Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government commissioned research to evaluate the current public awareness of Face, Arms, Speech, Time (FAST), stroke symptoms and risk factors, which has now been completed. The results of this research are informing our plans for future work.

Scottish Government, Chest, Heart and Stroke Scotland and Stroke Association all support the continue used of FAST. The current evidence base does not support a move to the use of BE FAST, but we will regularly review this position based on the best available evidence.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care asked the Specialty Adviser to the Chief Medical Officer for Stroke to review stroke recognition education for clinical staff. This review has informed the development of an education package, funded by the Scottish Government, to be delivered to staff in GP practices, Emergency Departments and the Scottish Ambulance Service. Although focusing on FAST, this education will also cover the less common presentations of stroke.

The Scottish Government undertook and published an Equality Impacts Assessment and Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment, as part of the amendment regulations made as payment reform. Further detail can be found at:

Supporting documents - NHS dental payment reform: equality impact assessment record - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

A Health Inequalities Impact Assessment would not ordinarily form part of the policy process in Scottish Government.

Financial support for travel to hospital appointments is available to patients and authorised escorts, according to eligibility criteria and medical requirements. The Scottish Government provides the overall guidance to NHS Boards on reimbursement of patient travel costs and Boards are responsible for setting and applying local policy.

Where travel is necessary, Boards are expected to support patients to identify and access support available, taking account individual circumstances and ensuring patient care is at the centre of all decisions made.

Where a patient is eligible for assistance with travel costs, claims should normally be ratified and reimbursed within 1 to 2 weeks, allowing time for the claim and supporting documentation to be reviewed. Where assistance is required with upfront costs, Health Boards can make bookings on behalf of eligible patients and this should be discussed with the relevant Health Board as part of the overall treatment arrangements.

In January 2024 we implemented a national policy for the reimbursement of electricity costs for home dialysis patients to address inconsistencies across Health Boards where some fully reimburse electricity costs, and others provide partial reimbursement or none at all. Boards are expected to proactively identify eligible patients and ensure electricity costs for eligible patients are reimbursed promptly. A review of implementation is currently underway and a further update will be provided in Autumn 2024.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with long-term conditions including chronic kidney disease, are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

Financial support for travel to hospital appointments is available to patients and authorised escorts, according to eligibility criteria and medical requirements. Where travel is necessary, Boards are expected to support patients to identify and access support available, taking account individual circumstances and ensuring patient care is at the centre of all decisions made.

In January 2024 we implemented a national policy for the reimbursement of electricity costs for home dialysis patients to address inconsistencies across Health Boards where some fully reimburse electricity costs, and others provide partial reimbursement or none at all. Boards are expected to proactively identify eligible patients and make reimbursement. A review of implementation is currently underway and a further update will be provided in Autumn 2024.

Recruitment and training of registered mental health professionals is a matter for employers such as NHS boards and Local Authorities. These bodies make informed decisions about recruiting counsellors and psychotherapists or training new mental health practitioners, according to the needs of local service providers and working with relevant professional bodies. The Scottish Government expects employers to apply standards and frameworks which are appropriate to the specialism being recruited for.

In September 2023, we published Mental Health Core Standards, initially applying to adult secondary mental health services. These outline national expectations to boards regarding staffing levels and appropriate skills.

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) meet on a quarterly basis with the representatives of the Society of Chief Officers in Environmental Health who work in local authorities to discuss issues in relation to food safety, food standards and nutrition in Scotland. The last time they met was on 17 July. They also attend and present at the Society’s annual congress.

FSS are members of the Environmental Health Policy Co-ordination Group, who meet monthly and have the Environmental Health Officer (EHO) vacancies and workforce shortages as standing agenda item for each meeting

.Since vesting, FSS has provided an annual grant to the Society which it disperses to local authorities who apply for funding assistance in training and recruitment of trainee Environmental Health and Food Safety Officers. The amount has averaged at between £20,000 - £60,000 per annum and a one-off payment of £300,000 was provided in 2022 – 23 to assist with the acute shortage in student and EHO numbers.

FSS also provide a number of speciality training packages to local authorities to ensure EHOs are trained on numerous technical subjects. These courses are reviewed and updated regularly.

I, in my capacity as Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health, met with Geoff Ogle, CEO of FSS on 20 June to discuss the current state of local delivery in relation to food law and the proposed reform programme that would introduce digital capabilities, as well as an overhaul of the food law delivery system.

The topic of Scottish independence was not discussed.

Please see the breakdown of recorded bullying and harassment cases as advised by each NHS Board through Staff Governance Monitoring returns from 2021 in the following table. Please note, recorded cases for 2023-24 are not yet available centrally.

As defined in the policy, there are two stages to raise bullying and harassment concerns. Early resolution cases are resolved at the earliest opportunity by informing the other party of the impact of their behaviour or actions. If early resolution is unsuccessful or inappropriate, cases can be raised formally.

(Source: Staff Governance Monitoring Annual Board Returns)

Jenni Minto: Quantitative evaluation is ongoing through data analysis by Practitioner Services Division of NSS and is published by Public Health Scotland quarterly. This data can be found at the following link:

https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/nhs-dental-data-monitoring-report/nhs-dental-data-monitoring-report-quarter-ending-march-2024/

The Scottish Government has also introduced a revised system of Quality Improvement activity with a specific focus, in 2024-25, on qualitatively evaluating the impact of payment reform. Dental teams are required to undertake a team-based reflection activity to discuss their experience of the reform process in addition to the resultant changes they have made in their practices. This process has been to complement and enhance the qualitative information already collated through regular engagement with NHS Boards and Directors of Dentistry.

The Scottish Government recognises the positive contribution older people make to their communities and recognises the value in bringing generations together. We aim to enable better access to a range of services for older people as and when they need them. We want to ensure people are financially secure and supported as they age.

Through our Equalities and Human Rights Fund, we are investing over £2.2 million in support of older people’s organisations and age equality projects that deliver positive outcomes for older people. Generations Working Together (GWT) were offered £615,250 over three years through the Equality and Human Rights Fund. GWT is the nationally recognised centre of excellence supporting the development and integration of intergenerational work across Scotland. This funding aimed to tackle ageism through intergenerational activity across Scotland and to increase understanding and learning around the field of intergenerational practice.

Generations Working Together are key stakeholders in our Older people’s Strategic Action Forum (OPSAF) and the Social Isolation and Loneliness Advisory Group (SIALAG).

In addition, our Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund of £3.8m which was launched in 2023 over 3 years, supports intergenerational projects. Over the past year 2929 older people and 400 young people have benefitted from the services provided by the funded projects.