Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally as this is a matter for the Department of Work and Pensions. A DS1500 form is issued when there is a terminal illness and the prognosis is that the patient may live less than 6 months, it is provided by a GP to the patient, or patient's representative, and it is for them to forward to the Department of Work and Pensions to fast tracks claims when applying for certain benefits.

The Information requested is not reported centrally, but the tables show the number of patients for whom dehydration and related conditions were the main diagnoses recorded as the reason for hospital admission (table 1) or one of the diagnoses recorded (table 2). Because dehydration is reported together with other conditions such as hypovolaemia (low blood volume), the figures given are likely to overestimate the number of cases. Where dehydration and related conditions were the main reason for hospital admission, the most common other conditions recorded included vomiting, kidney disease and diabetes.

Table 1: Number of people who had at least one admission to hospital during the year because of a primary diagnosis of volume depletion, including dehydration or related condition; by Health Board of treatment; 1999 – 2016

Table 2: Number of people who had at least one admission to hospital during the year because of any diagnosis of volume depletion, including dehydration or related condition; by Health board of treatment; 1999 – 2016

Information on the median wait and maximum wait from the date of urgent referral with a suspicion of cancer to date of first treatment by board of receipt and calendar year is available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre - Bib number 59336.

Data held centrally is only available in the requested format from 2010 onwards.

The Scottish Care Homes Census published by ISD Scotland provides information on the number of registered Care Homes places in each local authority area in Scotland at http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Health-and-Social-Community-Care/Care-Homes/Previous-Publications/index.asp

The number of registered Care Homes places for years 2006-2016 can be found in data table 3 published on 25th October 2016 and for years 2000-2005 in data table 3 published on 29 October 2013.

Information on whether every pupil is able to access water when at school is not held centrally. The Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2008 require schools to provide access to fresh, plain drinking water at all times. It is for local authorities to ensure they are fulfilling their duties as set out in the Regulations.

The extension of free personal care to people under the age of 65 will benefit around 9000 people. We are working with local authorities on preparing for the implementation of the extension of Free Personal Care to under 65s by April 2019. This will involve local authorities assessing people’s needs, and where necessary, conducting financial assessments.

The Scottish Government does not hold this data.

We are aware of a number of different approaches to supporting young carers in schools across Scotland. This includes dedicated young carer workers from the third sector working across a number of schools in an area.

The Scottish Government is working to support young carers to continue with their education in school, college or in university and not to lose out due to the demands of their caring role. Under the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 every young carer will be offered or will be able to request a young carer statement from 1 April 2018. The young carer statement will set out each young carer’s personal outcomes so that their eligible needs are supported to enable them to continue to care, if they so wish, and have a life alongside caring.

The Carers (Scotland) Act 2016 is due to come into effect on 1 April 2018. There is currently no centrally held data for the number of people receiving respite breaks.

The Scottish Health Survey for 2012-2015 shows that around 2% of carers aged 16 and over said they received support through a short break or respite care service. This is equivalent to over 15,000 carers in Scotland.

I also refer the member to the answer to question S5W-11158 on 21 September 2017. 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

I wrote to the Health and Sport Committee on 16 November to provide an update on the Scottish Government’s progress on implementing the recommendations of the Montgomery Review of Access to New Medicines.

Since publication of the Montgomery Review in December 2016, we have been working closely with relevant partners, stakeholders, patient representatives, the third sector and the pharmaceutical industry to consider the most appropriate and effective way to take forward the recommendations.

Copies of the letter are available from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 59333)

The Scottish Government believes that young carers should be supported to have a life similar to their non-carer peers which includes having access to leisure and recreational activities.

The Scottish Government engaged with COSLA as part of the development of the new package of support for young carers that the First Minister announced on
20 September 2017. This package includes the proposed specific young carer element to the Young Scot National Entitlement Card which will provide targeted, non-cash rewards and benefits to young carers. Young Scot will work with a group of young carers to ensure the rewards are appropriately tailored to their needs. Young Scot will be engaging with local authorities and businesses over the rewards and benefits to be offered through the scheme, which will be rolled out from April 2019.