Chamber and committees

Latest published data for the territorial Health Boards show average waiting times for psychological therapies of 14 weeks or less, which is within the 18 week target. Within NHS Grampian the average wait is 13 weeks. However, we remain determined that we will hit our 90% target and we will continue to work with Boards to make sure that happens right across Scotland to improve the efficiency of the services and to ensure best deployment of staff who are able to deliver evidence-based therapies.

The Morbidity and Life Circumstance (MLC) index is one component of the NRAC formula which, as explained in response to parliamentary question S5W-13229 on
9 January 2018, is the most objective measure of funding equity we have developed. The NRAC formula is kept under continuous review by experts to ensure it remains a robust and equitable method of allocating health service funding.

The MLC adjustment for the Mental Health and Learning Difficulties care programme in the NRAC formula was reviewed between June 2011 and December 2012. The extensive analysis undertaken for the review resulted in several recommendations, in particular: the use of different adjustments for the population aged under 65 and the population aged 65 and over; and, the adoption of new indicators of need (which had been identified through a rigorous selection process).

All the recommendations were accepted by the Technical Advisory Group on Resource Allocation and were implemented for the 2014-15 target share formula run. The MLC adjustment for the Mental Health and Learning Difficulties (MHLD) care programme is therefore considered robust.

In 2018-19 NHS Grampian will receive a baseline uplift of £18.5 million, the highest Territorial Board percentage uplift, and a share of £175 million to support reform. NHS Grampian’s uplift includes £5 million to move the Board closer to its NRAC funding allocation, which takes the level of NRAC funding received by NHS Grampian since 2015-16 to £52 million.

In addition to this, we are investing £150 million in mental services up to 2019-20. NHS Grampian is benefiting from a share of this funding.

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.

The NRAC formula reflects the most objective measure of funding equity we have developed. The formula is kept under continuous review by experts to ensure it remains a robust and equitable method of allocating health service funding. Decisions to cancel a patient's operation is never taken lightly. All Boards including Grampian work hard to keep cancellations to a minimum. We continue to monitor the progress NHS Grampian are making to deliver improvements.

The Scottish Government has invested significantly in supporting the boards that are behind parity and, since 2015-16, NHS Grampian has received additional funding of £47 million for the specific purpose of accelerating NRAC parity, and will receive a further £5 million in 2018-19.

http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-13229 on
9 January 2017. 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.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission is responsible for producing independent economic and fiscal forecasts to inform the Scottish Budget. The Scottish Government has set out its plans for supporting the economy and enabling inclusive growth in the Draft Budget 2018-19. Spending on the economy will increase by £270 million next year, and investment in City Region Deals will double. The government is supporting public sector pay by lifting the 1% public sector pay cap, and the reforms to income tax mean that the majority of tax payers will be paying slightly less tax next year.

The Scottish Government supports NHS Health Boards in their efforts to ensure that they have the right staff in place to meet the healthcare needs of the local population.

Staffing levels within NHS Grampian have increased by 7.1 % under this Government, rising from 11,203.3 WTE as at Sept 2006 to 11,994.6 WTE as at Sept 2017. While there has been a slight decrease in NHS Grampian workforce, down 0.4%, in the last year, we are confident the steps we are taking to improve workforce planning arrangements will directly benefit NHS Grampian, its workforce and patients.

We are committed to pursuing a twin-approach of investment and reform. We have increased NHS Grampian’s resource budget by over £315 million (since 2006-2007), which has supported the recruitment of over 800 staff, including clinical and nursing staff.

Nevertheless, we recognise that Health Boards in the North and North East of Scotland face recruitment and retention challenges. Through workforce planning activity we support remote and rural recruitment in a number of ways and would encourage Boards to make full use of all tools available, including the Shortage Occupation Lists, as appropriate.

The 11.1% decrease refers to the dental workforce category known as Hospital and Community Health Services Dentistry, part of which includes hospital dentists. The decrease in NHS Education for Scotland hospital dentists was largely due to a local data cleansing exercise which removed medical grades recorded for these staff. ISD are working with NHS Education for Scotland to address the issues ensuring locally uploaded data is available in the national database.

I recognise some patients are experiencing long waits, that is why I have made £50 million available to NHSScotland - with up to £4.9 million being made available to NHS Grampian. This additional funding should improve waiting time performance between now and the end of March 2018.

In addition, NHS Grampian have in place a range of projects to support reduction in waiting times using this funding. These projects are discussed regularly with officials from the Scottish Government.

In November I launched the new Access Collaborative Programme which is a different way to bring patients, clinicians, and other NHS staff together to look at ways patients can receive timely accessible care and improve the way elective care services are managed in all health boards, including NHS Grampian.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-13231 on
9 January 2018. 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

Decisions to cancel a patient's operation is never taken lightly. All Boards including Grampian work hard to keep cancellations to a minimum. We continue to monitor the progress NHS Grampian are making to deliver improvements.