Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not agree with the interpretation of waiting times data, as reported in The Herald on 6 March 2017. Accurate waiting times data is published by NHS Information Services Division and can be accessed on their website: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Waiting-Times/Chronic-Pain/. The Associate Director (Data Management & Strategic Development) / Head of Profession for Statistics, ISD Scotland has written to The Herald expressing concerns re the inaccurate calculation of these data. A response is awaited. For clarity, there are two data items collected for new patients – waiting times for a first appointment/assessment at the pain clinic/service and waiting times for a first pain psychology services appointment.

Information on return appointments is not collected centrally. Each patient may require a different timescale for follow up appointments, as clinically determined. We do, however, expect patients to be seen within the most appropriate timescale for their condition following a clinical assessment.

The most recent waiting times data published by NHS Information Services Division on 14 March 2017, showed that the percentage of patients receiving treatment at a pain clinic within 18 weeks has risen from 60.4% to 64.5%. This information can be accessed at the following link: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Waiting-Times/Chronic-Pain/.

It is the role of Scottish Government to to provide policies, frameworks and resources to NHS Boards to support them to deliver services that meet the needs of their local populations. Within this context, the actual provision of healthcare services is the responsibility of local Boards, taking into account national guidance, local service needs and priorities for investment.

We continue to support NHS Boards to ensure patients have access to the care they need via, for example, the work of the Ministerial Steering Group and the planned National Advisory Committee on Chronic Pain whose remit will include guiding the improvement of chronic pain management at all levels of health and social care and to advise the Scottish Government on such chronic pain work and outcomes, to inform effective policy development.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-07758 on 30 March 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 planned National Advisory Committee on Chronic pain will be expected to guide the improvement of chronic pain management at all levels across health and social care. The Committee will, for example, work on the development of a dataset to allow for effective oversight of chronic pain services, including the potential development of Quality Performance Indicators.

The Scottish Government expects all patients to have access to treatment which is appropriate to individual clinical needs. The Scottish Government is committed to improving services for people living with chronic pain. This is underlined by the fact that Scotland is the only nation in the UK to routinely collect and publish waiting times data in this area.

The Scottish Government expects all Health Boards to ensure appropriate referral and testing for Lynch syndrome occurs for all patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer before the age of 60.

In Scotland, it is the responsibility of the Molecular Pathology Consortium (MPC) Steering Group to make overall decisions with regard to the availability of molecular pathology tests, such as genetic testing for Lynch syndrome. The current guidance from the MPC is to test anyone who has been diagnosed with colorectal cancer before the age of 60 - this was raised from under the age of 50 in 2015, to ensure more people than ever are now covered by the testing protocols. Where family testing is required, this is available through the Scottish Clinical Genetics service.

Patients may be given the opportunity to take part in the Cancer Prevention Project 3 (CaPP3). This project focuses on finding the right dose of aspirin for people with a mismatch repair gene defect, the underlying cause of Lynch syndrome, to prevent cancer from developing. Anyone who takes part in CaPP3 will be invited to be part of a national registry which can provide careful follow-up to report side effects and provide detailed information about any cancers or polyps which are found on routine check-ups.

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

NHS boards have various means of supporting independently contracted practices which request assistance. We expect Health Boards to work with practices as constructively and as flexibly as is appropriate to ensure that all patients have access to GP services. The Scottish Government is aware of concerns around recruitment issues in Scotland, these will be taken into account as the 2017 GMS contract negotiations go forward.

Information on how many complaints regarding GP surgeries by each NHS Board since 1999 is not held centrally.

The Information Services Division (ISD) of NHS National Services Scotland publishes information submitted by NHS Boards about complaints relating to Family Health Services (FHS). Five broad service/contractor types are included within the FHS complaints statistics: Medical, Dental, Pharmaceutical, Ophthalmic and Administration. This information can be found at http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Quality-Indicators/Publications/data-tables.asp?id=1754#1754.

When reviewing these statistics it is worthwhile to note that the Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011 and the Regulations and Directions made under Section 15 of the Act put new complaints arrangements in place, including requirements to record, report, review and learn from complaints about Primary Care services.

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

Access to GP services is an important issue for the Scottish Government and I’m aware that many of general practices have, for many years, adjusted appointment arrangements in order to try to prioritise urgency, and support quality and continuity of patient care.

We recognise that local situations vary and so practice partners are responsible for designing their own patient appointment and consultation arrangements. We expect them to use their professional judgement to make decisions which enable them to run the best possible service and deliver for their patient needs. GPs are encouraged to develop technology and deploy the talents of their staff appropriately to introduce new, innovative ways of working to benefit their patients by prioritising urgency, and supporting quality and continuity of patient care.