Chamber and committees

In June 2019 the Scottish Government published the revised Charter of Patient Rights and Responsibilities, which summarises what everyone is entitled to and what is expected of them when they use NHS services and receive NHS care in Scotland. The Charter includes information about people’s rights in relation to confidentiality, consent, complaints, access to health records and communication with NHS staff. Further information about people’s health rights in Scotland is available on the NHS Inform website, which also provides information about consent and confidentiality developed specifically for young people under 16.

The Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011 requires that NHS Boards make copies of the Charter available to patients, staff and members of the public free of charge, taking account of people’s needs when considering the appropriate format.

As set out in the Programme for Government, we intend to publish a Good Food Nation bill this year to underpin the significant work already planned or underway to deliver the Good Food Nation ambition in Scotland. It will place responsibilities on Scottish Ministers and selected public bodies to set out statements of policy on food and to have regard to these statements in the exercise of relevant functions.

While employment law is reserved, this Government is fully committed to promoting fair work practices throughout Scotland and encouraging every organisation, regardless of size, sector or location, to ensure all staff receive a fair level of pay, and where possible the real Living Wage.

Scotland has the highest proportion of employees being paid at least the real Living Wage of all four UK nations. In 2019-20, in line with the Programme for Government, we have provided £380,000 in funding to the Poverty Alliance to ensure an additional 25,000 workers are paid at least the real Living Wage by 2021.

We will continue to press UK Government for the full set of powers around employment law in order to allow us to deliver our Fair Work ambitions including for Scotland to be a Living Wage Nation by 2025.

With regard to mandatory food labelling, we are committed to maintaining and keeping pace with EU standards and regulations to ensure that food is authentic and consumers have confidence that food information is clear and accurate.

Scottish planning policy is clear that development on prime agricultural land, or land of a lesser quality that is locally important, should not be permitted except where it is essential. Where it is necessary to use good quality land for development, the layout and design should minimise the amount of such land that is required.

The Scottish Government recognises that it is essential to ensure that pre-eclampsia is diagnosed and treated as soon as possible. As part of developing an evidence base in this area, NHS Lothian intends to take part in a trial which will look at the benefits of repeated placental growth factor (PlGF) testing in the care of pregnant women. Work on developing a Women’s Health Group is also progressing and will prioritise the testing for pre-eclampsia in its workplan, looking at recent evidence.

I refer the Member to the answer to question S5W-26150 on 11 November 2019. 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 Maternal and Infant Quality Improvement Collaborative, part of our Scottish Patient Safety Programme, has maternity, neonatal and paediatric work streams and is rolled out in all NHS Boards in Scotland. The programme, which is now in its 6th year of operation has focussed on improving safety in maternity care, and improving outcomes for mothers and babies.

Work is underway to deliver recommendations made in The Best Start: A Five Year Forward Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Care in Scotland to ensure all pregnant women have timely access to specialist advice when needed. The Maternal Medicine sub-group of The Best Start is leading work with the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow to improve collaborative working in maternity care between physicians and obstetricians in the acute and chronic settings. This work has the support of both college presidents and priorities are strongly influenced by the MBRRACE-UK findings.

The Scottish Government recognises that it is essential to ensure that pre-eclampsia is diagnosed and treated as soon as possible. As part of developing an evidence base in this area, NHS Lothian intends to take part in a trial which will look at the benefits of repeated placental growth factor (PlGF) testing in the care of pregnant women. Work on developing a Women’s Health Group is also progressing and will prioritise the testing for pre-eclampsia in its workplan, looking at recent evidence.

The Scottish Government expects that health professionals will follow relevant professional guidance in their delivery of care, such as Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Green Top Guidelines and the recently updated NICE guideline Hypertension in pregnancy: diagnosis and management.

The Scottish Government provides funding towards the commissioning of the Maternal Newborn and Infant Clinical Outcome Review Programme run by Mothers and Babies, Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK (MBRRACE-UK). All maternity units in Scotland contribute data to this and reports focus on pre-eclampsia every 3 years, highlighting recommendations for healthcare professionals, Health Boards and Trusts, policy officials and other organisations to tackle this condition.

Information on the number of cases of pre-eclampsia recorded in each territorial NHS Health Board is not collected centrally. However, I have asked my officials to request this information from the relevant sources and I will write to you following receipt of this information. At the UK level, pre-eclampsia is estimated to affect 1 in 10 pregnancies, equating to approximately 80,000 women per year across the UK.

Information on the number of cases of pre-term births, stillbirths and maternal deaths attributed to pre-eclampsia, eclampsia and HELLP syndrome recorded in each territorial Health Board is not collected centrally. I have asked my officials to explore whether it is possible to collate this information from various relevant sources and I will write to you following receipt of this information. However, the MBRRACE-UK Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care 2016 report notes that less than one woman in every million who gives birth in the UK now dies from pre-eclampsia.

Every maternity health professional is trained to recognise the signs and symptoms of pre-eclampsia and in the management of the condition.

The Scottish Government provides funding towards the commissioning of the Maternal Newborn and Infant Clinical Outcome Review Programme run by Mothers and Babies, Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK (MBRRACE-UK). All maternity units in Scotland contribute data to this and reports focus on pre-eclampsia every 3 years, highlighting recommendations for healthcare professionals, Health Boards and Trusts, policy officials and other organisations to tackle this condition.

The Scottish Government also recognises the good work undertaken by the charity Action on Pre-eclampsia (APEC) across the UK to raise awareness of pre-eclampsia. Upcoming study days include days in Dumfries, Edinburgh and Inverness in March 2020.

The Scottish Government, along with the rest of the UK is advised on all aspects of screening by the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) an independent expert advisory group. Due to a lack of evidence to support the use of the screen tests within a population screening programme the UK NSC do not currently recommend screening for lung cancer. The UK NSC will review the evidence again after the results of the NELSON randomised lung cancer screening trial are published. However, the Scottish Government is exploring what further opportunities exist for Scotland to contribute to the emerging evidence base.

Officials have recently met with academics, the Chair of the UK National Screening Committee, and the Scottish Screening Committee to discuss ongoing studies and trials to identify where Scotland can best add value. The findings from the ECLS trial will help inform these discussions and any recommendations regarding potential pilot programmes in Scotland will be carefully considered.