- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 1 November 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of places required in care homes over the next (a) 5, (b) 10 and (c) 15 years.
Answer
Integration Authorities are responsible across Scotland for undertaking strategic needs assessments to inform their statutorily required strategic commissioning plans for their area. These plans are required to be prepared and reviewed on a 3 year rolling basis, so that Integration Authorities are planning for the medium to longer term, including identifying and determining the needs of their local population for care home places. This work considers needs, population dynamics and projections, service activity, supply and demand and gaps in provision, which in turn allows strategic commissioning plans to identify investments and disinvestments according to locally determined priorities within available resources, and which require to achieve or contribute to the national health and wellbeing outcomes.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 1 November 2017
To ask the Scottish Government when it last met COSLA to discuss the National Care Home Contract and what the outcome was.
Answer
The Scottish Government meets with COSLA regularly as part of a programme of reform of the National Care Home Contract. On 10 October meetings were held involving COSLA, Scottish Government and other stakeholders to discuss matters relating to the National Care Home Contract, workforce and dependency planning tools.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Humza Yousaf on 1 November 2017
To ask the Scottish Government how many trips Transport Scotland officials made claims for in respect of personal mileage in the last year, broken down by how many (a) are electric, and (b) petrol or diesel vehicles were used.
Answer
In the last 12 months (Oct 2016 – Sep 2017) Transport Scotland officials made 830 claims for motor allowance through the Travel and Subsistence system. The Motor Allowance claim does not record the type of vehicle or fuel used so it is not possible to break this down further between petrol and electric vehicles.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 1 November 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with independent care home providers about workforce issues.
Answer
Scottish Government officials are in regular dialogue with providers and receive live updates regarding any current issues. Scottish Government officials also hold a National Workforce Planning Group. This is the main stakeholder group driving the health and social care workforce plan and discussing the challenges facing the health and social care workforce both now and going forward into the future.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 1 November 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of international evidence that it understands demonstrates that access to stable, registered nurse staffing in care homes delivers positive care outcomes for residents as well as improved quality of life.
Answer
The Scottish Government, in collaboration with academic and other expert colleagues, is constantly reviewing research evidence to inform the development of evidence based policy in relation to nursing in the care home sector. Whilst the current UK and International (mainly US) evidence base in this area is limited, and still developing, there are a number of consistent findings from the available literature:
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Access to the full range of health and social care professionals and high quality support work are the key to delivering holistic care.
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Nursing roles in care homes are broad and multifaceted, and outcomes for residents can include enhanced personhood and wellbeing, improved health and function, and enhanced quality of life.
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Positive outcomes on relatives, staff and the home from nurses in general are noted.
Recommendations from the evidence base call for:
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Greater clarity on the type of care home where nurses have the greatest impact, i.e. where there are complex healthcare needs.
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Greater clarity on the precise skills and knowledge that nurses are required to have to work effectively in these settings.
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Work to enhance the image and career choices for nurses working in care homes.
These findings and recommendations are central to the current discussions around the role of nursing in care homes through the auspices of the National Care Home Contract with stakeholders including COSLA, SSSC, Scottish Care and the RCN.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 1 November 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the future workforce requirements of (a) registered nurses and (b) health care support workers in care homes.
Answer
The National Health and Social Care Workforce Plan will strengthen and harmonise workforce planning practice, take full account of the future demand for safe and high quality services for Scotland’s people and help to more accurately identify and address gaps in supply, including within the Social Care workforce.
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Part 1 of the Plan focuses on NHSScotland workforce planning and was published on 28 June 2017.
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Part 2, covering the Social Care workforce, will be published jointly with COSLA later this year. This approach will enable different workforce planning systems to take stock, and move forward incrementally towards improved integrated planning across the full Social Care landscape.
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Part 3, covering the workforce in primary care, will be published following the conclusion of GMS contract negotiations.
We are working with all major stakeholders across Health and Social Care, including NHSScotland Boards, COSLA, Scottish Care and other organisations as we take the Plan forward.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 1 November 2017
To ask the Scottish Government when it expects the National Care Home Contract for 2018 to be finalised.
Answer
Negotiations with regards to the National Care Home Contract are taking place between local government and providers. We expect this to be finalised by March 2018.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 1 November 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the clinical care needs of people in care homes.
Answer
Comprehensive assessments are undertaken prior to people being admitted to care homes and placed there by the relevant local authority/ integration authority. This incorporates a full needs assessment, including clinical needs, particularly for nursing care, as well as a financial assessment. For strategic planning and commissioning purposes, this information is aggregated at a local level to determine the overall number of placements which a local authority/integration authority may need in order to inform capacity planning in the care home sector.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 1 November 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on the National Care Home Contract.
Answer
The National Care Home Contract defines the terms of local authority placements into private or voluntary sector homes. It is negotiated annually between COSLA, Scottish Care and CCPS.
- Asked by: Liam McArthur, MSP for Orkney Islands, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Friday, 13 October 2017
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Current Status:
Answered by Shona Robison on 1 November 2017
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that the National Care Home Contract recognises the complex clinical needs of residents.
Answer
The National Care Home Contract is negotiated annually between COSLA, Scottish Care and CCPS. The Scottish Government is contributing to a range of work streams designed to reform and develop the National Care Home Contract, including in respect of workforce issues and quality and improvement. This will ensure that the National Care Home Contract remains fit for purpose and responsive to the changing needs of care home residents.