Chamber and committees

In January 2020 the Scottish Government invited Women’s Aid South Lanarkshire and East Renfrewshire to put forward proposals for short term bridge funding for the continuation of the Children Experiencing Domestic Abuse Recovery (CEDAR) programme until June 2020. The organisation has indicated that they are unfortunately no longer in a position to submit any proposals due to staff shortages. The member will be aware that applications are now open for the Scottish Government’s Delivering Equally Safe Fund, and details have been shared with a range of organisations including Women’s Aid South Lanarkshire and East Renfrewshire.

The information requested on how many specialist heart failure nurses there are, broken down by NHS Board is not centrally held by ISD or NES.

Clinical Nurse Specialists are also involved in heart failure care. Due to data quality concerns, some NHS Boards have asked for their Clinical Nurse Specialist data not to be published while these issues are addressed.

ISD have advised that all historical CNS data, whilst approved by NHS Boards when it was published, should be treated with caution in light of the concerns reported to them by Boards.

CAMHS already works within the context of a multi- agency system and the Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) model and principles. At the heart of the GIRFEC process is an assessment of need and creation of a single child’s plan. The meeting at which the joint (multi-agency and multi professional) plan is agreed is called The Child’s Plan meeting. Anyone involved with the child or young person can call a Child’s Plan meeting, and all relevant children’s services, and others, are involved.

In the context of CAMHS how it works in practice is that most children and young people are referred to CAMHS by a Named Person – this could be a Health Visitor or Teacher – who, based on their own assessment and knowledge of the young person’s needs, may make a ‘request for assistance’ to CAMHS where they cannot meet the child’s needs without others help and in doing so triggering a multi-agency assessment.

Where the child or young person is referred by a GP, then CAMHS should, with consent, inform and involve the Named Person, and include both the Named Person’s assessment of needs and a wider multi-agency assessment.

The national CAMHS Service Specification is based on the Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) model and principles and provides a stepped and matched care model – this is often described in Tiers but this service structure varies across Scotland. What is of greater importance is that the Children’s Services System works as a whole, including CAMHS, however CAMHS is structured. NHS boards and Local Authorities will agree local structures to ensure that the standards are delivered, taking into account the local context.

The standard is that face to face appointments should be offered within 4 weeks where the child or young person meets the criteria outline in the CAMHS referral criteria (Annex: 1 in the National CAMHS Service Specification).

The Scottish Government does not hold that information centrally, however we have instructed Health Facilities Scotland to obtain that information by the end of April and we will report once the information has been checked and validated.

The Scottish Government recognise the hazard of asbestos and the risks to health that it poses. However, asbestos is only dangerous when disturbed and the advice from the Health and Safety Executive is that asbestos should remain in-situ providing it is in ‘Good’ Condition, and even where damage is minor it should still be encapsulated rather than removed.

https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg223.pdf

Therefore, if it is safely managed and contained, it doesn't present a health hazard and removing asbestos can be more dangerous than leaving it in place and managing it.

In 2018 a group was formed to review and update 'Managing Asbestos Unified procedures for use within NHSScotland'. The NHS Board Policy on the Management of Asbestos is designed to conform to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, and the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 (CAR2012). The Policy and Procedures apply to all premises and all individuals employed and/or engaged by the organisation without exception.

NHS Boards acknowledge the health hazards arising from exposure to asbestos and take all measures to prevent the exposure of staff, patients, contractors, or any other persons to airborne asbestos fibres within their premises. Where prevention of exposure to asbestos is not reasonably practicable, measure are taken to ensure any such exposure is reduced to the lowest level reasonably practicable by measures other than the use of respiratory protective equipment.

The Boards achieve that by:

- systematically and proactively identify throughout its estate, any materials containing asbestos or presumed to contain asbestos;

- presume that materials contain asbestos unless there is strong analytical evidence that they don’t;

- ensure that all premises are assessed and surveyed where applicable in order to identify any asbestos containing materials that may be present;

- maintain an up-to-date electronic record (Asbestos Register) of the location and condition of asbestos containing materials and of materials presumed to contain asbestos. The Register need to be reviewed at periods not exceeding 12 months;

- assess the risk of exposure from such materials;

- prepare and implement a plan to manage the risk to ensure that any material known or presumed to contain asbestos is kept in a good state of repair, and is inspected/ reassessed, at regular specified intervals;

- ensure information on the location and condition of the material is given to anyone potentially at risk;

- undertake risk assessments prior to commencing work which could expose or is liable to expose employees or others to the risks from asbestos materials, and;

- produce a plan of work detailing how such work is to be carried out;

- prevent exposure to asbestos or reduce it to as low a level as is reasonably practicable;

- provide adequate information, instruction and training to those employees who are likely to come into contact with asbestos.

Asbestos should remain in-situ providing it is in ‘Good’ Condition, and even where damage is minor it should still be encapsulated rather than removed.

I refer the Member to the answer to question S5W-27540 on 2 March 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

I refer the Member to the answer to question S5W-27540 on 2 March 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx