Chamber and committees

Under the established major service change process in the NHS (outlined in the national Planning with People guidance), this proposal, which was agreed by the Board of NHS Ayrshire & Arran at its meeting on 9 October 2023, is subject to Ministerial approval.

Having carefully considered all the available information, I have today written to the Chair of NHS Ayrshire & Arran to confirm that I am approving the Board’s proposal to retain the interim changes to local Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT) services. The Board has made a compelling case for retaining the change that has been made, which is supported by the clear majority of local stakeholders. The proposal is fully consistent with both the aims and ambitions of our new cancer strategy and the tiered, clinically risk-assessed approach under the West of Scotland Strategic Review of SACT services. As such, I am content that the Board has adopted an appropriate, clinically-based risk approach to maximise local access to services, as far as possible.

Impact assessments for the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) in Scotland have been updated to reflect the most recent set of regulations passed by the Scottish Parliament. The impact assessments will be updated again once Defra have confirmed the final design of their scheme.

Across NHS Scotland a total of 89 patients have been treated for fascial sling repair, urethra bulking or colposuspension since this summer. This excludes patients from NHS Tayside who have been treated via independent sector support. Treatment has been booked for 38 patients in December and January, and further patients are currently in the pre-assessment stage and will be offered a date early in the new year.

As the member will know, the Centre for Sustainable Delivery’s (CfSD) National Elective Coordination Unit (NECU) is supporting a nationally coordinated campaign to support treatment of these patients, which was intended to conclude by November 2023. However, due to a number of complexities this has progressed more slowly than expected.

Programmed work locally within Health Boards is often booked 6-8 weeks in advance, and as such a lead in time for treatment options was longer than initially anticipated. This must also be balanced with clinical prioritisation, with Health Boards continuing to prioritise urgent and suspected cancer pathways within this specialty and subspecialty area.

Each of the three procedures identified also requires enhanced governance processes before patients are identified, particularly when patients are moving from their board of residence, including high vigilance scrutiny checklists to support a person-centred approach. To support a clinically safe and governed pathway, several cross board clinical engagement meetings were required to agree the governance pathway.

A small number of patients have also declined the offer of treatment outwith their local board area.

We will continue to work with Health Boards and NECU to ensure all patients receive treatment as soon as possible.

Prior to the introduction of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 (“the 2019 Act”) all relevant impact assessments were conducted, and no significant issues were identified as part of this process. All the bus powers in the 2019 Act, including franchising, are designed to be flexible to ensure local transport authorities can improve bus services according to their local needs. In developing their franchising proposals, local authorities will need to take account of the individual circumstances of their area, including any potential impact of technological developments, and how the proposals will contribute to the implementation of their relevant general policies. We continue to engage with local transport authorities as we develop the further regulations and guidance required to give the franchising powers full effect.

A table containing the average daily traffic flows on the A96 in each year since 2017 has been lodged with SPICe, BIB number: 64765

The Ask for ANI scheme is an initiative led by the Home Office, and as such they oversee the UK wide rollout alongside key partners. This includes in Scotland, where Ask for ANI is currently operational in 430 pharmacies.

A campaign ‘UK Says No More’ encourages pharmacies to sign up to the scheme, however geographical variations will exist as it’s a voluntary scheme and for each pharmacy to decide upon participation. The member may wish to note that Ask for ANI is available in Highland locations such as Fort Willian and Ullapool, but also on Scottish Islands locations, including Lerwick, Shetland.

The following table presents the total number of fatal and serious accidents for 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. However, the information on the total number of fatal and serious accidents for 2023 are only available up to the date stated in the following table.

Date Extracted – 06-12-2023

Source: Transport Scotland Accident Manager Database

Notes: Statistics for Police Scotland

Date Period: 01-04-2021 – 01-11-2023 (latest date available for serious)

Please note that the information provided is based on the current figures available at the time of retrieving the data from Transport Scotland’s accident manager system. The following are potential reasons for an accident not appearing on our system:

• Transport Scotland only holds accident information which is provided to us by Police Scotland.
• Transport Scotland does not hold information relating to damage only accidents (i.e. not involving an injury).
• The accident information Transport Scotland holds is subject to change. E.g. we receive late returns from Police Scotland, who are responsible for recording details of injury accidents.
• Annual Scottish accident figures are published by Transport Scotland on a yearly basis and can be found by entering Reported Road Casualties Scotland into your search engine.
• From summer 2019, Police Scotland introduced a new system for recording traffic collisions. Due to improved recording and categorisation processes, it is expected that there will be an increase in the number of casualties and accidents on Scottish roads that are classified as serious. This increase would not reflect an actual change in the severity of accidents occurring on Scottish roads, but would instead reflect more accurate recording.
• Statisticians within the Department for Transport have devised a method for adjusting the road casualty figures to ensure that they can be compared over time on a consistent basis. Transport Scotland’s Key Reported Road Casualties and Reported Road Casualties statistics publications will present both adjusted and unadjusted figures.

We are working with partners to improve social care services and deal with the challenges the sector faces. Adult social care support is vital to all who require additional support, whether that is to live independently at home, in the community, or to move into a care home.

While the number of care homes has fallen, the estimated number of care home places available has remained relatively stable.

This reflects our policy of supporting people to live at home for as long as possible.

No one wants to see the closure of care homes, unfortunately this can happen for a number of reasons, such as quality concerns or changing ownership.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council’s mid-year registration data report covers a six-month period and reflects those with a Scottish address who have registered, it does not indicate actual employment in Scotland’s health sector. The report itself therefore cannot be used as a true reflection of recruitment in Scotland.

Whilst the report shows a 22% increase in registration in Scotland compared to a 27.7% increase in registration across the UK in the last six months relative to the same period last year, nursing and midwifery levels per head of population show that we have 8.4 qualified Nurses and Midwives per 1,000 population, compared to 6.3 in England, 8.2 in Wales and 9.1 in Northern Island. This means nursing and midwifery levels are 32% higher, per head of population in Scotland than in England. Overall Nursing and Midwifery staffing in Scotland is at a record high and remains the best paid across the UK.

The 2009 Flood Risk management Act allocates clear roles and responsibilities for managing flood risk in Scotland. In accordance with this the Scottish Government works in in partnership with local authorities. Local authorities are responsible for ensuring local accountability by leading on the preparation of local flood risk management plans, which supplement the national strategies prepared by SEPA and ensure actions are locally targeted and delivered.

The Grangemouth Flood Protection Scheme is exceptional in terms of scale and financial cost. As such it requires careful consideration and the Scottish Government will continue to work with Falkirk Council to ensure that the scheme brought forward delivers for the local community and economy.