Chamber and committees

The Ministerial review report sets out a series of detailed actions which the Scottish Government has committed to. These will make important changes to the way we investigate and learn from deaths of people being treated for mental disorder. Planning for implementation of these actions is already underway and an implementation oversight group will shortly be established to monitor progress on these actions. The membership of this group will have equal representation from carers and families.

The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland will take forward the work to develop and implement the new system to investigate the deaths of all patients, who at the time of death, were subject to an order under mental health or criminal procedure legislation. The Commission plans to recruit additional staff to support this work. This work will include direct engagement with staff and people with lived experience.

This information is not held centrally. It is for Boards, as employers to undertake relevant checks applicable to the job roles in accordance with the Safer Pre and Post Employment Checks Partnership Information Network (PIN) Policy, which includes guidance on criminal record checks.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-22523 on 1 May 2019. 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 .

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-22523 on 1 May 2019. 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 by the Scottish Government. Network Rail owns and operates the rail infrastructure in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has directly funded previous installation programmes of Controlled Emission Tanks and is working with ScotRail to eradicate this practice across ScotRail fleets as quickly as possible.

This information is not held centrally.

Health and safety legislation is not devolved to the Scottish Government. However, we take the issue of the handling of asbestos within schools and educational establishments very seriously and expect those with responsibility for those facilities to strictly follow Health and Safety Executive recommendations.

Health and safety legislation is not devolved to the Scottish Government. However, we take the issue of the handling of asbestos within educational establishments very seriously and expect those with responsibility for those facilities to strictly follow Health and Safety Executive recommendations.

It is essential that the UK Government delivers the £2 billion funding commitment in full, and it is concerning that the commitment has already been reduced by £55 million on a recurring basis. In addition the UK Government has not provided clarity on funding beyond 2019-20, leaving open the possibility of further reductions in the funding commitment.

The Health and Social Care Medium Term Financial Framework confirms that health resource consequentials will continue to be passed on in full. The Framework sets out a proposal that would take total spending across health and care to £18.8 billion by 2023-24, and provides detail on how this funding will be used to deliver better services, better care and better value.

After the Parliamentary debate on 5 March and my subsequent meeting with affected women, I gave careful consideration to the views expressed in relation to mesh complication services and, as I explained in my letter of 3 April, followed up on the short-time working group. The group, including Health Board Accountable Officers (or nominated Deputies) and other key individuals, has been established in order to examine the needs of patients and the course of care provided for those who suffer complications following vaginal mesh surgery. It will consider what additional steps could be taken to offer choice to women who want – and are clinically suitable for – removal of mesh. The group will also review and identify areas of best practice in the United Kingdom and beyond, and if these are not already available, consider how these can be provided in Scotland. The work that I have asked the group to undertake, along with my letters of 3 April both to you and to the patients who I met, reflect the commitments I gave in the 5 March meeting.

Setting out the group's work in more detail, it will:

• consider the physical and psychological needs of women who experience complications following vaginal mesh surgery;
• consider sharing experience, techniques and learning with colleagues in Europe, the USA and elsewhere. For this to be successful it is important that surgeons and clinical teams engage with counterparts of proven merit and who are regarded by the professionals as leaders and innovators in their field;
• review the course and organisation of care for patients suffering complications in Scotland with a broader UK perspective;
• examine the complex education and training requirements we must have to ensure a sustainable, resilient and high quality service; and
• identify the resource requirements to provide the service our patients need.

As the group progresses this work, it will be important takes account of patient views. A clinician has been nominated by Scottish Mesh Survivors to represent them in this respect. In addition and in order to capture a broad perspective of patient opinion, officials are presently examining further avenues for patient feed-in, and are seeking the advice of both Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s Transvaginal Mesh Oversight Group and the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland.

It is, of course, important that this work is progressed as quickly as possible, so that we can ensure that patients at all times have access to a sustainable, resilient and quality service. As such, an initial meeting of the group took place on 5 April, with further meetings being held as required over the coming months. Further, the group aims to conclude this work in the autumn, at which point it will report to Health Board Chief Executives, given their role as leaders for service change. Minutes of the group’s meetings, together with members’ declarations of interests, will be published in due course.

Membership of the group is as follows:

Terry O’Kelly, Scottish Government (Chair)

Sham Konamme, NHS Ayrshire and Arran

Faye Rodger, NHS Borders

Heather Currie, NHS Dumfries and Galloway

Carolyn McKinley, NHS Fife

Klara Ekevall, NHS Forth Valley

Christine Hemming, NHS Grampian

Alan Mathers, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde

Ibrahim Alsharaydeh, NHS Highland

Adeeb Hassan, NHS Lanarkshire

Simon Nicholson, NHS Lothian

Peter Fowlie, NHS Tayside (By VC)

Angus McKellar, NHS Western Isles

Lorna McKee, Chair, TVMO Group

Sara Twaddle, Healthcare Improvement Scotland

Sara Davies, Scottish Government

David Bishop, Scottish Government

Alexandra Rice, Scottish Government

Corinne Love, Scottish Government

Nicola Steedman, Scottish Government

Gregory Hill-O’Connor, Health and Social Care Alliance

Wael Agur, Scottish Mesh Survivors Representative

Anne Lillico, Scottish Government (Secretariat)