- Asked by: Douglas Ross, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 22 May 2023
-
Current Status:
Taken in the Chamber on 25 May 2023
Question to be taken in Chamber.
Answer
Taken in the Chamber on 25 May 2023
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 May 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will sign up to Crohn's and Colitis UK's campaign pledges, which are set out on its campaigns website.
Answer
The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring those living with Crohn’s or Colitis are able to access the best possible care and support and that they benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.
Whilst the Scottish Government has not signed the campaign pledges, we continue to support the Crohn’s & Colitis UK campaign for earlier diagnosis. In March 2023 we launched an awareness campaign to help increase awareness of Crohn’s and Colitis symptoms and signpost to reliable information so people feel empowered to seek help from a medical professional when needed. We engaged with Crohn’s & Colitis UK to ensure the campaign was complementary to their own.
We will continue to improve services for people with the condition through the Modernising Patient Pathways Programme (MPPP). MPPP has a specific workstream continuing to promote improvements in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) care for patients across Scotland in partnership with third sector and people with lived experience. Scotland’s national IBD Steering Group has identified priority areas for work over the next two years. This includes consideration of referral pathways and models of IBD care to drive a more standardised and equitable service across Scotland.
To specifically support scope based diagnostics, such as endoscopy, we have published an Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal plan backed by £70m. The plan focuses on key areas such as: Balancing Demand and Capacity; Workforce Training and Development; Infrastructure; and Innovation and Redesign. While endoscopy capacity remains challenged, patients referred on our most urgent pathways continue to be prioritised for scope-based diagnostic tests.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
-
Date lodged: Thursday, 11 May 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government how many diagnoses there have been of (a) Crohn's disease and (b) ulcerative colitis in each of the last five years.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold this information. This is a matter for Health Boards locally.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 22 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the recommendation in its Peer Support in Perinatal Mental Health action plan, what it has done to create regional perinatal mental health networks with statutory and third sector services to share best practice and aid appropriate referrals.
Answer
The Scottish Government, in conjunction with the clinical support of the Perinatal Mental Health Network Scotland, has funded regional roles across the North, East and West of Scotland. Nurse Consultants in each region are responsible for coordinating regional support. Scottish Government continues to support boards to work across regions to improve equity of service provision and ensure that smaller and rural health boards are able to provide specialist perinatal services across their populations.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 22 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the recommendation in its Peer Support in Perinatal Mental Health action plan, what targeted peer support in perinatal mental health services it has created to meet the particular needs of groups who are, or were, underserved by services, and what any such services are.
Answer
The Scottish Government Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Fund provides £80,000 per year to support Amma Birth Companions which provides trauma-informed emotional and practical support to vulnerable women who would otherwise experience birth without a partner or who are likely to face significant barriers to accessing perinatal care. The individuals they support are mostly refugees, asylum seekers and people living in poverty. Amma's service include birth and postnatal companionship, antenatal classes and peer support activities and aims to support the wellbeing and life chances of both mothers and fathers.
Remote and rural services face challenges due to how geographically isolated some of the communities are throughout Scotland. The Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Fund therefore also supports multiple organisations across rural Scotland to provide services to remote areas, these services include Action for Children services in the Western Isles, Home Start Caithness, South Lanarkshire and many more. They provide non-clinical, community based parenting and peer support services which help women and families affected by, or at risk of, perinatal mental health difficulties.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 22 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the recommendation in its Peer Support in Perinatal Mental Health action plan, what it has done to ensure that peer support for perinatal mental health is available in a variety of formats, so that it meets the needs of a wide range of mothers and carers.
Answer
Peer Support is available in a variety of forms across Scotland. The Scottish Government has recently worked with the Scottish Recovery Network to develop a Perinatal Peer Support Resource , which launched on 20 April 2023. This is a toolkit to inform the planning and delivery of perinatal peer support activities which are easily accessible across Scotland.
Through its Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Fund, the Scottish Government is supporting third sector organisations which are delivering peer support services through a variety of means. These range from facilitated drop-in sessions to online support groups which can reach parents and carers who do not want to or are unable to attend groups in person. To meet the needs of a wide range of mothers and carers, we also fund peer support groups for family units; peer support volunteers who offer emotional and practical support to families; and paid peer support workers.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 22 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the recommendation in its Peer Support in Perinatal Mental Health action plan, whether specific perinatal mental health peer support services for men have become more widely available since March 2021, and, if so, what groups exist, broken down by the geographical areas in which they operate.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17835 on 22 May 2023. 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
There is also the Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Third Sector Service Directory on Inspiring Scotland’s website which lists organisations across Scotland who currently offer perinatal and infant mental health support. This can be found at: Perinatal and Infant Mental Health Third Sector Service Directory - Inspiring Scotland.
- Asked by: Craig Hoy, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Wednesday, 10 May 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 22 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the recommendation in its Peer Support in Perinatal Mental Health action plan, what it has done to ensure that all peer support services for perinatal mental health have their own policy around safeguarding peer support workers, volunteers and service users.
Answer
The Scottish Government worked with Scottish Recovery Network to develop a Perinatal Peer Support Resource which launched on 20 April 2023 and can be found at the following link - Let's do Peer Support: Bump, Birth & Beyond - Scottish Recovery Network . The resource includes guidance on how to keep peer support workers, volunteers and service users safe. It also contains links to good practice and specialised training from more established organisations should peer support workers or volunteers feel they need further information and guidance.
- Asked by: Donald Cameron, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Friday, 05 May 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 22 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-17165 by Angus Robertson on 2 May 2023, for what reason it does not hold this information centrally; whether it retains emails relating to invitations to events, and what the reasons are for its position on this matter.
Answer
With widespread international interest in our work, the Scottish Government receives a great number of invitations, across all portfolios and both formally and informally, for Ministers to attend international events. As many of these requests are made personally at engagements, domestically or at different points across our international network, and are addressed in the moment, there is no way to provide an exact number of invitations received.
- Asked by: Tess White, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
-
Date lodged: Monday, 15 May 2023
-
Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 May 2023
To ask the Scottish Government what the (a) annual, (b) monthly and (c) hourly remuneration is for the Women's Health Champion.
Answer
Remuneration for Professor Anna Glasier OBE, the Women’s Health Champion for Scotland, is paid at a daily fee of £300 per day in line with Tier 2 of the Daily Fee Framework as set by the 2022-23 Public Sector Pay Strategy.
Professor Glasier is contracted to work four days a month, as the Women’s Health Champion with her tenure coming to an end in June 2024.
