Chamber and committees

The information requested is not collected centrally.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-26378 on 27 July 2015. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

I have arranged for the information requested to be placed with the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib number 57066).

The number of hospital readmissions for eating disorders in 2012-13 and 2013-14 is presented by age group in the following table. Presenting a breakdown by gender is not possible due to small numbers and to minimise the potential to identify individuals.

Table: The number of patients readmitted^1,2 to acute (SMR01) or psychiatric (SMR04)³ hospitals in Scotland⁴ with a main diagnosis of eating disorders^5,6, 2012-13 and 2013-14 by age group⁷.

Age group	2012-13	2013-14
under 16	21	20
16 to 24	21	37
25 to 44	43	32
45+	11	12
Total	96	101

Notes

1. There is no standard definition of readmissions for eating disorders. For the purposes of this analysis, a readmission has been defined as a discharge from an acute or psychiatric hospital in the specified year, following a similar discharge for eating disorders in any of the preceding 10 years (2003-04 to 2012-13 for readmissions in 2012-13; 2004-05 to 2013-14 for readmissions in 2013-14). The readmission figure for 2012-13 is calculated separately to the readmission figure for 2013-14, and as a result a patient counted in 2012-13 may also be counted in 2013-14. If a patient had more than one readmission in the specified year then they are only counted once in that year. 2013-14 is the most recent year available. Source: ISD Scotland.

2. The analysis is based on continuous inpatient stays (CISs) rather than episodes. Any one CIS can comprise multiple episodes and so if the analysis were based on episodes, the number of readmissions would appear artificially high. A patient has to have had more than one CIS for the second to be counted as a readmission.

3. Acute inpatient and day case activity is recorded in Scottish morbidity record 01 (SMR01); psychiatric inpatient and day case activity is recorded in Scottish morbidity record 04 (SMR04). SMR01 and SMR04 are linked to allow patient based analysis across the two datasets. If a patient has one episode in SMR01 and one in SMR04 then the second will be counted as a readmission. If a patient has a CIS that crosses from SMR01 into SMR04 then these have been counted as 2 separate CISs.

4. Includes all patients treated in Scottish hospitals.

5. The SMR01 and SMR04 datasets have space to record a main discharge diagnosis and up to 5 secondary discharge diagnoses. This analysis looks at the main diagnosis position only.

6. Eating disorders are identified by ICD-10 code F50. For SMR04 records, diagnoses can be recorded on both admission and discharge. For this analysis, only diagnosis on discharge has been used.

7. Age is the age on admission for the latest episode in the specified year (2012-13 or 2013-14).

Information for 2015 is not available. Data is complex, and relatively few deaths are currently recorded as primarily from eating disorders, with the primary cause of death more likely to be recorded as organ failure and in some cases may be suicide.

From 13 May 2015 national legislation introduced a new independent system of scrutiny of Medical Certificates of Cause of Death (MCCDs), delivered by independent medical reviewers within Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

Medical reviewers will review a random sample of MCCDs provided by National Records of Scotland, for accuracy, and work collaboratively with the medical profession to improve standards in the completion of the MCCD in line with guidance provided by the Chief Medical Officer. It is likely that these new arrangements will lead to the more accurate recording of deaths from eating disorders in future.

We are funding Glasgow University, in collaboration with the Learning Disabilities Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (LD CAMHS) Scotland Network to carry out the ‘LD CAMHS Models and Outcomes Study’ in order to deliver on this commitment. The study is in progress and it is anticipated that it will complete in April 2016.

So far the study has collected information systematically on the structure and staffing profile of services in all health board areas in Scotland. The study is now building on these findings by focusing on Intensive Treatment Service (ITS) models. ITS services across the UK have agreed to provide information on service specifications, multi-agency partnership working and service outcomes. These models are being systematically examined to inform prototype services for children and young people with learning disabilities. This part of the work will be completed by December 2015 and the information used to set out different prototypes for ITS services which will be shared with health boards and LD CAMHS services in Scotland.

There have been no specific discussions. As the regulation of the internet is a reserved matter, the Scottish Government is represented on the Executive Board of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety. Members represent organisations who are actively involved in helping young people to stay safe online, including avoiding sites that will encourage them to harm themselves in whatever way. The Scottish Stakeholder Group on Child Internet Safety also meets regularly as part of the Scottish Government’s aim to inspire safe and responsible use and given the ever-changing nature of the internet constantly brings new challenges. The group is a means of identifying emerging new concerns and is a way of highlighting and taking forward any necessary national action to address those concerns. We are working hard to limit children and young people’s exposure to inappropriate and harmful content through awareness, raising initiatives and placing emphasis on responsible and safe use of technologies.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of research in developing effective treatment strategies for kidney disease, including improving the efficacy and life cycle of kidney transplants.

In August 2014, after an open recruitment process, Dr Patrick Marks from the University of Glasgow was appointed as the NHS Research Scotland (NRS) clinical lead for renal disease. This role involves:

Ensuring the effective delivery of research projects in renal disease

Increasing the number of patients enrolled into trials in the renal disease portfolio.

Working with established groups, individual clinicians, NRS research and development directors and lay representatives, to promote research activity in renal disease.

Encouraging clinicians to participate in renal disease clinical research.

Within the Scottish Government, the Chief Scientist Office (CSO) is responsible for the funding of high quality research relevant to the health and well-being of the people of Scotland. CSO has funded a number of projects on renal disease. Specifically in relation to kidney transplantation, CSO has awarded £240,000 in funding to a team led by Dr David Kluth from the University of Edinburgh. Their project, entitled ‘Recovery from ischaemia-reperfusion injury after renal transplantation’ is studying the role of immune cells in delayed graft function (DGF) with the aim of optimising treatment to minimise DGF and improve the efficacy of transplants. The project is due to produce a final report towards the end of 2015.

The Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition) Act (Scotland) 2007 places a number of duties on local education authorities including ensuring that schools are health promoting. This includes promoting physical, social, mental and emotional wellbeing by supporting pupils to make positive lifestyle choices in relation to their health and wellbeing.

It is for each local authority and school to decide how to develop their own approaches to implement health and wellbeing within curriculum for excellence, based on local needs and circumstances.

The Education Scotland website is a primary source of information for teachers and provides links to relevant organisations and websites such as B-EAT (Beat Eating Disorders) which provides books, resources and training for teachers.

GP referrals for eating disorders to acute inpatient, day case or outpatient services is not collected centrally. It is possible for Information Services Division Scotland to identify the number of GP referrals to psychiatric inpatient hospitals for eating disorder but data is not published here due to the small numbers involved and the potential to identify individuals.