Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S5W-28880

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to recommendation 3 in the report, Delivering Effective Services: Needs Assessment and Service Recommendations for Specialist and Universal Perinatal Mental Health Services, which was published on 6 March 2019, whether it has (a) established or (b) identified the site of the additional mother and baby unit (MBU) beds; whether it will establish a third MBU located in the north of Scotland, and whether it will place a copy of the option appraisal to meet this additional need in SPICe.

The Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme Board (PNIMH-PB) agreed to undertake a review of access to MBU inpatient care for women with the most severe perinatal mental illness. A Short Life Expert Working Group (SLWG) was established to address three distinct areas:

- To articulate the evidence of need for additional MBU inpatient capacity.

- To consider the current impact on other mental health services when patients are not cared for in an MBU.

- To make recommendations to the PNIMH-PB regarding appropriate next steps.

The consensus from the professionals of the SLWG, including representatives from the Managed Clinical Network who made the original recommendation, was that there was not currently sufficient evidence to suggest need for additional beds. Additionally, there may be a number of sustainability and safety concerns with establishing a third MBU. Before undertaking a formal options appraisal, the SLWG advised that community perinatal mental health specialist teams needed to be established in order to see what impact that had on services and demand initially.

Once initial work to establish community specialist teams is underway, the Programme Board will consider the need to commence a formal options appraisal, which might also consider alternative models of specialist support for women with acute perinatal mental health needs. We will also take into consideration the views of women and families when considering the options for additional MBU provision.

This will be a key priority in the forthcoming Programme Board Delivery Plan for 2020-21.

Question reference: S5W-28889

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it still plans to carry out a review of services and assessments of need for pregnant women and postnatal women with substance misuse, and, if so, when.

Question reference: S5W-28878

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government which mother and baby units each NHS board admits its patients to, and whether it has any plans to establish more.

There are two Mother & Baby Units (MBUs) in Scotland. These are at Leverndale in Glasgow and St John’s in Livingston.

NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde has contractual arrangements with: NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Highland (Clyde), NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Western Isles. Patients from these Boards are routinely admitted to Leverndale.

NHS Lothian has contractual arrangements with: NHS Borders, NHS Fife, NHS Highland, NHS Tayside, NHS Orkney and NHS Shetland. Patients from these Boards are routinely admitted to St John’s.

NHS Grampian and NHS Forth Valley do not hold contractual arrangements with either MBU but are able to access either resource on a case by case basis, in accordance with clinical need.

Please see answer to S5W-28880 on 18 May 2020 for information on additional Mother and Baby Units. 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

Question reference: S5W-28886

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether all NHS boards with birth numbers under 5,000 per year have a (a) stand-alone or (b) dispersed multidisciplinary community perinatal mental health team that has the skills and capacity to assess and care for, at a minimum, pregnant and postnatal women, up to 12 months, who have more complex or high-risk presentations.

I refer the Member to the answer to question S5W-28877 on 18 May 2020. 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

In addition, we are investing £825,000 for additional specialist staffing at the two Mother and Baby Units in Scotland (St John’s Hospital in NHS Lothian and Leverndale Hospital in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde), enabling them to become centres of expertise which will help support development of specialist community teams.

Question reference: S5W-28882

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government what the furthest distance is that any mother had to travel to a mother and baby unit in 2019.

Question reference: S5W-28887

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has introduced to the Mental Health Quality Indicators a measurement of how many women are seen for primary care psychological interventions in pregnancy, and in the first postnatal year, within six weeks of referral.

Question reference: S5W-28884

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update of table 4.2.1 in the report, Delivering Effective Services: Needs Assessment and Service Recommendations for Specialist and Universal Perinatal Mental Health Services, which was published on 6 March 2019, and which NHS boards currently have (a) disciplinary specialist community perinatal mental health teams, (b) protected multidisciplinary sessions and a core team, (c) one or more members of mental health staff identified as having a special interest in perinatal mental health and (d) no special interest provision for perinatal mental health.

As described in the answer to question S5W-28877 on 18 May 2020 during the first year of the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme, as set out in the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Programme Board Delivery Plan 2019-20, we have focused on a set of initial actions to implement the Delivering Effective Services recommendations. As part of this work, we have invested in community services in the North of Scotland which will inform the development of a model that can be adapted and rolled out across Scotland in 2020-21 and beyond.

Work to roll out this model across Boards in the current financial year had to be paused due to Covid-19 pressures. However, we are now recommencing this work where possible and the Chair of the Board will shortly meet each health board to agree guidance and protocol for wider roll out of expanded specialist community perinatal teams as well as funding to support these developments.

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

Question reference: S5W-28885

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether all NHS boards with birth numbers of over 5,000 per year now have a multidisciplinary community perinatal mental health team that has the skills and capacity to assess and care for pregnant and postnatal women, up to 12 months, who require secondary care mental health services.

Question reference: S5W-28883

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government, further to recommendation 5 in the report, Delivering Effective Services: Needs Assessment and Service Recommendations for Specialist and Universal Perinatal Mental Health Services, which was published on 6 March 2019, whether each NHS board now ensures there is provision for accommodating partners or other family members near to each mother and baby unit when mother and child have travelled a long distance.

A Family Fund is being created to help with travel, subsistence and accommodation costs for immediate family members of inpatients in MBUs.

The Family Fund will support families from out of area to maintain close contact with women and infants who have been admitted to an MBU.

As visiting to MBUs has been suspended for the time being due to Covid-19 restrictions, we have paused final development of this fund until such time as visiting is resumed.

Question reference: S5W-28881

Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
Date lodged: Wednesday, 06 May 2020
Current Status: Answered by Clare Haughey on 18 May 2020

To ask the Scottish Government whether it considers that all NHS boards have equity of access to a regional mother and baby unit (MBU); whether any boards do not have service level agreements with an MBU, and, if so, for what reason.

The two Mother and Baby Units in Scotland are regionally managed. However, admission is available to women and infants from all health board areas in Scotland, based on clinical need. The Scottish Government expects that where admission to an inpatient unit is required, that women and infants will be admitted appropriately, in line with clinical judgement and the wishes of the patient.

Leverndale Mother and Baby Unit (managed by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde) has contractual arrangements with: NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Highland, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Western Isles

St John’s Mother and Baby Unit (Managed by NHS Lothian) has contractual arrangements with: NHS Borders, NHS Fife, NHS Highland and NHS Tayside, NHS Orkney and NHS Shetland .

NHS Grampian and NHS Forth Valley do not hold contractual arrangements with either MBU but are able to access either resource on a case by case basis.