Chamber and committees

It is the role of the Scottish Government to provide policies, frameworks and resources to NHS Boards so they can deliver services that meet the needs of their local populations. The provision of healthcare services is the responsibility of local Boards, taking into account national guidance, local service needs and priorities for investment.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-13166 on
21 December 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

There are no current guideline judgements or sentencing guidelines in relation to the sentencing of people aged under 18 convicted of culpable homicide. Section 118 and section 189 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995 provide authority for the court to issue a guideline judgement when dealing with a sentence appeal. In addition, the independent Scottish Sentencing Council is able to propose sentencing guidelines for approval by the High Court.

In the case of guideline judgements, it is a matter for the court to determine what issues could be covered. In the case of sentencing guidelines, it is a matter for the Sentencing Council to determine what issues could be covered.

There are currently 400 trainee technicians in the Scottish Ambulance Service. The main duties of technicians include:

•  Assessing and managing patients using appropriate techniques

• Conveying patients to hospital, or another setting if necessary

• Supporting paramedics to carry out interventions as required

• Ensure equipment is safe, clean and in good working order

Training of ambulance technicians is an operational matter for the Scottish Ambulance Service.

We do not use a national alert system across NHS Scotland to track the use of escalation procedures within Emergency Departments. As part of their winter planning activity NHS Boards are expected to have business continuity and escalation plans in place which are fully tested with their respective partners and which reflect local circumstances. Weekly official statistics are published on emergency department activity and performance, as well as trend information. These reports are available on the Information Services Division (ISD) website: http://www.isdscotland.org/Publications/index.asp

The National Advisory Committee for Neurological Conditions is currently collating data on the number of patients in Scotland with Migraine or other headache types, in order to understand the prevalence of Headache in Scotland.

Headache is one of the group of neurological conditions that is being considered during the development of the National Action Plan on Neurological Conditions.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone living in Scotland with are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

Through clinical guidelines issued by The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) ‘107 Diagnosis and management of headache in adults’ variation in practice and outcomes should be reduced. Implementation of guidelines is the responsibility of each individual NHS board. A new SIGN Guideline on the Prevention and treatment of patients with episodic and chronic migraine is currently in development.

In addition to the SIGN Guideline there are a set of clinical standards on headache that form part of the Clinical Standards for Neurological Services. These standards are currently being reviewed by Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

This is an operational matter for the Scottish Ambulance Service, the information requested is not held centrally.

This information is not centrally held.

We recognise the importance of ensuring that patient experience is captured and used in a meaningful way to influence the care that NHS Scotland provides all people with cancer. The first Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey, run in 2015, surveyed a sample of adults with cancer, including those with low-grade brain tumours.

The sampling methodology for the next Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey will be discussed with a range of stakeholders throughout the development of the survey, including discussions on how best to capture the experiences of people under the age of 16.