Craig Hoy

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has identified options for obtaining accurate data on any unregistered members of the health and social care workforce, ensuring the whole workforce is considered when planning.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government does not hold official data on the unregistered workforce. However we do know that there were at least 4,869 Personal Assistants (PA’s) providing social care support to adults who were in receipt of either Self-directed support option …

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has developed a pilot model for primary care training hubs, in partnership with NHS Education for Scotland and NHS boards, in order to increase training capacity within primary care for GPs and all members of the multidisciplinary team (MDT) workforce.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Primary care training hubs model has been developed and is in operation in GP practices in NHS Lothian and NHS Dumfries and Galloway. NHS Education for Scotland (NES) is working with Health Boards and GP practices to continue to increase training capacity in…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has undertaken with the UK Department of Health and Social Care on developing partnerships with individual countries to support direct access to international labour markets.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government is represented on the Cross-Whitehall International Recruitment Steering Group chaired by the Department of Health and Social Care. The Steering Group provides national policy oversight on international supply activity, including the d…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the Scottish National Party manifesto commitment to recruit "1,500 more NHS staff to deliver our elective centre programme and increase specialist capacity", and how many additional staff have been hired through (a) domestic and (b) international recr…

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10530 on 28 September 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-commi…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has published a scoping review of Allied Health Professional (AHP) and Health Care Science (HCS) education; what gaps it has identified in training programmes, and what actions are required to meet future service needs.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government has recently conducted an Allied Health Profession Education & Workforce Policy Review. The recommendations of this review will be published shortly with an implementation plan published thereafter. The National Health and Social Care …

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has developed support for international health and social care workers, such as Objective Standard Clinical Examination (OSCE) training, in order to help them gain regulatory body registration in Scotland.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: NHS Education for Scotland (NES) was commissioned by the Scottish Government in late 2021 to develop Objective Structured Clinical Examination(OSCE) training provision and this training is available to all international nurses working across NHS Scotland as r…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it has done to support the development of the pain management workforce.

Answer · Maree Todd: We understand the importance of appropriate staffing to provide high quality care for people with chronic pain. As set out in our National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care published in March 2022, we are committed to supporting the delivery of …

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to increase the number of undergraduate medical school places.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: As part of the 2021-22 Programme for Government (PfG), the Scottish Government committed to increasing the number of available medical school places by 500 over the lifetime of this Parliament. As part of this commitment we are also doubling the number of pla…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has completed a needs assessment of available health and social care workforce data and sources, and used this to build recommendations for workforce data collection design, quantity, and quality.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13517 on 24 January 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committ…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many community pharmacists have become independent prescribers via the National Clinical Skills for Pharmacists Programme in each year since the programme was founded.

Answer · Maree Todd: The National Clinical Skills for pharmacists programme supports registered pharmacists take on new and extended clinical roles, however it is the Independent Prescriber course which allows community pharmacists to qualify as Independent Prescribers. In 2020-2…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has (a) reviewed any wider opportunities available to access a career in nursing and midwifery, as an Allied Health Professional (AHP) or in Health Care Science (HCS) and (b) explored the potential to further increase the use of approaches such as the Open University and appre…

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government continues to work closely with partners including Higher Education Institutions, Health Boards, Skills Development Scotland, and the Scottish Funding Council on skills development, employability and widening access to NHS Scotland care…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how it is (a) promoting career pathways and (b) delivering policies on upskilling to develop the health and social care workforce, and whether this work includes the development of (i) foundation and modern apprenticeships and (ii) resources for those providing careers advice.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government works closely with partners including Health Boards, Skills Development Scotland (SDS), and the Scottish Funding Council on skills development, employability and widening access to health and social care careers, including the developm…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has introduced an annual survey of the general practice workforce.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: In November 2022, Public Health Scotland published a report analysing the 2022 survey of the General Practice workforce. This publication is available at General practice workforce survey 2022 - General practice workforce survey - Publications - Public Healt…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has set new international recruitment targets (a) focusing on key areas of shortage and (b) directly supporting key commitments set out in their NHS Recovery Plan, including meeting its anticipated 1% net growth, and, if so, what these targets are.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the Member to my statements in Parliament on 5 October 2021 and 4 October 2022 where I set out details of new international recruitment targets. Boards undertake this recruitment focussing on key areas with current vacancies.

