Chamber and committees

Escalation addresses complex issues and an element of judgement will always be required. The timeline will be driven by the actions within NHS Forth Valley’s Improvement Plan and their associated timelines. My expectation was for the Improvement Plan to be developed and presented to the Assurance Board for scrutiny at its first meeting, with a focus on completing immediate actions by the end of the year.

The overall aim of escalation and the related package of scrutiny and intervention put in place is to support any NHS Board, including NHS Forth Valley, to deliver the required improvement and address the underlying issues effectively and sustainably so that they can be safely de-escalated as swiftly as possible.

The Assurance Board, which has been established to bring direct SG oversight of NHS Forth Valley’s escalation, will provide advice to the Director General about the future escalation status of NHS Forth Valley, including criteria for de-escalation.

NHS Forth Valley has been unable to demonstrate the necessary governance, leadership and culture required to drive sustainable improvements in poor performance.

The Scottish Government has established an Assurance Board, chaired by Christine McLaughlin, co-Director of Population Health. The Assurance Board is supporting NHS Forth Valley in determining what steps are necessary to ensure the delivery of high quality governance, leadership and culture in, and in doing so is intended to support improvements in performance in out of hours, unscheduled care, mental health, and integration.

The ongoing work to address the underlying issues impacting poor performance is even more crucial as NHS Forth Valley faces one of the toughest winter periods ever experienced.

The adjustable car ramp (mezzanine deck) on the MV Hebrides has not been removed and is fully operational on specified sailings.

The majority of this budget relates to Corporate Running Costs (CRC) which supports staffing and other costs of central functions, with this allocated out across all portfolios, as set out in annual budgets. The remainder of the spend is fully allocated in support of staffing costs within two Health and Social Care Directorates – Health Finance, Corporate Governance and Value and Directorate of Chief Operating Officer. Final confirmation of spend will be included as part of the Scottish Government provisional outturn.

This budget provides funding for local Primary Care Improvement Plans and core primary care support. Funds that are allocated are based on need, and final confirmation of spend will be included as part of the Scottish Government provisional outturn.

Over £928,000 has been offered since Sept 2021 under the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) to six separate projects that have invasive non-native species (INNS) management and control as a central priority for action. This figure includes a Galloway Fisheries Trust project entitled ‘Scottish Solway INNS Control and Knowledge Programme’ (£97,564), a Loch Lomond Fisheries Trust project entitled ‘Beyond the Endrick’ (£247,755) and a W L Farm project entitled ‘The Glen - Habitat Restoration’ (£126,740).

Three RSPB-led projects have also been funded on rainforest restoration (£180,000), the eradication of stoats from Orkney (£220,377) and the RSPB’s Biosecurity for LIFE project (£56,309) which is primarily focused on preventing INNS reaching islands rather than on eradication. I have included this last project for completeness and because preventing the establishment of INNS in areas where they are not present is also extremely important.

In the most recent call for applications to the NRF, a further five applications for projects involving INNS management and control have been received. Decisions have yet to be made concerning these and the successful projects will be announced in the coming months.

As autonomous institutions, universities are responsible for their own entry requirements and admissions policies, therefore the Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of eligible students resident in the UK that were not successful in gaining a place at Scottish medical school, or the reasons for these decisions by individual institutions. Higher education institutions can provide feedback, when requested, to anyone whose application to study has been unsuccessful.

The information requested on how much has been spent on private agency staffing for all disciplines across the NHS in each of the last 10 years is not centrally available.

Information on Medical & Dental and Nursing & midwifery bank and agency spend by NHS Board since March 2014 can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHSScotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence Bank and Agency) tab.

The information requested on how many NHS shifts have been covered by private agency staff in each of the last 10 years is not centrally available.

Information on Medical & Dental and Nursing & midwifery bank and agency spend by NHS Board since March 2014 can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHSScotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence Bank and Agency) tab.

This information is not held centrally; it is a matter for the individual Health Boards.