% of carers aged 16 and over said they received support through a short break or respite care service. This is equivalent to over 15,000 carers in Scotland.

I also refer the member to the answer to question S5W-11158 on 21 September 2017. 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