Seòmar agus comataidhean

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

NHS boards have various means of supporting independently contracted practices which request assistance. We expect health boards to work with practices as constructively and as flexibly as is appropriate to ensure that all patients have access to GP services.

NHS Lothian has made the Scottish Government aware of concerns around particular recruitment issues in Lothian which will be taken into account as the 2017 General Medical Services contract negotiations go forward.

The Scottish Government has had no discussions with the Royal College of General Practitioners following the recent reports, however the Scottish Government has ensured opportunities for engagement, particularly as part of a wider debate on the future of general practice, and are grateful for the contribution that the Royal College of General Practitioners has already made and look forward to continuing to engage with them, as well as with other stakeholders who share our common desire to further improve the quality of primary care services for the benefit of patients.

Over three years, the Scottish Government is investing £85 million, as part of the Primary Care Fund. As part of this, £2.5 million will be invested in work to explore with key stakeholders the issues surrounding GP recruitment and retention which can be particularly challenging in remote and rural areas. This will support a range of initiatives over the next two years including the development of a locum pool of retired GPs in Lothian.

The costs associated with hosting events is a matter for Edinburgh City Council, however, I can confirm that the Scottish Government is providing Edinburgh City Council with total funding in 2016-17 amounting to £786.3 million, which includes £11 million additional funding that Edinburgh receives through the new funding floor mechanism and £3.9 million in recognition of its position as capital city.

The Scottish Government is currently seeking views on the new Mental Health Strategy.

We published a paper on Friday 29 July 2016 which summarises our proposed priorities for the new Mental Health Strategy which will cover a 10 year period.

The paper can be viewed and downloaded at the Scottish Government’s Citizen Space website via the link below.

https://consult.scotland.gov.uk/mental-health-unit/mental-health-in-scotland-a-10-year-vision

All patients who receive electroconvulsive therapy must either give informed consent or be protected by the legal safeguards in legislation. Consent must be in writing and be based on an understanding of the treatment, the reasons why it is being offered and possible risks and side effects.

Further information about consent and legal status can be found in the Scottish ECT Accreditation Network Annual Report. The latest report can be accessed here http://www.sean.org.uk/docs/SEAN-Report-2015-web.pdf.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the costs of locating, retrieving and providing the information requested would exceed the upper cost limit of £600. This is because we file our information according to the subject matter, not by reference to organisations with whom we have corresponded, and to retrieve that information would require a search of all of the Scottish Government’s records.

Tell Us Once is a UK-wide programme administered by the Department for Work and Pensions, designed to save bereaved families work and stress during a difficult time by sharing data on a person’s death with a range of public sector bodies. In Scotland, it is supported by National Records of Scotland and local authority registrars. Presently, 30 out of 32 Scottish local authorities participate in the scheme, with the remaining two – Orkney and Highland – due to begin participating by the end of 2016 and early 2017, respectively.

Our expectation is that Freedom of Information (FoI) is fully complied with by all NHS Boards. We also recognise that the Information Services Division’s (ISD) role as producers of official and national statistics means that, on occasion, it is appropriate for Health Boards and ISD to discuss FoI requests. National Services Scotland (within which ISD sits) and NHS Dumfries and Galloway, like other public bodies, are responsible for implementing the FoI Act and the Commissioner is responsible for enforcing and promoting FoI. The Scottish Information Commissioner's finding is a matter for NHS Dumfries and Galloway to respond to. The Scottish Government recognises the importance of transparency for all public bodies and, as such, expects all NHS Boards to fully comply with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

The number of GPs in Scotland has increased by 7% under this Government, and we want to go further to boost GP numbers as part of a building a strong, multi-disciplinary Community Health Service. In Scotland we are transforming primary care, supported by £85 million of extra investment to put in place long-term, sustainable change within GP services that can better meet changing needs and demands. As part of this, over £2 million is being invested in work to explore with key stakeholders the issues surrounding GP recruitment and retention. We have pledged to increase GP training places for medical students from 300 to 400 a year and are expanding schemes to encourage trained GPs to return to practice in the NHS. We are working closely with the British Medical Association (BMA) and the Royal College of GPs to reduce workload, including our pioneering agreement to abolish the bureaucratic system of GP payments, and work towards a brand new Scottish GP contract from 2017. A £20 million package to support GPs will also help ease pressures on workload in the short term, and contribute to putting general practice on a more long-term sustainable footing.