Seòmar agus comataidhean

There are a number of ways that good practice, clinical updates and learning on women’s health are shared across primary care. Examples of this include:

• Regular women’s health update days for primary care held at both board and national level.
• Regular training and updates for a range of women’s services, including perinatal care, smear taking, long acting contraception insertion and removal, and the menopause.
• Working with pharmacy colleagues on ensuring up-to-date and relevant prescribing information is available.
• Primary care engagement through local interface groups in developing local pathways and protocols for women’s health.
• Dissemination of updated guidelines on women’s health from areas such as SIGN, NICE and Royal Colleges through local distribution networks, signposting to new, relevant publications such as the Women’s Health Plan.
• Supporting shared learning around good practice through initiatives such as funding for first 5 GPs to attend local, problem-based small learning groups.

Additionally, locally and nationally driven learning through innovative practice is shared via primary and secondary care networks. Examples of this include:

• Increasing cervical screening uptake through using enhanced engagement techniques targeting opportunistic and vulnerable groups.
• Learning from recent trials of group education and group consultations on menopause at general practice level.
• The National Menopause Specialist Network, where examples of innovative practice across primary and secondary care are regularly shared.

Sharing good practice will be an ongoing piece of work throughout the lifetime of the Women’s Health Plan.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring women can access appropriate contraception when and where they need it. Since November 2021, community pharmacies have been able to supply the progestogen-only pill for a 3-month period, if clinically appropriate to do so, and in line with a national Patient Group Direction (PGD). The national roll-out followed a successful pilot in pharmacies across Lothian and Tayside.

This availability of bridging contraception from community pharmacies enables women to access contraception without the need for a prescription and receive healthcare advice and treatment from their community pharmacist. Thereafter, individuals wishing to continue with a regular supply or access an alternative method of contraception, may contact their GP practice to request a repeat prescription or request an appointment to discuss their options.

Contraception can be obtained for free from:

• most GP surgeries

• community contraception clinics

• some genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics

• sexual health clinics

• some young people's services.

However, there are two brands of the progestogen-only available to purchase over the counter (OTC) in pharmacies, increasing choice for women in the ways in which they can access contraception.

The Women’s Health Plan, published in August 2021, contains an action to implement a Women’s Health Service in community pharmacies.

This service will be introduced on an incremental basis over the next few years. The first step was the introduction of bridging contraception in community pharmacies from November 2021.

Yes. The platform can be found at : Women's health | NHS inform

A short life working group to look at Hepatitis C treatment in people who inject drugs was established in early 2021.

Membership comprised the Scottish Government, Public Health Scotland and clinical representation from NHS Tayside, which was one of the first areas in the world to effectively eliminate Hepatitis C 11 years ahead of the 2030 World Health Organisation target of 2030.

The group recommended exploring the development of a national service, delivered through the community pharmacy network, to provide Hepatitis C testing and treatment to people who inject drugs, and thereby support elimination of Hepatitis C as a major public health threat in Scotland by 2024. Discussions will be taken forward with the representative body, Community Pharmacy Scotland, to explore how the community pharmacy network can support this work.

The Scottish Government and NHS Scotland continues to promote the use of remote consultations, including NHS Near Me, as a means to support access to services and reduce the need to travel to appointments.

As an example of this support, Community Hubs are also being established in areas of Scotland where people could more easily attend and access appointments remotely. These Hubs provide a private space and equipment for members of the public to access digital services, such as video consultations.

More recently, Midwives in NHS Grampian have used Near Me Group s Consultations to provide Antenatal Classes which reduces the need for pregnant women to travel to their appointments. NHS Near Me has provided a short film which contains more information - Near Me Groups for Antenatal Classes, NHS Grampian - YouTube

As set out in the August 2021 Plan the establishment of a Women’s Health Research Fund is a long term action with a delivery timescale of three years or more from publication.

A number of high-calibre candidates have been interviewed for this important role and the appointments process is in the final stages. Ministers will provide an update to Parliament shortly.

During 2020, national treatment targets were suspended in recognition of the necessary response to the covid-19 pandemic, before being reinstated in 2021.

We know that the covid-19 pandemic had a major impact across our health services, including the detection and treatment of Hepatitis C. In considering the re-instatement of Hepatitis C treatment targets, both the impact of COVID and associated steps to manage it were considered by the SHPN Hepatitis C Elimination Group, which comprises clinical expertise from Scottish Health Boards.

A recent PHS report shows that the number of new diagnoses made in 2020 and 2021 were the lowest recorded in the last decade. Encouragingly, however, it also shows that major progress has been made despite the pandemic. For example, there is evidence to indicate that Scotland has already achieved one of the WHO targets set for 2030; 80% of those ever diagnosed having received treatment.

The full PHS report can be found here: Surveillance of hepatitis C in Scotland (publichealthscotland.scot).

The Scottish Government remains committed to eliminating Hepatitis C as a major public health concern by 2024.

We must recognise the impact the covid-19 pandemic has had on services, as well as the monitoring and evaluation of HCV data.

However, despite that impact, PHS recently published a report (“Surveillance of hepatitis C in Scotland”) which shows that major progress has been made on a number of key targets including a large drop in cases in people who inject drugs, with some parts of Scotland seeing as much as a 70% reduction. This is hugely encouraging. As we continue to recover from the pandemic, we must build on that progress and continue to work with key stakeholders to remove this public health threat.