Chamber and committees

I can advise that all Health Boards in Scotland have been advised of the national approach being taken to the provision of a 'once for Scotland' GP DACS. Boards are aware that a national steering group is overseeing this development and has established a ‘pathfinder’ approach to better understand the level of demand, market maturity and benefits and impact before seeking to agree a national approach. Guidance will developed and issued as part of the pathfinder programme.

Following the launch of the Scottish Mens Sheds Association (SMSA) in November 2015, the Scottish Government has supported the men’s shed movement in Scotland, by providing £645,000 of funding to the SMSA and Age Scotland to date.

Our annual core funding support to the SMSA has enabled the movement to fully establish in Scotland and grow our Scottish men’s sheds from just 3 sheds in 2013 to 127 sheds which are open today, and a further 70 that are currently in development, serving 2,899 members, and 10,267 shedders across Scotland.

Scottish Government annual breakdown of support to the men’s sheds movement is as follows:

To SMSA:

• 2016/17 - £75,000
• 2017/18 - £75,000
• 2018/19 - £75,000
• 2019/20 - £75,000
• 2020/21 - £150,000 (higher figure included funds to support Covid response)
• 2021/22 - £45,000

To Age Scotland:

• 2017/18 - £50,000
• 2018/19 - £50,000
• 2019/20 - £50,000

The expenditure on local adoption of GP DACS is not currently monitored at a national level given the variation in different approaches and systems that are currently in use for online triage and asynchronous consultations. We expect to develop a clearer picture of this as we develop the approach to national GP DACS.

As part of the pathfinder programme guidance will developed and issued to NHS Boards on GP DACS. However, I should clarify that Near Me is not an asynchronous model (as it only provides real-time video consultations) and that AskMyGP has been procured at a local level and does not fall under the remit of the national programme.

NHS Boards are responsible for managing their resources to meet the needs of their population’s workforce and in line with local and national priorities.

The information requested is not collected or held centrally by the Scottish Government and would require to be obtained from Health Boards.

The Scottish Government remains committed to achieving the 2024 elimination of hepatitis C target; however, we must acknowledge the impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on all our health services.

We are working closely with the Scottish Health Protection Network hepatitis C Elimination group and Public Health Scotland to understand the current Hepatitis data. We are actively considering where focused interventions would bring about the biggest impact and support us to reach our target of elimination. We intend to include concrete proposals in the next iteration of the sexual Health and Blood Borne Viruses Framework, which we expect to publish later this year.

There are currently 837 Community First Responders. The Scottish Ambulance Service maintain a rolling database of CFRs so do not hold historic figures.

We are committed to supporting children, young people and students who use British Sign Language (BSL) at all stages of their learning.

Education authorities have duties under the Additional Support for Learning Act 2004 to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils, including BSL users. The Scottish Government provides funding of £150,000 to the Scottish Sensory Centre to support training for staff working with children and young people with sensory impairments, including BSL users.

All colleges and universities in Scotland have published BSL plans (accessible in BSL and English) setting out how students who use BSL are supported. Students attending college or university are also eligible to apply for additional financial support to help with any additional costs which arise as a result of a disability or additional learning need. This can include support towards the cost of BSL interpreters to assist their learning.

BSL is currently taught as a second additional language in schools as part of the 1+2 languages policy. This means it can be taught from P5 at the latest up to the end of S3. Learning does not need to be continuous during this time. The uptake of schools teaching BSL has increased steadily, and SQA awards are designed for both hearing and deaf learners to develop their language skills.

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) is working with the University of Edinburgh on the development of an undergraduate degree in Primary Education and BSL. This would lead to graduates qualifying as primary teachers with enhanced BSL skills. GTCS is also considering further action to remove barriers that make it difficult for BSL users to become registered teachers, including reviewing registration rules.

The ’BSL Interpreting in Scotland: Landscape review’, commissioned by the Scottish Government in relation to Actions 7, 8, and 9 of the British Sign Language National Plan 2017 - 2023, was published in February 2020 with 13 recommendations. The recommendations include reference to improvements and development of vocational and academic pathways for interpreter training and BSL qualifications, and development of this work is currently being considered.

We have also committed to providing additional funding to enable local authorities to offer free British Sign Language tuition for deaf children from the age of five, and work to implement that commitment is underway, in consultation with stakeholders.

Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) Guideline 122 on the prevention and management of venous thromboembolism (VTE) was first published in December 2010. Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), of which SIGN is a part, carried out awareness raising activity following publication which included the following:

• As an aid to standardising the information provided to patients on VTE across Scotland, the text of the model patient advice leaflets on DVT, which the Chief Medical Officer sent to all NHS Boards in January 2008, was included in appendices to the guideline.
• In April 2011 an information leaflet on deep vein thrombosis (DVT) for the general public was made available for download from the SIGN website. Distribution of paper copies was led by the SIGN Patient Involvement Officer.
• Work with its partners to embed the Guideline’s recommendations into general practice decision-making software.

Subsequently, Healthcare Improvement Scotland took forward work on VTE as part of the Scottish Patient Safety Programme.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on spend relating to the above work.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-07939 on 29 April 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 .