Chamber and committees

I refer the member to my answer to the question S4O-04044 on 25 February 2015.

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

The Scottish Government has no plans to hold an inquiry, either into the conduct of the police or individual criminal convictions. That does not prevent an individual from contacting the Chief Constable of Police Scotland or contacting the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission to ask them to consider complaints.

Access to GP services is an important issue for the Scottish Government and I’m aware that many of general practices have, for many years, adjusted appointment arrangements in order to try to prioritise urgency, and support quality and continuity of patient care.

We recognise that local situations vary and so practice partners are responsible for designing their own patient appointment and consultation arrangements. We expect them to use their professional judgement to make decisions which enable them to run the best possible service and deliver for their patient needs. GPs are encouraged to develop technology and deploy the talents of their staff appropriately to introduce new, innovative ways of working to benefit their patients by prioritising urgency, and supporting quality and continuity of patient care.

Adopting a telephone consultation model, that has been used successfully elsewhere could enable them to run the best possible service and deliver for their patient needs. As with any new system, it is a learning process and the model may be adapted over time depending on performance. Telephone appointments, in the right circumstances, can increase efficiency, improve access and boost patient satisfaction.

Information on local government employment over the last 10 years is published in tables as part of the National Statistics Publication Public Sector Employment in Scotland. The most recent information is for Q4 2015. The tables can be found at: http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Labour-Market/PublicSectorEmployment/PSEwebtables

The information for local government employment can be found in Table 8: Local Government Employment by Staffing Group.

To meet the future need of hospital care over the next 10 to 15 years and ensure sustainable delivery of waiting times, the Scottish Government will invest £200 million in expanding the Golden Jubilee National Hospital and establish a network of five new elective and diagnostic treatment centres in Aberdeen, Inverness, Dundee, Livingston and Edinburgh.

Numbers of vacancies for GP posts are not held centrally as this is a matter for individual independent GP contractors as employers. However, as part of the move towards better quality more regular and more consistent information, a workforce survey has been undertaken and the results will be published on 14 June 2016.

In addition, in Scotland we are transforming primary care, supported by £85 million of extra investment to put in place long-term, sustainable change within GP services that can better meet changing needs and demands.

We have also pledged to increase GP training places for medical students from 300 to 400 a year and are expanding schemes to encourage trained GPs to return to practice in the NHS. We are working closely with the British Medical Association and the Royal College of GPs to reduce workload, including our pioneering agreement to abolish the bureaucratic system of GP payments, and work towards a brand new Scottish GP contract from 2017 that will make primary care services fit for the future. A £20 million package to support GPs will also help ease pressures on workload in the short term, and contribute to putting general practice on a more long-term sustainable footing.