Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-24682 on 29 January 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

NHS Lothian have advised that they make significant efforts to support attendance at appointments with affected families and follow an enhanced did not attend (DNA) policy whereby if a patient doesn’t attend their first appointment, they are contacted by telephone by an Audiologist to discuss non-attendance. A further appointment is then verbally agreed, and a letter sent to the family confirming the new appointment date. If there is a second instance of failure to attend, a further phone call by an Audiologist is made to agree a new appointment date and to discuss any issues and/or barriers in relation to attending the appointment. However, if there is a third instance of failure to attend then a DNA letter is sent to the family and copied to the GP and/or Health Visitor informing them the patient has been discharged from the service. Even after this letter if sent, if the family feel they still require an appointment, they can contact the service within 4 weeks and will be offered an appointment.

The BAA selected the different cohort of patients and the number of patients to be reviewed in each of the cohort groups, which was based on an increased likelihood of risk of missed hearing loss and cohorts were stratified in this way by the BAA to maximise detection of missed or delayed cases of hearing loss and poor quality testing. NHS Lothian have confirmed that all children who have been identified through the original audit have had their care clinically reviewed and, where appropriate, have been recalled for review to ensure these children are receiving the right support and treatment. NHS Lothian have provided assurances on the process that they have in place to respond to patients who were not part of the original BAA audits but who, on review, have a pattern of care that reflects the issues highlighted by the BAA. Families are being directly contacted and offered a meeting with the Senior Management Team to discuss the findings and to agree an appropriate care plan, with a focus on ensuring the right support is in place. I have sought further assurance from NHS Lothian around those children that are predicted to have been missed, based on the cohorts and percentages reviewed and I will provide an update to the member in due course.

To date, out with the 2 BAA audits, 6 further cases have been identified and in line with previous arrangements, these families have been directly contacted and offered a meeting with the Senior Management Team to discuss the findings and to agree a future care and support plan.

All children and young people should receive the support that they need to reach their full potential. Education authorities are under a statutory duty to identify, provide for, and review the support that they provide for pupils with additional support needs. Decisions on support are a matter for individual education authorities. Education authorities also have duties to employ a teacher of the deaf where support is required for child or young person who is deaf or deafblind. NHS Lothian and Local Authorities work very closely to help ensure those affected receive the multi-agency support they need. In addition, in working closely with their colleagues within Speech and Language Therapy, NHS Lothian have increased the capacity of the specialist team that works with children with a hearing impairment to ensure appropriate support is available to affected children and families.

The Scottish Government commissioned an Independent Review of Audiology Services in Scotland which was published in August 2023 and in December 2023, announced that it accepted, in principle, all of the recommendations made as part of that review and work on implementation is now underway. Implementation will be undertaken with partners from the third sector, as well as the health service, which will allow us to ensure the voices of those with lived experience, including those affected within NHS Lothian, are front and centre as changes are made.

All teachers provide support to children and young people with additional support needs. The Additional Support for Learning Act places education authorities under duties to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils, including those affected by deafness. Education authorities also have duties to ensure that teachers who support children and young people with sensory impairments, including deafness, are appropriately qualified.

Any additional resources required to support the children affected would be a matter for the affected authorities to consider. Officials have engaged with the education authorities to support communication with NHS Lothian on this matter to help them identify any unmet needs.

The Scottish Government provides over £500,000 to voluntary sector organisations to support children and young people with additional support needs including sensory impairment. This includes funding to the Scottish Sensory Centre to support training to increase the capacity of staff in schools to provide effective support to deaf children and young people.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-24682 on 29 January 2024 . All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-24682 on 29 January 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-24682 on 29 January 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Scottish Government is committed to improving the quality, frequency and usage of a number of datasets, including emergency presentation data, across cancer types.

Blood cancers often present in different ways. A wide range of data on blood cancers are regularly published by Public Health Scotland, including Incidence, Quality Performance Indicators (QPIs), Mortality, and Survival. We will continue to work with key partners to identify any gaps in understanding and inequity in data availability, to drive improvements.

For example, we expect to review cancer types measured and reported on with regards to time to first treatment as part of the clinical review of Cancer Waiting Time standards ahead of 2026.

Due to the scope and timeframe of the question, the information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost as this data is not available from a single source. However, the Scottish Government has responded to FOI requests seeking information in relation to working groups in September 2021 and September 2023 which may be helpful. Links to those FOI responses can be found below:

Various questions relating to Scottish Government working groups: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Breakdown of Scottish Government groups: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ”

Scottish Ministers are advised by Food Standards Scotland (FSS) on matters of food safety, standards and labelling. FSS met with Sight Scotland, Disability Equality Scotland and the Oban and District Access Panel on 1 March 2023 to discuss braille labelling on foods. FSS have also discussed this issue with policy officials in the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in Wales and Northern Ireland, lead departments for food labelling in the rest of the UK, as development of any policy proposals would need to be considered on a four-nation basis under the UK Food Compositional Standards and Labelling Common Framework. The Scottish Government is aware this issue is being considered by the Scottish Parliament Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee, details of which can be found here: PE1997: Introduce mandatory braille labelling for food products sold in Scotland.

At the start of 2023 the Scottish Government (SG) completed a package of signage works at Victoria Quay, this work included tactile floor maps, accessible wayfinding signs and meeting room door signs which all incorporated braille. Victoria Quay was selected for this work on the basis of its high usage for public events and driven by the recommendations as set out by British standard BS8300-2 : 2018 Design of an accessible and inclusive built environment. Our aim is to roll out further braille signage where it is required as part of future refurbishment works within the SG core estate.

NHS Pharmacy First Scotland provides advice, treatment or referral to another healthcare professional for a wide range of minor illnesses as well as common clinical conditions such as impetigo, shingles, uncomplicated UTIs, skin infections and hay fever. It is provided by all community pharmacies in Scotland, usually without an appointment.

As part of Pharmacy First, community pharmacists who are independent prescribers can using their prescribing skills to provide a wider range of treatment options.

The service aims to frees up GP practice appointments and pressures on Emergency Departments and Out of Hours (OOH) services, ensuring people get the Right Care at the Right Place at the Right Time. In 2022-23, over 3.6 million Pharmacy First consultations were undertaken.

There are no current plans for community pharmacists to refer patients directly to GP practices or other settings for blood tests.