Parliamentary questions
Carol Mochan
846 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
10 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it will measure its commitment to "improving urgent care pathways in the community and improving links across primary and secondary care", as set out in its publication, NHS Recovery Plan 2021-26: Annual Progress Update 2023.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government has commissioned the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) to improve Community Urgent Care (CUC) pathways as part of the wider Urgent and Unscheduled Care Programme. In addition to validated nationally collected data from Public Heal…
10 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on how successful the Prince’s Trust and NHS Scotland Partnership has been in achieving the commitment to recruit 267 young people in 2023-24 through the Get Into and Get Started programmes within the NHS.
Answer · Michael Matheson: As this commitment relates to activity currently underway and due to be completed by the end of this financial year, this data will therefore not be available until after the end of the 2023-24 accounting period. Activity will include participants in NHS Get …
10 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many of the 98 young people supported through the Prince’s Trust and NHS Scotland Partnership's Get Into and Get Started programmes (a) gained employment within the NHS and (b) retained employment within the NHS beyond three months.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Princes Trust and NHS Scotland Partnership’s programmes aim to support young people to achieve the outcome that is right for them. Often this is not directly into NHS employment as many of the young people require longer term support to achieve this outco…
10 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in the last 12 months, what additional training opportunities have been made available from the NHS Scotland Academy; how many (a) new and (b) existing staff have received training from the academy, and what funding has been available to the academy.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The NHS Scotland Academy (NHSSA) provides training opportunities across five programme areas: National Workforce Programmes; National Endoscopy Training Programmes (NETP); National Perioperative Training Programmes; National Imaging Training Programmes; NHS S…
10 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is measuring the effectiveness of Flow Navigation Centres.
Answer · Michael Matheson: A Flow Navigation Centre has been established in every mainland Health Board as part of the Redesign of Urgent Care Programme. They provide expert clinical advice, referrals to alternative services and, when necessary, schedule appointments at A&E. They play …
10 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed agency nursing costs with NHS boards; what was discussed, and what action it agreed to undertake.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Scottish Government officials met with NHS Scotland Board Chief Executives on 12 December where they discussed agency nurse staffing as one of their priority actions. This follows detailed engagement with Boards regarding the arrangements currently in place f…
10 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last discussed locum doctor costs with NHS boards; what was discussed, and what action it agreed to undertake.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Scottish Government officials met with NHS Scotland Board Chief Executives on 12 December where they discussed medical locum staffing as one of their priority actions. This follows detailed engagement with Boards regarding the arrangements currently in place …
6 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Police Scotland regarding digital development within the police force, particularly in relation to support for and access to up-to-date technology for local policing teams.
Answer · Angela Constance: The Scottish Government has had a wide range of discussions with Police Scotland over many years about its use of technology to support effective policing in communities through its Change Programmes. In 2019-20 the Scottish Government provided an additiona…
6 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of nursing graduate retention within the NHS at (a) one year, (b) three years and (c) five years post-graduation.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce, which brings together representatives from a broad range of stakeholders, including the RCN, RCM, and academia, focuses on retention as one of its five key themes. Retention, including the retention of nursing graduates, i…
6 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is promoting podiatry as a career path for (a) school leavers and (b) college and university graduates.
Answer · Michael Matheson: As part of our work to develop a sustainable healthcare workforce, we continue to look for opportunities to increase levels of student attraction to healthcare professions. Careers in NHS Scotland are promoted on the NHS Education Scotland NHS careers website…
6 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is promoting midwifery as a career path for (a) school leavers, (b) college and university graduates and (c) the general public.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The current route to becoming a midwife is to attain a degree in midwifery, however there is a shortened programme available to existing adult nurses who can dual-qualify in 20 months via Edinburgh Napier University. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are a…
6 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to increasing the income threshold for free school meal eligibility for families that are not currently covered by any free school meal entitlement, and whether it has (a) conducted any modelling and (b) had any discussions with local authorities on this i…
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government keeps the eligibility criteria for free school meals under regular review to take account of any developments which may impact upon it. The eligibility criteria was last amended in April 2023. We notify local authorities whenever any c…
6 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what value it places on apprenticeships within the public sector, and what assessment it has made of the availability of these across different sectors, departments and professions.
Answer · Graeme Dey: Apprenticeships are a key way for employers to invest in their workforce, providing skills the economy needs now and in the future. Scottish Government recognise the importance of apprenticeships for the public sector, including health & social care. Our prio…
6 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what discussions it has had with Scottish universities about developing apprenticeship models for Allied Health Professions (AHP) training.