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has analysed the detail in its health and social care three-year workforce plans, and, if this is the case, whether this analysis will inform its workforce policy development.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: Yes. The Scottish Government has analysed the three-year workforce plans produced by Health Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships. An analysis of key themes and emerging national priorities was subsequently discussed by the National Workforce Forum, …

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work has been undertaken to update the formal conditions associated with continuous professional development opportunities for adult social care workers.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) launched a new system for Continuous Professional Learning (CPL), in October 2020. The change allows for a more flexible approach to recording learning, doing so in a way which works best for registered workers and …

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent supporting health and social care staff in 2022 with their (a) practical and (b) emotional needs, including pastoral care and other measures to aid rest and recuperation, broken down by area of spending.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: In 2022-23 the Scottish Government spent £2,761,815 on health and social care staff wellbeing. In addition to this, the Scottish Government intend to spend a further £1,397,475 on health and social care staff wellbeing in the remainder of this financial year.…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that there is a staff equality focus for its (a) Women’s Health Plan, A plan for 2021-2024, and (b) Race Equality Immediate Priorities Plan.

Answer · Maree Todd: The Women’s Health Plan sets out actions which aim to address women’s health inequalities by raising awareness around women’s health, improving access to health care for women across their lives, and reducing inequalities in health outcomes for women and girl…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what options it has identified for working collaboratively with stakeholders to review the health and social care workforce data landscape, as part of a whole-system approach.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13517 on 24 January 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committ…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has done to develop a further programme of work in relation to its paper, Public Health Leadership and Succession Planning in Scotland, which was published in June 2017.

Answer · Maree Todd: Work is currently underway in the Scottish Public Health Workforce Development Group to assess needs and agree priority actions in relation to the public health workforce. A programme of leadership development has already started with local Directors and Depu…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what funding has been provided for (a) systemic anti-cancer therapy (SACT) and (b) acute oncology to help build a sustainable workforce, broken down by area of expenditure, since the start of 2022.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: As outlined in the National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care, we have committed to funding up to £10 million on a phased approach which will support increased regional working, workforce recruitment and maximise capacity across the existing workf…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government how many additional Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) staff it has recruited in each year since 2007.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The information on how many additional Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) staff has been recruited by the Scottish Government in each year since 2007 is not centrally held. The information on CAMHS workforce staff in post can be found in the…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has refreshed the NHS Scotland Partnership Information Network (PIN) policies, particularly the Homeworking Policy, which is part of the "supporting work-life balance" suite of policies, and whether it has responded to any requests to develop new policies.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: To date, the NHSScotland ‘Once for Scotland’ Workforce Policies Programme has refreshed the following PIN policies and process:Attendance Bullying and Harassment Capability Conduct Grievance Workforce Policies Investigation Process In addition, the NHSScot…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has developed a pilot Graduate Apprenticeship scheme to improve career pathways for social care staff into social work.

Answer · Clare Haughey: The Scottish Government is committed to working with partners to increase the number of social workers in the profession, as well as developing rewarding career pathways and improving terms and conditions. The development of a Graduate Apprenticeship in Soci…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has developed a menopause and menstrual health workplace policy for NHS Scotland as an example of best practice.

Answer · Maree Todd: An expert Menopause and Menstrual Health Policy Working Group has been established to progress this action.

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it has introduced in every NHS board area new (a) national target measures to promote recruitment through apprenticeships and (b) employability programmes, and what the focus of any such programmes has been.

Answer · Humza Yousaf: I refer the member to the Scottish Government’s second Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan which committed to offering up to 500 apprenticeship opportunities across NHS Scotland in 2022/23. NHS Boards deliver a wide range of employability programmes, follow…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work has been undertaken to revisit the Specialist Public Health Workforce arrangements, taking into account learning from COVID-19, to support the renewal of the public health system.

Answer · Maree Todd: Work is currently underway in the Scottish Public Health Workforce Development Group to assess needs and agree priority actions in relation to the public health workforce, taking into account previous recommendations and learning from the pandemic. The Public…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the delivery of the commitment made in the Health and social care: integrated workforce plan to "design and oversee work to obtain a national picture of workforce planning capacity, methodology and capability in Local Authorities/ Health and Social Ca…

Answer · Humza Yousaf: The Scottish Government has engaged directly with representatives from NHS Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) to consider workforce planning capacity and capability across services. We remain committed to building a culture of continuous l…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what it has done to develop a social work advanced practice career pathway.

Answer · Clare Haughey: We acknowledge the immense, highly skilled and unique contribution made by social workers to support individuals and families across Scotland. The Scottish Government is committed to establishing a National Social Work Agency (NSWA), as part of the National C…

21 Dec 2022 · Written Question

To ask the Scottish Government what work it has done with health and social care partnerships (HSCPs) and providers to assess local social care campaigns, recruitment efforts and employability programmes in order to identify areas where it can provide support and help improve collaboration between HSCPs and providers.

Answer · Kevin Stewart: The Scottish Government’s Marketing team met with health and social care partnerships Communications leads in November 2022 to discuss the upcoming Adult Social Care National Recruitment Campaign, which launches on 25 January 2023. As part of this, a stakeh…