Chamber and committees

The Scottish Access Collaborative was created in October 2017 to sustainably improve waiting times for patients waiting for non-emergency procedures. It is working alongside NHS boards in Scotland to reduce waiting times, improve patient experience and develop responses to some of the main challenges facing the NHS. Chronic Pain is one of twelve specialties included in the Scottish Access Collaborative.

Three design workshops were held during 2018-19 aiming to understand the current Chronic Pain pathways, improve patient experience and suggest improvements for the services provided in the future. Patients and third sector groups participated in the workshops and contributed to the report, along with clinicians from the community, primary and secondary care. A report was published in summer 2019 and highlighted seven areas most likely to make a difference for people experiencing Chronic Pain, including ‘develop strong links between primary and secondary care in order to create a clear model of care’ and ‘allocate available resource to educate, train, supply and retain healthcare professionals with the right skills sets in the right places’.

Although there was multi-disciplinary representation from statutory and third sector services and patients at the Design workshops, only a fraction of the chronic pain community was able to participate at the time. Engagement with stakeholders, including third sector service providers and those with lived experience of chronic pain across Scotland, is underway to validate the report findings and identify the priorities to be taken forward; this is being led by the Modernising Patient Pathways Programme with the intention of achieving sustainable and effective service change. The Modernising Patient Pathways Programme has appointed a Clinical Lead with extensive experience of working in Specialist Pain clinics in secondary care services in Scotland and a GP Advisor to support this work.

Under the Equalities Act (2010), there is no requirement to carry out an Equalities Impact Assessment when establishing an internal improvement programme such as the Modernising Patient Pathways Programme or the Scottish Access Collaborative.

They will however often work with a host NHS Board to develop an EQIA when this is appropriate. The scope and nature of any such EQIA will be guided by the specifics of the individual improvement initiative.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of clinical nurse specialist roles and their contribution to the care of the people of Scotland. As part of the Chief Nursing Officer's Transforming Nursing, Midwifery and Health Professionals programme, a review of the role definition and education of specialist nurses is nearing completion, with an intention to publish a report in Spring 2020.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the people of Scotland who require stoma care services are able to receive the best possible care and support and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put the patient at the centre of their care.

On 16 December 2019, the Scottish Government published the first Integrated National Health and Social Care Workforce Plan in the UK. Developed in partnership with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, the Integrated Plan sets out how health and social care services will meet growing demand to ensure there is in place the right numbers of staff, with the right skills, across health and social care services. I therefore expect NHS Boards to develop robust workforce plans which take into account any potential need for more specialist stoma nurses.

In addition, the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act will support the wider workforce planning process by enabling a rigorous evidence-based approach to staffing decisions. It recognises the dynamic nature of healthcare and places a duty on NHS Boards to assess and respond to staffing pressures in real time. The existing workforce methodologies cover the nursing workforce.

The relationship between air pollution and health is extremely complex. It is widely documented that air pollution has a negative impact on health. However, the sorts of illness that air pollution can exacerbate can also be affected by multiple other factors – such as obesity, alcohol, smoking, and genetics.

Whilst the Scottish Government currently has no plans to undertake research on the links between air pollution and depression and suicide; we are firmly committed to improving air quality across the country. That is why we have set stringent air quality targets. For example, we are the first country in Europe to adopt in legislation the WHO guideline value for particulate matter 2-5 – a pollutant of special concern for human health. Funding totalling £2.5 million is available annually to local authorities to support action plan development and implementation on air quality and we are working closely with local authorities to deliver a network of Low Emission Zones across Scotland’s four biggest cities by 2020. The first of these was introduced in Glasgow in December 2018.

Each NHS Board is responsible under the Health and Safety at Work Act (1974) and its subsequent regulations, to provide appropriate rest facilities for their staff. They are best placed locally to determine the particular requirements for sleeping pods in hospitals to allow staff to have a rest on their breaks.

The Scottish Government is working with the Royal College of Anaesthetists on the fight-fatigue campaign which aims to raise awareness of the impact of fatigue and shift work on our NHS workforce. The Scottish Partnership Forum (SPF) is actively considering the evidence base for the use of sleep-pods and the Scottish Government will consider the position once the SPF have completed their review, however NHS Boards are currently able to install sleeping pods if they consider it to be a local priority.

NHS Boards have utilised Medinet as part of a national contract recently established to provide activity in Ophthalmology, ENT and Dermatology. This contract was put in place through a formal procurement process run by National Services Scotland (NSS) on behalf of all NHS Boards in Scotland. Details on these arrangement would need to be provided by NSS and the appropriate NHS Boards.

Total spend on the use of the independent sector in NHS Scotland represents 0.6% of the total frontline health budget.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-27068 on 19 February 2020. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

Guidance on Free Personal Care was renewed to include the extension of free personal care and this was sent in December 2018 to COSLA, Chief Officers and Chief Finance Officers of Health and Social Care Partnerships, Chief Executives, Chief Finance Officers and Chief Social Work Officers of Local Authorities, Social Work Scotland’s Self-directed Support Practice Forum and the Social Work Scotland Adult Social Care Committee.

COSLA and representatives of local authorities and Social Work Scotland were closely involved as part of a working group in the development of this guidance.

https://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/publications/cc2018_03.pdf .

COSLA produce national guidance for non-residential care which local authorities use to guide the development of their own local charging policies. This was updated in April 2019 to include the extension of free personal care.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-30489 on 21 March 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .