Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has noted the results of this study. Current advice on vitamin D is based on recommendations by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN). As part of their recent review on vitamin D, SACN concluded that there was insufficient evidence to draw firm conclusions on the impact of low vitamin D levels for non-musculoskeletal health outcomes, including acute respiratory tract infections.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to support additional research on the impact of vitamin D supplementation on acute respiratory tract infections at this time. A number of other organisations fund research and we will continue to monitor further research that emerges on vitamin D.

The Scottish Government regularly engages with businesses across Scotland, including from the Lothians.

Businesses in Lothian will benefit from a range of Scottish Government rate policies, including the decision to match the English poundage rate and cut the current rate by 3.7%; increasing the threshold at which the large business supplement becomes payable; expanding the small business bonus scheme threshold for 100% relief from £10,000 to £15,000 and capping the bill rises for hotels, restaurants, pubs and cafes at 12.5% this year.

Where businesses disagree with the independent Assessors determination of the rateable value of their premises an independent appeal system exists for them to challenge this.

The Scottish Molecular Pathology Evaluation Panel provided an advice note in Oncotype DX in January 2016 which states that, “should a clinician consider that the molecular pathology test would assist in a decision on case management for a patient within the indication specified then the test should be undertaken”.

NHS Boards are responsible for providing services to meet the assessed needs of their resident populations taking into account relevant frameworks and guidance and within their annual allocations.

Information on the number of Psychiatrists employed by NHSScotland Health Boards in each year since 2003 is published by ISD Scotland and can be found at the following link:

https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2016-12-06/Medical_Trend_S2016.xls

ISD also publish “Psychology Services Workforce in NHSScotland: Workforce Information” which can be found here (last updated 31 March 2016):

http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2016-06-07/2016-06-07-Psychology-Workforce-Tables.xls

It is for NHS Boards to plan and deliver clinical services and ensure that they have appropriate staff in place to meet the needs of their services and ensure high quality patient care. As part of this, we expect NHS Boards to have robust workforce plans and recruitment and retention policies in place which take account of district nursing vacancies and retirements.

To make sure our NHS has the right skills mix, we will introduce national and regional workforce planning. On 1 February 2017 we launched the National Health and Social Care Workforce Planning Discussion Document. We are inviting responses to this consultation by 28 March 2017. The Discussion Document will inform the National Health and Social Care Workforce Plan, which will be published in Spring 2017. The consultation is available at the following link:-

https://consult.scotland.gov.uk/health-workforce/national-health-and-social-care-workforce-plan/

In recognition of the flexibilities that differing retirement ages will bring, the NHSScotland Working Longer Group has been working on a number of tools and products which will help employers in Scotland profile their workforce by age at all levels and embed discussions about retirement plans within the yearly appraisal process.

In addition the Scottish Government will increase student nursing and midwifery intakes for 2017-18 by 4.7%, the fifth successive rise, bringing us a step closer to delivering our commitment to create 1,000 extra nursing and midwifery training places over the course of this Parliament. The increase is part of an overall package of measures to support and strengthen our nursing and midwifery workforce.

This information is not held centrally.

The latest Health Protection Scotland estimate from 2015 is that there were 35,900 people in Scotland living with chronic hepatitis C.

Approximately 8,600 people have been initiated on Hepatitis C Virus therapy since the launch of Scotland’s Hepatitis C Action Plan Phase II in 2008. This has contributed to a significant fall in the total number of infected people in Scotland, a reduction from a peak of 39,000 in 2009.

It is for NHS boards to plan and deliver clinical services and ensure that they have the correct staff in place to meet the needs of their services and ensure high quality patient care. As part of this, we expect NHS boards to have robust workforce plans and recruitment and retention policies in place which take account of midwifery vacancies and retirements.

We have increased student midwifery intakes for five years in a row including another 4.9% for 2017-18. We are also providing funding of £450k over 3 years to retrain former midwives and nurses through our national Return to Practice scheme. However, we recognise that challenges still remain and we will continue to work with the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and NHS Boards, including NHS Lothian, to ensure we have the right number and mix of midwifery trainees and staff.

To make sure our NHS has the right skills mix, we will introduce national and regional workforce planning. On 1 February 2017 we launched the National Health and Social Care Workforce Planning Discussion Document. We are inviting responses to this consultation by 28 March 2017. The Discussion Document will inform the National Health and Social Care Workforce Plan, which will be published in Spring 2017. The consultation is available at the following link:

https://consult.scotland.gov.uk/health-workforce/national-health-and-social-care-workforce-plan/

In addition, our innovative midwifery and workforce planning tools - a UK first - have helped to ensure that NHS Scotland continues to meet the RCM recommended midwife-to-birth ratio. Application of the tools is mandatory across NHS boards.

Through substantial financial investment and the implementation of successive strategies to improve diagnosis and treatment pathways, Scotland has achieved one of the most effective whole-system approaches to Hepatitis C in the world.

The success of our approach is demonstrated by the decline in Hepatitis C Virus-related liver failure in Scotland from 156 cases in 2014 to 121 in 2015, a 22% reduction. If this trend continues, the Scottish Government is on track to achieve its strategic goal to reduce such disease presentation by 75% by 2020.

Any prescribing or referral for psychological therapies treatment is a clinical decision for a patient’s doctor in discussion with the patient and in terms of anti-depressants there is good evidence that GPs assess and treat depression appropriately. All GPs prescribing is monitored and discussed individually through annual appraisal. Audit of prescribing in mental health commonly occurs involving Health Board pharmacy departments. There is National annual reporting of prescribing patterns and trends which are carefully considered by Government and other agencies.

Data is published by Information Services Division on the number of people referred to psychological therapies and starting treatment each quarter, Psychological Therapies Waiting Times In NHSScotland, as well as on the level of prescribing for mental health published on an annual basis, Medicines used in Mental Health, which includes the level of prescribing for anti-depressants. These reports are available online at http://www.isdscotland.org/Publications/. The Scottish Government has also published “Key Information on the use of Antidepressants in Scotland” which can be found online at: http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0045/00456540.pdf.