- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 March 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 14 April 2020
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that there has been an 11% increase in referral rates for paediatric ENT services in NHS Lothian.
Answer
The Health Board do not recognise where the figure of an 11% increase in the referral rate for Paediatric ENT services within NHS Lothian. The Board’s Annual Operational Plan for 2020/21 has been compiled with an assumption of a generic 1% annual increase, and they have advise that this is in line with their short term data.
In light of current COVID-19 position, we are working closely with Health Boards to support them to plan and prepare for the anticipated increase in demand for health and care services.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 10 March 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 14 April 2020
To ask the Scottish Government how many podiatrists are employed by each NHS board, and how this compares with 2010, also broken down per head of population.
Answer
The whole time equivalent numbers of podiatrists and podiatrists per 10,000 population by NHS Board, at September 2010 and December 2019, are as follows.
NHS Board | 2010 total | 2010 per 10,000 population [1] | 2019 total | 2019 per 10,000 population [2] |
Ayrshire and Arran | 57.9 | 1.6 | 43.9 | 1.2 |
Borders | 19.9 | 1.8 | 11.7 | 1.0 |
Dumfries and Galloway | 25.1 | 1.7 | 22.9 | 1.5 |
Fife | 60.5 | 1.7 | 53.6 | 1.4 |
Forth Valley | 30.3 | 1.0 | 24.6 | 0.8 |
Grampian | 60.8 | 1.1 | 49.4 | 0.8 |
Greater Glasgow and Clyde | 162.2 | 1.4 | 134.1 | 1.1 |
Highland | 37.2 | 1.2 | 32.4 | 1.0 |
Lanarkshire | 75.9 | 1.2 | 73.6 | 1.1 |
Lothian | 70.3 | 0.9 | 58.9 | 0.7 |
Orkney | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.6 | 1.6 |
Shetland | 2.6 | 1.1 | 3.6 | 1.6 |
Tayside | 50.5 | 1.2 | 47.0 | 1.1 |
Western Isles | 5.6 | 2.0 | 7.4 | 2.8 |
Podiatrists are recorded as qualified (Agenda for Change bands 5-9) podiatry professionals working within NHSScotland.
[1] National Records of Scotland (NRS) publish annual population data by NHS Board area as mid-year estimates. The 2010 podiatrists per-head of population figures have been calculated using Information Services Division Scotland Workforce data (at September 2010) and population estimates (NRS, mid-year estimate 2010).
[2] The 2019 podiatrists per-head of population figures have been calculated using the most recently available Information Services Division Scotland Workforce data (at December 2019) and population estimates (NRS, mid-year estimate 2018).
Sources:
Information Services Division, ‘NHSScotland Workforce’, 3 March 2020.
https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/NES-Publication/2020-03-03/Visualisation.asp
National Records of Scotland, ‘Mid-year population estimates: Scotland and its NHS Board areas by single year of age and sex: 1981 to 2018’, 25 April 2019.
https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/population/population-estimates/mid-year-population-estimates/population-estimates-time-series-data
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 March 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 6 April 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported reduction in the number of podiatrists working in the NHS over the last 10 years, for what reason its Integrated Health and Social Care Workforce Plan does not include any specific support to future-proof the NHS podiatry workforce.
Answer
The National Health and Social Care Integrated Workforce Plan sets out how health and social care services will meet growing demand to ensure the right numbers of staff, with the right skills, across health and social care services.
We have published a series of case studies and scenarios alongside the Integrated Plan. For the first time, these scenarios allow us to model the numbers we will need for future years, in response to growing demand.
Podiatrists form part of the Allied Health Professional (AHP) workforce. The Integrated Plan’s scenario planning includes a profile of the Allied Health Professions workforce; the future demand for AHP services and the actions required to allow for evidence-based, predictive workforce planning in this area:
https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/
publications/publication/2019/12/national-health-social-care
-integrated-workforce-plan/documents/illustrative-scenarios/
illustrative-scenarios/govscot%3Adocument/illustrative-
scenarios.pdf
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 19 March 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Jeane Freeman on 6 April 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the numbers of people with long-term conditions such as diabetes and peripheral arterial disease, which can lead to foot and lower limb ulceration and amputation, for what reason its Integrated Health and Social Care Workforce Plan does not mention NHS podiatry services and their preventative role in (a) treating these conditions, (b) maintaining foot and lower limb health generally and (c) keeping people healthy and in work.
