Questions and answers

Question reference: S6W-23011

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that emergency stroke care can operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Emergency stroke care is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Anyone who believes they, or someone else, is showing the symptoms of a stroke should call 999 immediately. Work is ongoing to establish the most effective means of further expanding service hours for access to thrombectomy, one emergency treatment option for certain strokes, to maximise the number of patients able to benefit from this treatment.

Question reference: S6W-23010

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Friday, 17 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 4 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on what measures NHS boards need to implement in order to ensure that stroke standards of care are always met.

The Scottish Stroke Care Audit Standards are outlined in the Scottish Stroke Care Audit. NHS Boards’ performance against these standards are reported on via the Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme Annual Report . Each NHS Board operates in a unique set of circumstances and we expect Boards to identify aspects of their stroke services which do not meet the Scottish Standards and work to improve their standards of care locally.

Question reference: S6W-23008

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 20 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Michael Matheson on 30 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many people experiencing a stroke were transported to an A&E department by the Scottish Ambulance Service in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021, (d) 2022 and (e) 2023 to date.

Question reference: S6O-02835

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 29 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 6 December 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the reopening of sites that are currently closed due to inspections by Historic Environment Scotland.

Question reference: S6O-02804

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 22 November 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 29 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the rural affairs secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding action to mitigate any future crop losses due to flooding, including by updating its water management plans.

Question reference: S6W-22903

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken to ensure that access to stroke rehabilitation services is universal and equitable.

The Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme team work closely with services and NHS Boards to use learning from the Scottish Stroke Care Audit (SSCA) and the Health Board review process to support care improvement across the whole stroke pathway, including access to rehabilitation.

We continue to expect Health Boards to identify aspects of their stroke services which do not meet the Scottish Standards and to work with their stroke Managed Clinical Networks (MCNs) to improve their standards of care locally.

We are also working with rehabilitation stakeholders and Public Health Scotland to develop empirical measures of rehabilitation and measures of patient experience, to enable us to better assess the effectiveness of rehabilitation delivery.

Question reference: S6W-22902

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that all stroke survivors have access to quality, accessible rehabilitation.

We expect Health Boards to fully engage with the review process that takes place via the Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme. The Board review process allows for an evaluation of stroke service performance, identification of areas of concern and agrees steps to implement local action plans to improve the delivery of stroke care, including rehabilitation.

NHS Boards are expected to demonstrate rehabilitation provision in a variety of settings, including inpatient and community settings and at a range of intensities. Boards must also demonstrate that there is a clear pathway for people who have had strokes to re-engage with stroke rehabilitation services as appropriate.

We are also working with rehabilitation stakeholders and Public Health Scotland to develop empirical measures of rehabilitation and measures of patient experience, to enable us to better assess the effectiveness of rehabilitation delivery.

Question reference: S6W-22901

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government for what reason health and social care services are reportedly unable to refer stroke survivors directly to local third sector services that offer support, and whether this was a consideration in its stroke improvement plan.

We expect local health and social care services to refer or signpost people who have experienced a stroke to the appropriate local services. We are not aware of any barriers to health and social care services referring to third sector services.

We are grateful to third sector organisations, such as Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland and the Stroke Association, for their continued work in supporting people living with stroke across Scotland, and both organisations contributed to the development of the Stroke Improvement Plan.

Question reference: S6W-22904

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Monday, 13 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 22 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to (a) facilitating a right to rehabilitation component within the right to health and (b) incorporating this right in future human rights frameworks.

The Scottish Government has committed to introducing a new Human Rights Bill in the current Parliamentary year. The consultation on the proposals closed on 5 October 2023 and the responses received are currently being independently analysed.

The Human Rights Bill will incorporate a wide range of internationally recognised human rights belonging to everyone in Scotland, into Scots law within the limits of devolved competence. Our proposals would mean that for the first time in our domestic legal framework, duty bearers have to comply with the rights in the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (including the right to health) and actively consider the rights in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities when making decisions and delivering public services.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all adults who require rehabilitation have timely access to the right information and services by the end of 2025 through our Once for Scotland Rehabilitation Approach. This is supported by NHS Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships, encouraging cross-sector working with third and leisure sectors to support community-based services and supported self-management. We are working with key partners to deliver this.

Question reference: S6W-22681

Asked by: Roz McCall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Tuesday, 07 November 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 17 November 2023

To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the June 2022 publication, Equalities & Wellbeing in Manufacturing Working Group: Recommendations Report, how it plans to identify, and work with stakeholders to determine, the best means to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop their own inclusivity and flexible working policies.

Actions taken by the Scottish Government to respond to the report’s recommendations are set out in the Equalities and Wellbeing in Manufacturing Working Group Recommendations: One Year Report, which was published on the Scottish Government website on 29 August 2023.

Scottish Government worked in collaboration with industry and flexible working specialists, and provided them with grant funding, to produce a set of 3 flexible working video case studies which are real-life examples of flexible working best practice in SME manufacturers. These popular video case studies are available online and have been well publicised at industry events and shared with business organisations to promote to their members. They have been shared with public bodies such as DWP jobcentres, Scottish Council for Development and Industry, Scottish Enterprise, Food and Drink Federation (Scotland and UK) for use and promotion of flexible working best practice in industry.

Scottish Government published its refreshed Fair Work action plan and Anti-Racist Employment Strategy in December 2022, setting out actions to help promote and support fair and inclusive workplaces across Scotland.

We will continue to work with industry and seek feedback on what further support is required to support SMEs to develop inclusivity and flexible working practices.

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