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The Scottish Government accepted recommendations to monitor food insecurity made by the Independent Working Group on Food Poverty in 2016. Questions from the UN Food Insecurity Experience Scale have been added to the Scottish Health Survey, and the data collected is integrated in to our National Performance Framework.

There has been no hours in the last year where air ambulance services in Scotland have been unavailable due to pilots not being available.

The Scottish Government recognises the pressures and challenges facing teachers, including those highlighted by the Mental Health Foundation Scotland. That is why we have taken action to reduce teacher workloads, clarify and simplify the curriculum framework and remove unnecessary bureaucracy.

The 2018-19 Programme for Government confirms we will provide enhanced support and professional learning materials for teachers allowing them to better support children and young people's mental health and wellbeing. We will also provide significant investment in the range of support available to our children and young people ensuring that issues are tackled early while guaranteeing faster access to specialist care for those who need it.

The Scottish Government’s ten year Mental Health Strategy emphasises the importance of prevention, early intervention and accessible services and we are working with employers across Scotland on how they can act to protect and improve mental health and support employees experiencing poor mental health.

Contingency plans for the management of clinical waste have been successfully activated across all NHS boards in Scotland following the disruption to clinical waste management services provided by Healthcare Environmental Services Ltd. Although some boards have experienced a backlog of clinical waste on site, this is being cleared as part of the contingency arrangements.

NSS has prioritised the removal of orange waste bags, which must be transported to disposal sites within one week. Anatomical waste, stored appropriately in fridges and freezers within boards, has been disposed of properly. These arrangements, procured centrally by NSS, provide storage capacity to all (28) agreed priority sites, collecting and disposing of circa 300 tonnes of waste. Contracts for community services across Scotland have been initiated and NSS continue to secure specialist disposal capacity for the small quantities of higher risk products.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring all NHS boards receive an appropriate level of waste management service.

I have met with a range of trade union representatives in the course of my regular meetings with frontline staff. This includes meeting with the RCN to discuss matters such as workforce planning.

NHS Information Services Division (ISD) of National Services Scotland produces quarterly hospital standardised mortality ratios (HSMR) for all Scottish hospitals participating in the Scottish Patient Safety Programme. The calculation takes account of patients who died within 30 days from hospital admission. This means that the HSMR also includes deaths that occur outside hospital.

Figures published on Tuesday 13 November 2018 by ISD show that HSMR at Scotland level has decreased by 11.2% since the first quarter of 2014.

The Scottish Patient Safety Programme is one of a number of factors over the last 10 years that have contributed to this reduction. ISD's report makes clear that other possible contributory factors include: reductions in underlying population-based mortality; improvements in the quality of care and treatment; increases in available medical treatments and risk factor improvements; and completeness/accuracy of hospital discharge summaries.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-20503 on 7 January 2018. 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 .

On 10 December the Scottish Medicines Consortium announced that they had recommended Perjeta for use in NHS Scotland for the neoadjuvant treatment of breast cancer. A second indication, for the treatment of metastatic (secondary) breast cancer was considered at the December meeting of the SMC and their decision will be published in January.

Paul Gray, Director-General for Health and Social Care, wrote to the Public Audit and Post-legislative Scrutiny Committee on 18 December. His letter contains the information requested and it will be placed in the Parliament’s Reference Centre (Bib number 60364).

NHS staff are expected to support patients who are waiting for treatment by involving them in all decisions being taken about their healthcare. This includes clear and open communication with patients over when their appointment will be, whether their appointment will be over the 12 weeks Treatment Time Guarantee standard and the reasons for this, and any pre-appointment information and details that will assist the patient prepare for their treatment or surgery. In addition, patients who may be suffering discomfort as a result of a long wait should contact their GP or other NHS staff to ensure they access the full range of medical support available to them.

Performance across many parts of the NHS is below the standards expected which is why I launched the Waiting Times Improvement Plan in October. The Plan will ensure that patients have swift and safe access to the full range of services from NHSScotland and will direct investment of more than £850 million to substantially and sustainably improve waiting times in the face of rising demand for services by spring 2021. The Plan sets out a range of actions and milestones to be met to ensure that long waits for NHS treatment are eradicated and that the targets and standards set for treatment times are consistently met. Successful delivery of the Plan will ensure that patients receive safe, effective and person-centred healthcare.

Scottish Government Officials are working with all territorial Health Boards to ensure that they develop appropriate plans to ensure the successful delivery of the Improvement Plan.