Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-11345 on
27 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

Scottish mental health and incapacity legislation is based on rights and principles. We believe that the 2003 Act is fully compliant with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The 2003 Act has never been found, in part or in whole, by the European Court of Human Rights to be not compliant with ECHR

The most recent reform of mental health legislation was through the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 2015, which was passed by the Scottish Parliament last year. The 2015 Act strengthened measures in the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 that promotes support for decision making, including those for independent advocacy, advance statements and named persons.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-11345 on
27 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

Most people who use mental health services receive treatment without being subject to an order or certificate under the Mental Health (Scotland) (Care and Treatment) Act 2003. For some individuals however, compulsory treatment is used to provide the person with medical treatment to alleviate suffering and for the protection of both the person and others. Compulsory treatment is only allowed under mental health legislation in Scotland in very strict circumstances.

Firstly, certain criteria must be met before an order or certificate can be granted. For a 28 day short-term detention certificate (STDC), this includes that an approved medical practitioner considers it likely that the patient has a mental disorder (as defined by the 2003 Act) and that the patient’s decision making ability is significantly impaired by their disorder and without treatment the patient could be of significant risk to their own health, safety and welfare, or to the safety of others. The patient can appeal the granting of an STDC to the independent Mental Health Tribunal. A longer term order can only be granted by the Tribunal, and the application must have the support of two doctors who agree that the criteria for the order are met.

Secondly, treatment under the 2003 Act is governed by a range of safeguards. For certain treatments, including medication given for more than two months, a Designated Medical Practitioner, an experienced psychiatrist appointed by the Mental Welfare Commission, must agree to the treatment.

In addition to this, the 2003 Act is based in rights and principles and contains tools to support patients in expressing their will and preferences. The principles include that any function should be carried out for the maximum benefit of the patient, with the minimum necessary restriction on the freedom of the patient and having regard to the views of the patient and of any carer. Under the 2003 Act, any service user has the right to support from an independent advocate, the right to appoint a named person to represent their interests and the right to make an advance statement setting out how what treatment they would and would not like to receive when unwell. We have made changes to ensure that people with a mental disorder can access effective treatment quickly and improved legislation through the Mental Health (Scotland) Act 2015 to strengthen support for decision making and promote rights.

This information is not held centrally. Information Services Division routinely publish statistics on the three national cancer screening programmes: Breast Cancer Screening, Bowel Cancer Screening and Cervical Cancer Screening. This information can be found at: http://www.isdscotland.org/Publications/index.asp

(a) Shingles uptake 2016-17

Further to S5W-06124, vaccination uptake rates for the 2016-17 shingles vaccination programme are not yet available, however provisional uptake rates until the end of March 2017 can be found at: http://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/immvax/shinglesvaccination.aspx. Publication of the annual report for the 2016-17 programme, including final uptake rates, will be made available in November 2017.

(b) Flu uptake 2016-17

Further to S5W-06124, influenza vaccine uptake for 2016-17 is provided in table 1.

Table 1: Influenza vaccine uptake in Scotland by eligible group in 2016-17

The requested information is not held centrally. Consultant assessment panels are convened pursuant to the National Health Service (Appointment of Consultants) (Scotland) Regulations 2009; the process is overseen by the Royal Colleges on behalf of the Scottish Government. Relevant information on the number of panels convened and cancelled in any given year is published in annual reports that are accessible via the Scottish Academy website:

http://www.scottishacademy.org.uk/who.php.

Staffing data on school nurses is published by ISD Scotland and is held at NHS Board level.

Due to a number of changes in the recording and collection of school nursing data, figures published by ISD Scotland are not directly comparable between 1999 and 2017 and have been split accordingly:-

• Information on school nurses from 1999 can be found on the workforce statistics web site at: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Historic-Data/WFE01_HB_REG.xls

• Further information on school nurses from 2007 onwards can be found on the statistics web site at: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2012-11-27/Nursing_and_Midwifery_SIP_S2012.xls?52391154

• Information on school nurses from 2013 onwards can be found on the statistics web site at: https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2016-09-06/Non-Medical_Trend_J2016.xls

• Information on school nurses from September 2015 onwards can be found on the statistics web site at: https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2017-09-05/Nursing_and_Midwifery_SIP_J2017.xls

All funding for NHS Boards as set out in the budget agreed by the Scottish Parliament is allocated to NHS Boards accordingly.

Since the integration of health and social care, the Scottish Government has directed that an element of funding within the settlement for NHS Boards is invested in Integration Authorities. This has taken additional support available for Health and Social Care Integration to almost half a billion in 2017-18, and goes towards delivering the Scottish Government’s commitment on the living wage for adult social care workers.

The Standards of Care for Dementia in Scotland (2011) include the standard that people with dementia have the right to be treated in line with the law. Through implementation of our dementia workforce framework Promoting Excellence, we are continuing to support alternative interventions other than medication to manage stress and distress. The framework also details the knowledge and skills all health and social services staff should aspire to achieve in relation to the role they play in supporting people with a diagnosis of dementia, and their families, and carers. The framework should be used at a personal, service provider and organisational level in a number of ways, and for a range of purposes. Part of that includes understanding that legislation exists to protect the rights of people with dementia and safe guard them against any potential risk or harm. Systems must be in place to ensure that capacity to consent to treatment is considered and that appropriate documentation is in place when required.

Our legislation follows a rights based approach and the Code of Practice which accompanies the Adults with Incapacity Act (2000) explains that the use of covert medication is permissible in certain, limited circumstances e.g. to safeguard the health of an adult who is unable to consent to the treatment in question, where other alternatives have been explored and none are practicable. Practitioners are also referred to guidance documents covering Consent to Treatment and Covert Medication.

I also refer you to the answer to S5W-11345 on 27 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.

Improving care and support for people with dementia and those who care for them has been major ambition of this government. Over the last decade, dementia services have been transformed, with excellent contributions from staff working across health and social care, the public, third and independent sectors. In June 2017 we published Scotland's third National Dementia Strategy maintaining a focus on improving the quality of care for people living with dementia and their families.