Chamber and committees

We expect all NHS boards to ensure they have the right number of appropriately skilled and experienced nurses to meet the needs of the babies they care for.

A comprehensive review of neonatal services across Scotland was undertaken to identify needs and help services where necessary. A report of the review''s findings was published and can be accessed at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2009/04/30153006/17.

To further increase the nursing capacity within neonatal units, the Scottish Government has funded the training of 20 advance neonatal nurse practitioners to date and has recently invested £100,000 in neonatal education. A further £160,000 has been invested for training this year.

Services should be offered locally where possible, however both the highly specialist and unpredictable nature of neonatal services means they cannot always be provided locally. It is regrettable when babies and/or pregnant women have to be transferred to another unit but we recognise that on occasion this may be appropriate or necessary.

We have a dedicated 24 hour neonatal transport system which surpasses arrangements in the rest of the UK, with dedicated and professional staff who provide high quality care to these babies and their families.

The Scottish Neonatal Transport Service will only transport sick infants when there is a clear clinical need, such as the need for intensive care, a cardiac condition requiring surgery or ECMO. The team will also transfer infants back to the referring unit and this accounts for 40% of the team''s annual activity.

The information requested is not held centrally. However, information on staff in post showing nursing staff specialising with children and clinical nurse specialists in neonatology annually as part of the workforce census as at 30 September each year. Data for nursing and midwifery staff in post and clinical nurse specialists is available at:

http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/5352.html.

NHS Scotland has developed, tested and begun implementation of a neonatal nursing workload and workforce planning tool that will identify the nursing needs of this vulnerable group of babies. This tool takes in account the British Association of Perinatal Medicine (BAPM) staffing recommendations and will capture actual nursing workload on a real-time basis. The implementation of this tool will help to develop quality measures for neonatal care, and equip boards with valuable information that will inform their planning and provision of services. Neonatal units have been collecting the data for six months and the Nursing & Midwifery Workload and Workforce Planning Programme are now analysing the data.

We have also recently written to NHS board chief executives to seek assurances that the levels of neonatal staffing and skill mix are sufficient to ensure a high quality neonatal service to meet their local need along with clarification of the designated level of service that the unit provides.

We have a dedicated 24 hour neonatal transport system which surpasses arrangements in the rest of the UK, with dedicated and professional staff who provide high quality care to these vulnerable babies and their families.

The Perinatal Collaborative Transport Study commissioned by Quality Improvement Scotland in 2008, captured information about in-utero transfers in Scotland not previously known. It provides reassurance that transfers are being managed in line with agreed pathways of care. The study can be viewed at http://www.nhshealthquality.org/nhsqis/files/CoTS%20Final%20Report.pdf.

The information requested is not held centrally. However, information on staff in post showing nursing staff specialising with children and clinical nurse specialists in neonatology is published annually as part of the workforce census as at 30 September each year. Data for nursing and midwifery staff in post and clinical nurse specialists is available at:

http://www.isdscotland.org/isd/5352.html.

We expect all NHS boards to ensure they have the right number of appropriately skilled and experienced nurses to meet the needs of the babies they care for.

We have also recently written to NHS board chief executives to seek assurances that the levels of neonatal staffing and skill mix are sufficient to ensure a high-quality neonatal service to meet their local need along with clarification of the designated level of service that the unit provides.

Neonatal transfers only take place when it is in the best interests of mother and baby. We would expect NHS boards to ensure that both the accommodation and transitional care facilities for parents of ill babies who are a distance from home is of an appropriate standard.

The day-to-day management of NHS property, including accommodation issues related to service needs, is devolved to NHS boards to undertake and prioritise in line with their property and asset management strategies. This would include any necessary improvements associated with the outcomes of service reviews.

Best practice guidance available to NHS boards is published by Health Facilities Scotland (HFS). The current guidance for the provision of maternity services is the English Health Building Note HBN 09-02: Maternity care facilities, which HFS are presently looking to adapt for use in Scotland.

Issues regarding the impact on dental services in Dumbarton were raised with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde as part of the assessment of the Outline Business Case for Alexandria Health Centre on 1 April 2009.

I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-32947 on 21 April 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament''s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

The Chief Dental Officer was provided with information regarding community dentistry provision in the Clyde area during visits to the dental clinics in the Alexandria area in April 2008 following initial discussions with the Director of Oral Health within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. This included details of the numbers attending, members of staff, and categories of patients. The Outline Business Case for the new Alexandria Health Centre did not refer to the proposed closure of the dental surgeries in Dumbarton. As part of the assessment of the Outline Business Case, the Chief Dental Officer sought clarification of the impact of proposed dental services on existing community dentistry in Dumbarton.

Arrangements are in hand to notify Greater Glasgow and Clyde of approval of the Outline Business Case now that confirmation has been received regarding the provision of community dentistry services within Dumbarton.