Chamber and committees

St. Andrews House and Victoria Quay were illuminated in blue on 7 th July to mark Action Mesothelioma Day.

Whilst the Scottish Government sets the strategic policy direction for workforce development with the NHS, it is up to the individual health boards on how to best undertake recruitment planning requirements.

Additionally, the National Oncology Coordination Group has been commissioned to support a coordinated and collaborative operational response to immediate service pressures, like retirees or moves.

The Scottish Government recognises that the ability to attract and deliver innovative clinical research studies is vital to improving healthcare and patient outcomes. We therefore welcome Lord O’Shaughnessy’s review into commercial clinical trials in the UK. We will engage with partners across the UK in the coming weeks to understand how we can work together to ensure the review’s recommendations are considered for Scotland.

The Scottish Government recognises that the ability to attract and deliver innovative clinical research studies is vital to improving healthcare and patient outcomes. We therefore welcome Lord O’Shaughnessy’s review into commercial clinical trials in the UK. We will engage with partners across the UK in the coming weeks to understand how we can work together to ensure the review’s recommendations are considered for Scotland.

Following searches by Scottish Government officials on the corporate system, 5 complaints have been identified which relate to ‘medical’ or ‘medical devices’ and ‘power. However it should be noted that complaints of this nature are more likely to be directed to health boards as providers of such devices.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that people can learn as flexibly as possible fitting in with individuals' life circumstances. That is why SG provide funding through Scottish Funding Council (SFC) for the Upskilling Fund and the Part-Time Fee Grant (PTFG) to provide this flexibility to learners looking to study shorter courses or study in their spare time.

We are seeing good evidence of employer engagement across the country on the Upskilling Fund, currently in its fourth year, in a range of curriculum areas. Institutions are working with a large number of employers, including: Scottish Power, FirstPort, NUF Scotland as well as with local authorities and NHS Scotland. The SFC are planning a full evaluation of the fund’s effectiveness and the report can be expected in Spring 2024.

As part of the support package provided by Student Award Agency Scotland (SAAS), SAAS continue to actively promote this support through a combination of funding awareness sessions, online campaigns, and through both the Student Information Scotland website and the SAAS website.

Scottish Ministers issued National Directions on annual health checks, which state that the Scottish Health Check for Adults with Learning Disabilities documentation must be used in every health check. This documentation was tested and evidenced throughout the pilot phase and provides comprehensive best practice information and guidelines for practitioners, including on the specific health needs of people with Down’s Syndrome. This maintains the consistency and efficacy of each annual health check whilst also enabling practitioners to incorporate the specific health needs of each individual.

The Scottish Government has commissioned NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to support practitioners to complete annual health checks.

The Scottish Government continues to fund Down’s Syndrome Scotland to develop resources and accessible information about annual health checks for people with Down’s Syndrome, their families and carers, and for practitioners.

The Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office invests through NHS Research Scotland in the Scottish Health Research Register and Biobank (SHARE) to support the recruitment of people into health research studies and clinical trials. SHARE is an expanding register of over 300,000 people who have expressed an interest in participating in health research and have agreed to be contacted about studies to which they might be suited.

Data produced by SHARE shows ethnic and socioeconomic distributions supportive of inclusive recruitment to health research studies. CSO is also funding an ongoing project by the University of Aberdeen looking at ways to improve ethnic diversity in clinical trials and to help trial teams recruit and retain ethnic groups in studies.

In addition, In February 2023, the Scottish Government published an independent report on Equity of Access to Cancer Clinical Trials in Scotland. The report contains 51 recommendations, with an Implementation Board established to prioritise these and develop an implementation strategy. While the report focuses on cancer clinical trials, many of the recommendations are relevant across the clinical spectrum.

The Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office invests through NHS Research Scotland in the Scottish Health Research Register and Biobank (SHARE) to support the recruitment of people into health research studies and clinical trials. People interested in participating in health research can register to SHARE in order to be contacted about studies to which they might be suited.

We are developing an International Culture Strategy with stakeholders, including our international offices and Creative Scotland, that will support the international aspirations and potential of the culture sector in Scotland and build on its strong international footprint.