Chamber and committees

Health Protection Scotland are working with Glasgow Caledonian University to undertake work to ascertain the cost-effectiveness of performing birth cohort hepatitis C screening among the population of Scotland. A report will be prepared and submitted to Scottish Government in 2017.

In common with other behaviours that cause difficulties in people’s lives and contribute to their ill health, problem gambling is addressed as part of wider health issues that a person may be experiencing including mental health problems and substance misuse problems. Where a person is referred to a service for treatment, the clinical team will work with the person to identify the issues or problems that are important to support their recovery in a holistic person-centred way. Specialist psychological skills and competencies used in the management of alcohol and drug misuse have some applicability to some problem gamblers as do problem solving counselling skills.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering faster access to psychological therapies for people with mental illness or disorders, including those who have problems with gambling which is recognised as a type of impulse-control disorder. The delivery of psychological therapies is a core part of NHS activity. NHS boards have made good progress in recent years in improving access to many psychological therapies.

The Scottish Government intends to lay changes to planning legislation regarding betting offices before the Scottish Parliament by the end of the year. The proposed changes will remove the current exemption from planning control that applies when certain premises change to betting shops.

The rules governing the use of Fixed Odds Betting Terminals are reserved to the UK Government.

The Scottish Government argued in the Smith Commission for the full devolution of gambling policy to Scotland on the grounds that this would enable problem gambling in Scotland to be tackled more effectively.

The UK Government is currently undertaking a wide ranging review of gaming machines. The review covers a number of areas including maximum gaming machines stakes and prizes, allocations of gaming machines in licensed premises, and social responsibility measures to minimise the risk of gambling related harm.

The Scotland Act 2016 included only a limited power in respect of the number of Fixed Odds Betting Terminals in new betting shops. This does not include any powers in respect of existing premises, or those found in premises other than betting shops. The Scottish Government will consider the outcome of the UK consultation before taking a view on what use of the limited powers available in Scotland might be proposed.

The power to legislate on the maximum bet permitted on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals remains reserved to the UK Government.

The Scotland Act 2016 only included a limited power in respect of setting the number of Fixed Odds Betting Terminals in new betting shops.

Details are as follows:

There is no data for NHS Orkney, Shetland and Western Isles because there are no specialist Hepatitis C services available in these Board areas. It is also worth noting that treatment initiations in 2015-16 are based on the NHS board where treatment was administered. In the years 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15, treatment initiations are based on the patient’s NHS board of residence where known.

It is estimated 1,871 people will have been treated for hepatitis C in the financial year 2016-17.

The data in the following table is taken from Health Protection Scotland’s website at: http://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/bbvsti/wrdetail.aspx?id=68846&wrtype=6#images

The Care Inspectorate, on behalf of Scottish Ministers, operates a formal complaints procedure for anyone who is unhappy about a registered care service. This procedure explains people's right to receipt of high quality services and what steps they can take if they feel this is not being met. Details of how people can register a complaint is well publicised on the Care Inspectorate's website.http://www.careinspectorate.com/images/documents/82/Procedure%20for%20handling%20complaints%20-%20Jul%2014.pdf

Additionally National Care Standards stipulate that service providers must make available to service users and their families details of their complaint handling procedures. This information is provided to everyone receiving a registered care service and ensures they are fully familiar with their rights and expectations from the outset.

Together these easily accessible information ensures service users are made aware of what to do should they wish to complain about a care service, or challenge the findings of any such investigations.

Each of the Health and Social Care Partnerships will publish an annual Performance Report for 2016-17 by the end of July 2017. These reports will set out an assessment of performance in relation to the National Health and Wellbeing Outcomes, which focus on the experiences and quality of services for people using those services, carers and their families. The Scottish Government will work closely with Partnerships to learn from the findings of these reports and how this can be shared more widely.