Answer · Graeme Dey: The Scottish Government continues to work closely with Higher Education Institutions and other partners including Health Boards, Skills Development Scotland, and the Scottish Funding Council on skills development, employability and widening access to NHS Scot…
6 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government for what reason its commitment to piloting universal free breakfast provision for primary and special school pupils did not appear in its Programme for Government 2022-23.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The 2021-22 Programme for Government, alongside the Bute House Agreement, set out our plans to develop and implement breakfast policy for the whole parliamentary term. Subsequent Programme for Government publications have reiterated that food provision is an …
6 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made any progress in mapping current breakfast provision within primary and special schools across Scotland, and, if so, whether it will commit to publishing any such data early in 2024.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: Scottish Government has contracted AssistFM to map existing breakfast provision. This mapping is expected to be completed in Spring 2024. There are no plans to publish it separately, as this work is just one of the elements which will inform policy on school …
6 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on its progress towards fulfilling its Programme for Government 2021-22 commitment to provide free school breakfasts to all children in primary and special schools.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: The Scottish Government remains committed to developing plans to deliver free breakfasts to all primary and special school children. Work is underway to map existing breakfast provision which is expected to be completed in Spring 2024. This will inform policy…
6 Dec 2023 · Portfolio Question
To ask the Scottish Government what value it places on the role of trade unions in delivering and sustaining a wellbeing economy.
4 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it makes of appointments recorded as "did not attend" within the NHS, and what discussions it has had in the last year with NHS providers to ensure that patients find services easy to navigate and access.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The NHS Scotland National Access Policy states that Health Boards should review reasons why patients may DNA or cancel appointments in order to take necessary steps to address issues and barriers as necessary including what support can be provided by Health B…
1 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of its "health in all areas approach" to tackling health inequalities.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Tackling health inequalities and improving population health remain clear, ongoing aims of the Scottish Government, that directly support our cross cutting missions of Equality, Opportunity and Community. We continue to pursue and promote a “health in all pol…
1 Dec 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with NHS Ayrshire and Arran in relation to recruitment and retention of medical staff, particularly at University Hospital Ayr.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government maintains an ongoing dialogue with all health boards to discuss performance and issues such as workforce arising across the system. The last series of quarterly Biannual Performance reviews with each of the territorial health boards, i…
30 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the use of text messaging to communicate with patients when using NHS services.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Text messages have been used routinely and positively for many years in NHS Scotland. Scottish Government’s Information and Risk Assurance Team has been working extensively with Health Boards and other NHS delivery partners in assessing the proportionality of…
30 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government when it last held a cross-portfolio meeting to discuss matters related to public health; what matters were discussed, and when it plans to hold its next such meeting.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government regularly holds cross-portfolio meetings to discuss matters related to public health. The overall governance for cross-portfolio engagement on population health and its drivers is the Care and Wellbeing Portfolio. The most recent cross…
29 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the number of any (a) NHS nursing staff and (b) allied health professionals who have left the NHS workforce to work in the private health care sector in the last financial year.
Answer · Michael Matheson: We understand there is a role for private healthcare in delivering planned care however, the Scottish Government is absolutely committed to keeping our NHS true to its founding principles and providing the best value for the people in Scotland. We have invest…
29 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is progressing its pledge in its Programme for Government 2015-16 to "effectively eliminate use of the private sector for planned care" as part of a 20-year strategy.
Answer · Michael Matheson: The Scottish Government remains absolutely committed to the founding principles of the NHS. As is the case across the UK, hospitals in the independent sector were contracted to provide additional capacity for NHS priority patients throughout the pandemic. NHS…
29 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what action it has taken following the publication of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee's 9th Report, 2022 (Session 6), Alternative pathways to primary care (SP Paper 201).
Answer · Michael Matheson: We are fully committed to taking action to support the recommendations of the Alternative Pathways to Primary care and to our key aim of ensuring people can access the right care, in the right place, at the right time. In particular, since 2018, we have sign…
29 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the use of NHS Inform by the public, broken down by socioeconomic background.
Answer · Michael Matheson: Neither the Scottish Government nor NHS 24 currently hold that information due to the anonymous nature of NHS inform which doesn’t ask for, or collect, any personal information. However, working with NHS 24 we are in the process of developing a formal review…
29 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made any assessment of future supplies of banded copper intrauterine devices (IUDs), in light of reports of shortages of medical grade copper.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government is aware that the National Supply Disruption Service (NSDR) has been managing a shortage of 10-year copper coils since June, which affected multiple suppliers and was due to a manufacturer running short of copper. Alternative devices a…
29 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with midwives regarding the use of long-acting reversible contraception.
Answer · Jenni Minto: The Scottish Government’s Long Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC) Short Life Working Group meets quarterly and includes representation from midwifery, including the Royal College of Midwives. We are working with the Scottish Postpartum Contraception Netw…
29 Nov 2023 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what commitment it will make to increasing the availability of long-acting reversible contraception.
Answer · Jenni Minto: Increasing the availability of long acting reversible contraception (LARC) is identified as a priority in both the Women’s Health Plan (2021) and our recently published Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Action Plan. The Scottish Government is committed to w…