Chamber and committees

Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S5W-12343

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how it has adapted its approach to workforce planning to accommodate the reported increased complexity arising from the integration of health and social care and regional and national planning arrangements.

The Scottish Government published Part 1 of the National Health and Social Care Workforce Plan on 28 June 2017. This makes specific recommendations in key areas to strengthen national, regional and local improvements to NHS workforce planning.

Parts 2 and 3 of the Plan, respectively covering workforce planning in Social Care and Primary Care, will bring this together iteratively to enable different systems to make the right links. A further integrated Plan will be published in 2018.

Question reference: S5W-12316

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the national performance standard target for waiting less that 12 weeks for an outpatient appointment is not being met on a regular basis, and when it expects to achieve this on a sustained basis.

Question reference: S5W-12337

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government how existing funding will be used differently in the next five years to deliver health and social care in new ways, and in what areas this will be (a) spent and (b) no longer spent.

The Health and Social Care Delivery Plan, published 19 December 2016, affirms that there will be a shift in the balance of care from hospital to community care settings, and to individual homes when that is the best thing to do. By 2021-22 more than half of frontline NHS spending will be in community health services.

As part of this shift, in every year of this Parliament there will be an increase in the share of the frontline NHS budget dedicated to mental health and to primary, community, and social care. This will be supported by an increase in health resource funding of £2 billion over the life of this Parliament.

Question reference: S5W-12329

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Audit Scotland's finding that some integration authorities submitted late financial information to NHS boards for the 2016-17 accounts process and that this could not be included in the draft accounts.

All Boards were able to obtain the necessary financial information from the relevant integration authorities for inclusion in the final accounts. All Boards received an unqualified audit opinion for the 2016-17 annual accounts.

It is important to note that 2016-17 was the first full year that integration authorities were fully operational. Areas for improvement are being identified and addressed as part of the approach to be taken by relevant bodies for subsequent years.

Question reference: S5W-12315

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that the national performance standard target for referral to treatment within 18 weeks is not being met on a regular basis, and when it expects to achieve this on a sustained basis.

We are taking significant action to reduce waiting times, that is why I made an additional £50 million available to NHS Boards earlier this year.

I announced on 29 August the setting up of an expert group to reduce waiting times and improve the way elective care services are provided. The Elective Access Collaborative programme is bringing experts from the Scottish Government, NHSScotland and the Royal Colleges together in providing support to NHS Boards and will be crucial in bringing about sustained delivery of waiting times. This approach has seen us deliver improvements in unscheduled care. I will be making a further announcement on the early progress the collaborative has made in the coming weeks.

Question reference: S5W-12334

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that fundamental changes to the healthcare system are overseen by what Audit Scotland describes as a "robust governance framework".

An overall programme plan was agreed with the Delivery Plan National Programme Board in August 2017, mapping the work currently underway with detail on specific actions, targets, timescales and key milestones. This included a programme plan and regular monitoring and reporting on activity as result of the Delivery Plan. Work on a set of success criteria for the Delivery Plan as a whole and an underpinning set of performance indicators is being finalised for the end of this year. It will be supplemented by the work underway to model the performance and financial impacts of the Delivery Plan as a whole, which is being commissioned.

Question reference: S5W-12335

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the comment by Audit Scotland that the Health and Social Care Delivery Plan "does not set out in detail how the changes described in it will be achieved".

Question reference: S5W-12346

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to Audit Scotland's comment that "the Scottish Government has not yet adequately estimated what impact increasing and changing demand for services could have on the workforce or skills required to meet this need".

Part 1 of the National Health and Social Care Workforce Plan published on 28 June 2017 is clear on the need to project the future supply and demand of the NHSScotland workforce, using scenario planning to factor in future population demand and workforce supply changes such as retirals.

With strategic oversight from the National Workforce Planning Group set up under Part 1, the Scottish Government is working closely with stakeholders in NHSScotland and NHS Education Scotland to develop the workforce data and scenario planning capacity required to build an accurate picture of the workforce needed to deliver safe, high quality NHSScotland services in future.

Question reference: S5W-12347

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will implement Audit Scotland’s recommendation to (a) improve understanding of future demand to inform workforce decisions, including carrying out scenario planning on the future populations’ health demand and workforce supply changes, (b) provide a clear breakdown of the costs of meeting projected demand through additional recruitment across all healthcare staff groups and (c) set out the expected transitional workforce costs and expected savings associated with implementing NHS reform.

Part 1 of the National Health and Social Care Workforce Plan, published on 28 June 2017, reflects Audit Scotland’s recommendation and is clear on the need to develop capacity to project future supply and demand. Further work is proceeding at local, regional and national levels via NHS Education for Scotland and other NHSScotland bodies to develop a scenario planning model which can be implemented nationally, regionally and locally.

The Scottish Government already requires NHS Boards to undertake an annual workforce planning and projections process, and factors the information provided by NHS Boards into its financial plans.

Question reference: S5W-12322

Asked by: Michelle Ballantyne, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 06 November 2017
Current Status: Answered by Shona Robison on 20 November 2017

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the finding in the national inpatient experience survey that 20% of the people surveyed said that they experienced problems while in hospital, including infections, sepsis, bedsores and falls.

The Scottish Government’s position on patient safety is very clear – it is, and will remain, of paramount importance. The Healthcare Quality Strategy for NHSScotland has three quality ambitions to provide safe, effective, person-centred care.

The Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP), has been key to the delivery of these ambitions since its launch in 2008. It has brought about a number of improvements in care and safety. The Acute Adult Programme includes the Deteriorating Patient workstream (including infections, sepsis, bedsores and falls) and continues to work with Health Boards to test and implement processes that will further improve reliable and safe care delivery across a range of clinical areas.