Answer
The Scottish Government recognises the important role of Allied Health Professionals such as podiatrists. A national recruitment campaign for nursing, midwifery, Allied Health Professionals and health care scientists ran from November 2019 until January 2020, to attract prospective university students into these professions and ensure a sustainable workforce is available to meet Scotland’s future requirements.
The National Health and Social Care Integrated Workforce Plan sets out how health and social care services will meet growing demand to ensure the right numbers of staff, with the right skills, across health and social care services.
We have published a series of case studies and scenarios alongside the Integrated Plan. For the first time, these scenarios allow us to model the numbers we will need for future years, in response to growing demand.
The Integrated Plan’s scenario planning includes a profile of the Allied Health Professions workforce; the future demand for AHP services and the actions required to allow for evidence-based, predictive workforce planning in this area:
https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot
/publications/publication/2019/12/national-health-social-care
-integrated-workforce-plan/documents/illustrative-scenarios/
illustrative-scenarios/govscot%3Adocument/illustrative-
scenarios.pdf .
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Monday, 03 February 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 30 March 2020
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide the minutes of all meetings of the Scottish Screening Committee since 2017.
Answer
I refer the Member to the answer to question S5W-27248 on 24 March 2020. 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
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 18 March 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Aileen Campbell on 26 March 2020
To ask the Scottish Government whether the finance secretary will make funding available to assist local authorities in reducing the risk of homelessness in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Answer
On 18 March, I announced that we are making available £350 million of funding to support local government, the third sector and communities during this unprecedented public health emergency.
£50 million in being passed directly to local authorities to support their own local resilience, and hardship plans and Councils across Scotland are free to use this money to directly address their local needs in the best way they see fit including to reduce the risk of homelessness.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 11 March 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Maree Todd on 25 March 2020
To ask the Scottish Government by what date it will publish the Children and Young People’s Health and Wellbeing Outcomes Framework, to complement the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017.
Answer
The intention is to publish the Outcomes Framework for Children, Young People and Families later in the spring. We are currently engaging with stakeholders from local government, health and the third sector to ensure the framework is fit for purpose.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Clare Haughey on 24 March 2020
To ask the Scottish Government whether the £89 million that it has announced in its Budget for reforming mental health and child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) is new money or part of the £250 million per year for improving mental health services that it announced in the 2018-19 Programme for Government.
Answer
The £89 million investment in reform and improving patient outcomes for mental health and child and adolescent mental health services set out in the Scottish Budget combines a number of existing budgets. It includes the 2020-21 share of the 2018 Programme for Government funding which committed to total additional investment of £250 million over 5 years.
Overall, the combined budgets in question have increased by £28 million or 46%.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 04 February 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Joe FitzPatrick on 24 March 2020
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the minutes of the Scottish Screening Committee are not routinely published.
Answer
The Scottish Screening Committee (SSC) is a Ministerial Advisory Group, and was established in 2016. The SSC was established to improve the strategic management of screening services in Scotland and fully considers the implementation of all recommendations made by the UK National Screening Committee in the context of the specific Scottish circumstances.
Following the appointment of a new Chair, minutes from the Scottish Screening Committee will be routinely published starting with the next meeting.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 05 March 2020
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Current Status:
Answered by Clare Haughey on 19 March 2020
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S5W-10468 by Maureen Watt on 15 August 2017, what progress has been made in developing the eating disorder support service, SPIRE, and whether it will provide a breakdown of what information and data this service collects, including the data that has not been published since 2012.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-27309 on 4 March 2020. 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
As outlined to the member in the answer to question S5W-10468 on 15 August 2017, SPIRE, also known as the Scottish Primary Care Information Resource, is a national GP information system. The Scottish Government does not hold information that is collected by SPIRE.