Chamber and committees

As you are aware, our NHS is currently facing the most difficult circumstances in its history due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This is exacerbated at present due to the potential risk posed by the Omicron variant to our healthcare system. This means Health Boards are having to make very difficult decisions about prioritising care, and I know this has an impact on everyone who is waiting for support for their health at this time.

We recognise that this includes people experiencing chronic pain, and that is why we are providing funding to enhance the capacity of pain management care through the Chronic Pain Winter Support Fund. We will shortly announce the outcome of this funding call. The projects we fund will boost the support available for people with chronic pain at the national and local level to help them maintain their health and wellbeing over the months ahead.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05156 on 10 January 2022. 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-05035 on 3 December 2021. 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

The Scottish Government would expect all employers to ensure that all staff have the necessary rest breaks and support; and this was re-emphasised by the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer in her joint letter with the leaders from the pharmacy sector, including the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, to the service on 8 December outlining the importance of wellbeing to all pharmacy staff and detailing support available.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown to us all the value which the pharmacy profession bring to the NHS in Scotland be that hospital, community pharmacy or general practice settings. In particular the pharmacy network has been pivotal in the NHS response to the current pandemic in ensuring people across the country have continued access to their medicines and professional healthcare advice. We take the wellbeing of pharmacy teams very seriously and that is why we have made £12m available to support the wellbeing of the pharmacist workforce. That includes £8m from the NHS Recovery Plan to provide ongoing wellbeing support for the workforce – alongside an extra £4m to provide further support to address winter pressures.

The funding supports the 24/7 National Wellbeing Helpline, our National Wellbeing Hub, Coaching for Wellbeing and the Workforce Specialist Service, alongside tailored psychological interventions for staff, providing individualised wellbeing support focusing on people’s physical and emotional needs.

Wider workforce issues and challenges will be discussed at the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer’s Workforce Forum, which will bring together stakeholders from pharmacy education and pharmacy service provision to set a strategic workforce plan for the profession.

This year the Scottish Government has made £12m available to support the wellbeing of the pharmacist workforce. That includes £8m from the NHS Recovery Plan to provide ongoing wellbeing support for the workforce – alongside an extra £4m to provide further support to address winter pressures.

The funding supports the 24/7 National Wellbeing Helpline, our National Wellbeing Hub, Coaching for Wellbeing and the Workforce Specialist Service, alongside tailored psychological interventions for staff, providing individualised wellbeing support focusing on people’s physical and emotional needs.

The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer for Scotland in a joint letter, issued 8 December, with the leaders from the pharmacy sector, including the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (Scotland), has written to all pharmacy teams outlining the range of wellbeing support available to pharmacy teams and encouraging them to access these resources for support when needed.

The refreshed Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) Strategy 2021 to 2026, published in March recognises the importance of defibrillation registration. We are key partners within the Save a Life for Scotland Partnership (SALFS).

We would urge all defibrillator guardians to register their defibrillator so that the Scottish Ambulance Service call handlers can direct people to them in incidents of cardiac arrest. Registration of defibrillators in Scotland will build the evidence to support people and organisations in making informed decisions about where to place their life saving device.

An aim of the refreshed Out-of-Hospital Strategy 2021 to 2026 is to ensure that 20% of all OHCAs will have a defibrillator applied before the arrival of ambulance service. We want to improve bystander confidence in the use of these devices and the Strategy includes an aim for the Save a Life for Scotland partnership to increase familiarisation with defibrillator usage across Scotland, through embedding defibrillator usage in awareness raising campaigns and CPR training.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05156 on 10 January 2022. 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 engaged with a range of stakeholders to inform the development of the draft Framework for Pain Management Service Delivery including the people with lived experience who were members of the National Advisory Committee for Chronic Pain (NACCP).

The structure and membership of the Committee was reviewed in 2020 in order to increase representation of people with lived experience and other key groups with an interest in improving care and support for people with chronic pain. As set out in the updated Terms of Reference, the Committee is advisory in nature, and members were encouraged to seek consensus in providing advice. The Committee met in its new format in February and May 2021 with all members invited to attend these meetings. Members were also asked to provide feedback and responses a number of other relevant request between meetings.

All members of the Committee had the opportunity to freely share their views on the priorities for improving pain management support which were used to inform the development of the draft Framework. Lived experience members of the Committee were provided with additional support in their role in a number of ways including: meetings to gather the views of a wider cohort of people with chronic pain via the Chronic Pain Patient Reference Group; being offered the choice to participate in capacity building sessions; and being offered the opportunity to directly share a summary of the views of people with chronic pain both in advance with officials and during Committee meetings as part of dedicated agenda items. We have also carried out a Scotland-wide survey to better understand the priorities of people with chronic pain and increase the range of voices involved.

All members of the Committee had access to the same information and resources throughout the development of the Framework, and were provided with a draft version in advance of the launch of the public consultation.

As communicated to the Committee previously, we are currently reviewing existing stakeholder engagement processes and structures, including the NACCP, to ensure that they are fit for purpose and can meaningfully support the future delivery and implementation of the Framework once the current public consultation has been completed.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05156 on 10 January 2022. 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