Chamber and committees

Child death reviews in Scotland will consider modifiable and preventable factors, and will incorporate local and national data collection, to learn lessons with the aim of reducing avoidable mortality in children and young people.

The Scottish Government is working with colleges, universities, and other bodies to better identify students who also have caring responsibilities.

During the progress of the Mental Health Bill (now the Mental Health (Scotland) 2015 Act), Mr Hepburn made clear that he was open to a stakeholder event to help move the process forward. He also stated that the review will be participative and that stakeholders would be involved in shaping its remit.

The Mental Welfare Commission in partnership with the Scottish Commission for Learning Difficulties are currently undertaking a scoping exercise on behalf of the Scottish Government to gauge opinion from service users as well as representative bodies which will help shape the remit of the official review. This will in turn ensure that the design of the official review acknowledges the complexities, includes the full range of stakeholders and leads to practical proposals with as much consensus as can reasonably be achieved.

Part of the official review process will be to hear the views of the people of Scotland and once the scope and engagement strategy has been agreed it will be made public.

In October 2015, Information Services Division (ISD) Scotland published analysis of individuals on methadone based on those prescriptions with a valid Community Health Index (CHI) number. This analysis was published on the ScotPHO website, and can be accessed here, with the caveat that due to sub-optimal CHI capture rates, the estimates should be regarded as a minimum count of individuals on methadone hydrochloride in Scotland. The results of this analysis were:

In 2014-15, methadone 1mg/ml solution was prescribed at least once to 25,170 individuals (based on prescriptions with a valid CHI).

The number of individuals prescribed methadone 1mg/ml solution appears to have reduced from 26,202 individuals in 2011-12.

In 2014-15, 117,578 (or 27%) of prescriptions did not have a valid CHI number. It is not possible to determine how many additional individuals prescribed methadone 1mg/ml solution would have been identified had these data been complete.

The mosquito vectors for the Zika virus are not able to survive in the Scottish climate, and therefore the risk to Scotland is very low because it would not be possible for the virus to spread easily here.

Health Protection Scotland regularly reviews their advice, taking into account available evidence, to ensure information given to people visiting, and returning from affected countries is up-to-date. This is done at cross-governmental level to ensure advice for the UK is consistent. Detailed information can be found on Health Protection Scotland’s website and the public-facing Fit for Travel website. As an example of the information provided, all travellers to affected areas are advised to seek travel advice from a health care provider at least six to eight weeks in advance of travel, which includes advice on risk of sexual transmission of Zika virus, and particularly, advice for those who are pregnant or planning a pregnancy.

The information is not held centrally.

The following table shows the number of people discharged with a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from hospitals in Scotland in each year between 1999 and 2014. Numbers are shown for the whole of Scotland and for individual NHS boards of treatment.

Table 1. Number of people¹ discharged² with a diagnosis of PTSD³ from Scottish hospitals⁴, by NHS board of treatment, 1999-00 to 2014-15⁵.

Denotes values which have been suppressed to prevent the disclosure of sensitive information.

1. Individuals counted once in each year and in each NHS board in which they were treated. Individuals may be counted against more than one board in a single year. The Scotland total is therefore potentially lower than the sum of the figures for the separate Boards.

2. Includes patients who were resident out with Scotland or whose residence was not known.

3. Up to six diagnoses can be recorded on a single inpatient record. Hospital stays for PTSD were identified based on the ICD10 code F43.1 having been recorded in any of these diagnostic positions.

4. Hospital inpatient activity is recorded on Scottish Morbidity Record 01 (acute hospitals) and Scottish Morbidity Record 04 (psychiatric hospitals).

5. Financial year (e.g. 1 April 1999 – 31 March 2000) based on date of discharge.

Source: ISD Scotland

The number of registered care home places there are, broken down by (a) NHS board area and (b) whether they are in the (i) private or (ii) public sector is set out in the following table:

As at March 2016, there were 918.9 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) staff working in Paediatrics Specialties in NHS Scotland – a 30.4 per cent increase under this government. This includes a 78.9 per cent increase in paediatric consultants.

Information on the number of WTE medical staff (all grades) working within paediatrics specialties, broken down by NHS Scotland board as at March 2016, is published by Information Services Division Scotland and included in the following table:

NOTE:

Paediatrics specialties included are: paediatrics, paediatric cardiology, paediatric surgery and paediatric dentistry.

Every suicide is a tragedy that has a far reaching impact on family, friends and the community long after a person has died.

The Scottish Government expects NHS boards to provide care to the highest standards of quality and safety whatever the setting, with the person at the centre of all decisions.

Suicides are thoroughly investigated in Scotland. The Scottish Government works closely with its partners, including Healthcare Improvement Scotland, to support the NHS in learning from any deaths by suicide and so inform continuing improvements in patient safety.

Every suicide is a tragedy that has a far reaching impact on family, friends and the community long after a person has died. One of the key themes in the Scottish Government’s Suicide Prevention Strategy (2013 to 2016) is to improve the NHS response to suicide. A range of actions is underway to support this, including work by Healthcare Improvement Scotland to support the NHS in learning from any deaths by suicide and so inform continuing improvements in patient safety, and work on improved use of data and training in accident and emergency departments.