Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-06447 on 3 February 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”

The specific information requested is not available centrally.

The national target for hepatitis C treatment in 2017-18 will be 1800. This has increased by 300 from the previous target for 2016-17.

The incidence and prevalence of hepatitis C varies across Scotland, as does the distribution of genotypes of the disease, which can influence treatment options and cure rates. This means the scale and nature of hepatitis C infection in different Boards can necessitate a different response. Targets for each NHS Board are therefore not appropriate and the Government is focussed on whole population approaches to hepatitis C. The annual hepatitis C treatment target is, therefore, only set as a national minimum target for the whole of Scotland.

This information is not held centrally.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is relatively common, and is managed across primary care and specialist mental health services. The provision of health services is the responsibility of local health boards. The Psychological Therapies Matrix (published by NHS Education for Scotland) provides guidance for Health Boards and Integration Authorities on psychological therapy treatment options, including for OCD:

http://www.nes.scot.nhs.uk/education-and-training/by-discipline/psychology/the-matrix-(2015)-a-guide-to-delivering-evidence-based-psychological-therapies-in-scotland.aspx

Any referrals to general psychological therapies, including for OCD, are subject to the LDP access standard. The Scottish Government has announced a £54.1 million package of funding over four years from 2016-17 to improve access to mental health services.

During our engagement on the next Mental Health Strategy, we invited written responses on an engagement paper outlining our proposed priorities, and received nearly 600 responses.

The responses were independently analysed and a full report published online, which can be viewed at: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/12/1634/0

One of the groups suggested as a priority by respondents was families and carers.

All of the feedback we received has helped shape our thinking when developing the Strategy, which we will publish in the coming weeks.

Subject to the wishes of patients, community mental health teams involve families and carers routinely in the care and treatment of patients. Individual care plans allow consideration to be given to physical, mental and social aspects of the management of patients, including patients with OCD. Social prescribing and community resources are commonly used tools. Digital resources like NHS Inform provide details of a range of such resources for people living with OCD. https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/mental-health/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd

The Scottish Government is committed to increasing physical activity and we want to make Scotland a more active country by encouraging people, and in particular young people, to make physical activity a part of their everyday lives.

98% of primary and secondary schools across Scotland continue to provide at least two hours or two periods of PE each week, in line with the Programme for Government 2016 commitment to maintain the PE commitment. There are no plans to review this target.

This information is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government does not directly support the Spartans alternative school in Edinburgh or any other similar institutions across Scotland. Some Edinburgh schools do contribute to costs but that, and funding for any similar institutions, is a matter for schools and local authorities to consider based on their local needs and circumstances.