Chamber and committees

We are working with all NHS Boards to support them to implement the National Neurodevelopmental Specification: Principles and Standards of Care , including working with NHS Lanarkshire through regular engagement.

NHS Education for Scotland CAMHS Workforce data, published 6 September 2022, showed an increase of 17% in CAMHS community staffing in NHS Lanarkshire compared to March 2021. This CAMHS workforce data includes Neurodevelopmental staffing.

The Scottish Government does not hold all data on the current average waiting time for a care home place, therefore no assessment can be made.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on the current average waiting time for a care home place.

Information on the number of delayed hospital discharges by reason for delay (including care home placement) and length of delay is available on the Public Health Scotland website (See Excel download for standard delays, tab 4) :

Delayed discharges in NHSScotland monthly - Figures for September 2022 - Delayed discharges in NHSScotland monthly - Publications - Public Health Scotland

However, this will not include those awaiting a care home placement who are in the community, nor those awaiting a placement for whom their discharge is not delayed.

COPFS aims to conduct its investigation and advise the next of kin of the outcome within 12 weeks of the initial report of the death in at least 80% of cases.

Reporting years 2020-21 and 2021-22 saw increases in deaths reported to COPFS of 44% and 40% respectively, reflecting a combination of factors including, but not restricted to, excess deaths attributable directly to COVID-19, local GPs having less contact with patients in the community and being unable to certify deaths, and changes in the process of dealing with and reporting deaths in the community.

The number of cases requiring further investigation, because no cause of death was immediately apparent, has therefore increased, with 7085 post-mortem examinations instructed in 2021-22, an increase of 742 on the previous year. The following table shows the numbers and percentage of deaths requiring further investigation for the last two reporting years and the first two quarters of the current year.

Progress against the published performance target is monitored regularly and has improved significantly this reporting year.

The Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office operates open competitive funding schemes for applied health research projects and fellowships across the wide range of NHS and health challenges in Scotland.

These schemes continue to operate and are open to consideration of applications addressing priorities for research conditions that effect menstrual health. Applications to these schemes are assessed through independent expert peer-review with funding recommendations made by independent expert committees.

A number of research projects on menstrual health including fibroids and endometriosis, have been funded through these schemes in the past.

In partnership with Wellbeing of Women, this year we are jointly funding a £250,000 research call which aims to develop improvements into treatment and management options for endometriosis. The funding will be awarded in December 2022, fulfilling our medium term commitment in the Women’s Health Plan to commission research into endometriosis.

The Women’s Health Plan also includes a long term action to establish a Women’s Health Research Fund with the aim of closing gaps in scientific and medical knowledge in women’s health for both sex specific and non sex-specific conditions.

The Scottish Government is always happy to work with stakeholders and fully intends to continue to engage with environmental stakeholder groups going forward. Officials have met with the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland a number of times, most recently on 12 October, and will continue to engage with them and other stakeholders as we look to strengthen our compliance with the requirements of the Aarhus Convention.

The implications of the recommendations of decision VII/8s are being considered and work is ongoing to strengthen compliance with the requirements of the Aarhus Convention. A number of strands of work are being undertaken in relation to a review of the court rules governing Protective Expenses Orders, a new Human Rights Bill for Scotland which will include a commitment to a right to a healthy environment, and consideration of Legal Aid Reform in the course of this Parliament. The Scottish Government has already introduced an exemption from court fees for environmental 'Aarhus' cases brought in the Court of Session. In terms of the recommendations that relate directly to unauthorised development within the UK, we are working with the other UK administrations to assess the options and identify appropriate actions.

Significant work has been done by COPFS, toxicologists and pathologists to address this issue. Since the beginning of 2021, there has been no backlog of toxicology reports. In some cases, the toxicology analysis requires to be supplemented by further scientific testing to assist the pathologist in establishing the cause of death. The dedicated team established by COPFS in November 2021 continues to manage the submission of the final post mortem reports which then require to be considered by Procurators Fiscal.

In this reporting year, over 90% of final post mortem reports have been received within 12 weeks of the date of post mortem and the number of reports still to be processed by COPFS has been substantially reduced from a peak figure of almost 2200 in December 2021 to 356 the week commencing 20 October 2022.

The Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee has previously welcomed significant progress made by Scotland in strengthening compliance with the requirements of the Aarhus Convention. Work is in progress or planned in relation to the areas of concern which were raised in decision VII/8s. The Scottish Civil Justice Council has been asked to undertake a review of court rules relating to Protective Expenses Orders, and this is currently underway. Following a public consultation which closed in March this year the Scottish Government has introduced an exemption for court fees for Aarhus Convention cases in the Court of Session. This exemption is now in force. Work is underway on planning for a new Human Rights Bill for Scotland, which will include a commitment to a right to a healthy environment. The Scottish Government is committed to introducing legislation to reform legal aid in the course of the current Parliament, informed by ongoing engagement with stakeholders. The Scottish Government is committed to strengthening compliance with the requirements of the Aarhus Convention.

We understand that stigma associated with particular health conditions, including liver disease, can create very specific challenges - it can isolate people from their communities and act as a significant barrier to seeking help and support. This can increase the harms experienced due to delayed presentation especially given the generalised association between liver disease and alcohol misuse and/or drug abuse.

The Scottish Government is committed to tackling this stigma. We are continuing to work on tangible actions that can help reduce stigma experience by people who use drugs and/ or drinking alcohol at hazardous and harmful levels

On 20 June 2022, Public Health Scotland launched the Challenging Weight Stigma Learning Hub. The learning hub aims to raise awareness of the impact weight stigma can have on people living with overweight and obesity and what health professionals can do to mitigate this. It is interactive and has been developed alongside academics, health professionals and those with lived experience of stigma.