Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20183 on‎ 14 August 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20183 on‎ 14 August 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Hospitals are expected to provide parents with access to accommodation on site if needed. In addition the Young Patients Family Fund provides reimbursement for costs of travel, subsistence and accommodation for the eligible parents, carers and/or siblings (aged under 18) of child inpatients. In the previous two financial years more than £3.7M was paid to families visiting children in hospital via the fund. More information about the fund, including how to apply can be found on the Scottish Government website Young Patients Family Fund - mygov.scot

The long COVID National Strategic Network managed by NHS National Services Scotland has developed a draft education strategy following consultation with people living with long COVID and those responsible for planning and delivering healthcare services. This is due to be considered during forthcoming meetings of the Network’s Steering Group and Strategic Oversight Board in Autumn 2023 for consideration and sign off.

Aligned with the draft strategy, the Strategic Network is actively implementing a range of activity to support the information and learning needs of healthcare professionals working to support people living with long COVID. For example;

• The Network is working with Public Health Scotland to disseminate regular bulletins providing a summary of recent relevant research and evidence on long COVID.

• The Network has implemented a programme of Peer Network sessions, providing education on topics suggested by members and the opportunity to seek support from peers and share good practice. Three sessions have been facilitated to date, including focus on chronic pain management and dysfunctional breathing.

• The Network has facilitated two information sharing sessions with researchers leading Chief Scientist Office (CSO) funded research on long COVID, to enable them to engage with NHS colleagues across Scotland who are developing and delivering support and services for people with long COVID.

• The Network has facilitated practice sharing events with those delivering support for people living with long COVID elsewhere in the UK. This has included a presentation and Q&A session from Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust’s Long COVID Community Rehabilitation Service team.

The Strategic Network continues to engage with a range of clinical stakeholders and stakeholder organisations to raise awareness of the Network and its outputs, including NHS Education for Scotland, and the Royal College of General Practitioners.

The number of patients waiting for first appointments with specialist chronic pain services and the length of wait they experience is published by Public Health Scotland. The latest report can be found here: https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/chronic-pain-waiting-times/ .

The national data collection and the statistics published on completed waits focus on the waits of those patients who attended a consultant-led clinic. This is in line with the current national target for waiting times for new outpatient appointments.

Some Health Boards have introduced new pathways that offer patients alternatives to being seen at a consultant-led outpatient clinic. Patients are given the opportunity to opt-in to these new pathways, and they are considered as no longer waiting once they take up this offer. Alternatively, patients can choose to remain on the waiting list for a first appointment at a consultant-led outpatient clinic.

National data on those waiting to access Chronic pain services includes patients who may choose to opt-in to these new pathways. The data shows a recent increase in the number of patients following these new pathways. In the most recent publication, the impact of these new pathways on published statistics is discussed in the full report on pages 12, 13 and 17. The publication includes a description of some of the new pathways that Health Boards have shared with Public Health Scotland. However, detail of pathways provided by individual Health Boards is a matter for the Board and is not information held centrally by the Scottish Government.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20183 on 14 August 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

We urge anyone with a nicotine addiction caused by using tobacco or nicotine vapour products to contact the free NHS Quit Your Way Scotland' helpline on 0800 84 84 84 to speak to an advisor, who will be able to provide advice and support and can direct individuals to local support services.

Alternatively, local pharmacies can also offer a range of therapies and interventions to help reduce addiction.

There has been no female high secure provision in Scotland since 2009. The decision to stop providing treatment was because the majority of women at the time did not in fact require high security and the development of medium secure services provided an opportunity to address that.

In the small number of cases where a female does require high security, an arrangement was put in place whereby a woman who requires treatment in a high secure facility can be referred to Rampton Hospital, Nottinghamshire, and transferred via the statutory cross-border transfer process.

The Scottish Government will produce an Outcomes Report regarding the policy outputs from the Climate Change Plan Advisory Group after the final meeting in October 2023. Policy outcomes from the group will also be used to inform development of the upcoming draft Climate Change Plan.

We are making available £3 million from our £10 million long COVID Support Fund over this financial year to support NHS boards to increase the capacity of existing services, develop these into more clearly defined local pathways and provide a more co-ordinated experience for people living with long COVID.

Initiatives being supported by the funding include provision of single point of access for assessment and co-ordinated support from services including physiotherapy and occupational therapy. These services aim to support people with the impact of their symptoms on their day to day lives and to achieve personal outcomes which are important to each individual, which can include support to return to, or maintain employment.

The Scottish Government also invests in a range of further initiatives to support people with health conditions to sustain or return to work, such as through the NHS delivered Working Health Services Scotland and the Public Health Scotland led Healthy Working Lives resource. They provide advice and support on work related physical and mental health promotion, ill health prevention and return to work practices.