Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is given independent advice by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the independent expert advisory group who advise the four UK countries about all aspects of immunisation. The JCVI recently recommended a carefully planned immunisation programme for Meningitis B at 2, 4 and 12 months of age, as part of the primary infant immunisation schedule. The JCVI further advised that a targeted carriage study be undertaken in adolescents to assess the impact of the Bexsero vaccine on the acquisition of meningococcal carriage.

I am delighted that the JCVI has identified the importance of introducing a vaccine against Meningitis B. This disease can be devastating for children and their families and I am very keen that we take the necessary steps to tackle its effects. I welcome the JCVI’s announcement, and officials will be working to ensure that the vaccine can be introduced as quickly as possible into Scotland’s routine childhood immunisation schedule. The first step will be for the Department for Health to begin the process of procuring the vaccine for the four UK countries.

NHS 24 advise that all frontline staff are provided with a time allocation each month, which varies depending on individual needs, to complete personal development activities including call review and continuing professional development (CPD). Part of this time supports a blended learning approach in CPD delivery for frontline staff through mandatory clinical eLearning and eAssessment modules reflecting the service delivery profile of the organisation.

The current mandatory eLearning or eAssessment modules for nurses, team leaders, pharmacy advisors and clinical service managers are:

Adult Support and Protection

Chest Pain

Child Protection

Meningitis

Recognition of the Acutely ill Adult

Recognition of the Acutely ill Child

All Call Handlers and Mental Health Nurses must complete:

Adult Support and Protection

Child Protection

Successful completion of these core modules are a key component of the organisation’s patient safety and governance programmes. Updated versions of the modules are launched in April of every year.

NHS 24 advises that the average talk time per patient is just over thirteen minutes.

The information sought is not available for the time period requested. However, NHS 24 advises that they have recorded such complaints as formal grievances since January 2010 and the numbers are set out in the following table.

As part of the Local Delivery Plan (LDP) process NHS 24 agree with the Scottish Government the annual performance levels they are expected to deliver. The 2013-14 LDP can be found at:

http://www.nhs24.com/AboutUs/NHS24Board/Local-Delivery-Plan

NHS boards are accountable for their performance to patients and the public, and to Scottish Ministers, and each year undertake a public annual review and publish an annual report. Information related to this, including the NHS 24 self-assessment document and the follow-up letter from the annual review can be found at:

http://www.nhs24.com/AboutUs/NHS24Board/AnnualReview

http://www.nhs24.com/AboutUs/NHS24Board/AnnualReport

This information demonstrates that NHS 24 have consistently achieved or exceeded almost all of their performance targets over recent years.

The Scottish Government has established two working groups to support partnerships in bringing together a workforce for integration. The first, the Workforce Development Strategic Group is looking at the culture, behaviour and language of the workforce and the second, the HR Working Group, is looking at the technical complexities of bringing a workforce together.

NHS pay is set with reference to the recommendations of the NHS pay review body (for Agenda for Change staff) and the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body (for doctors and dentists). The Scottish Government values the advice of these UK bodies and would anticipate continuing to make use of either these or equivalent bodies going forward, although no specific discussions have taken place with the UK Government on this issue.

With regard to direct pay bargaining, Scotland already has highly developed NHS partnership arrangements. Any direct negotiation on pay is already taken forward through these structures and this will continue to be the case in the future.

Terms and conditions for social care workers in Scotland are currently a matter for individual employers. We have no plans to change this.

This is an operational matter for NHS 24, but they advise that no IT systems have been shelved.

This information is not held centrally.

I meet with the chairs of all NHS boards on a monthly basis, this includes the chair of NHS 24, and Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with the NHS 24 senior management team about a range of matters.

Specific information about ministerial meetings and engagements is published periodically and can be found at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/People/14944/Events-Engagements