- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 26 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many children and young people have been placed in adult services to receive treatment for an eating disorder in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not collect or hold this data centrally.
We expect children and young people who need inpatient mental health care to be looked after in age-appropriate specialist facilities. However, there may be occasions when it isn’t possible for a young person to be admitted to a specialist child and adolescent bed – for example, a crisis admission out of hours where there are concerns for the young person’s safety, or where a specialist facility might be a considerable distance from family support which may aid recovery.
When young people need to be admitted to a non-specialist ward, clinicians will work with the young person and their family to make the most appropriate decision regarding the treatment and support that a young person requires.
On occasions where young people are placed within an adult ward this will be monitored and reviewed regularly to ensure that the young person is receiving the most appropriate treatment and care.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 26 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in the light of recent reported medical breakthroughs, including the new Aberdeen-designed Field Cycling Imaging brain scan, whether it will work with partners in the medical equipment industry to create a dedicated medical equipment manufacturing site in Scotland to ensure that any innovations developed in Scotland are exploited in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government is supportive of innovations developed in Scotland being commercialised in Scotland.
Through Scottish Enterprise we have established the Medical Device Manufacturing Centre(MDMC) which is a pan-Scotland collaboration with five universities (Heriot-Watt, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Robert Gordon). This provides Scottish medical device developers and manufacturers with free advice, technical expertise, and facilities essential for companies that are seeking to translate medical device concepts to commercial products. Technology specialists assist companies with the translation of medical device concepts into small-batch prototypes by offering technical expertise, state-of-the-art equipment and access to health informatics and NHS collaboration. Additionally, the MDMC provides support for clinical trial design.
As well as commercialisation, the Scottish Government also wants to see patients in Scotland benefit from Scottish innovations. The Scottish Government fund three NHS Regional Innovation Hubs to facilitate the development of new technologies, products and services. They enhance the NHS's capacity and capability to engage in innovative activities across the triple helix of industry, academia, third sector and the NHS to develop and scale innovative solutions that address the evolving needs of our healthcare system.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 07 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 26 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many children and young people have received treatment for an eating disorder in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.
Answer
The table below contains the requested data concerning the number of children and young people who have received treatment for an eating disorder in each year from 1999-2023, broken down by NHS Board. The latest year in the time range is 2023, which is the most recent year for which data has been finalised.
NHS Board of Residence | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | Total |
Ayrshire and Arran | * | * | * | * | * | 5 | * | 5 | * | * | * | 5 | * | 5 | 8 | * | * | * | * | * | 5 | 8 | * | 7 | * | 97 |
Borders | * | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | * | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | 5 | 12 | * | 5 | 6 | 12 | * | 66 |
Dumfries and Galloway | * | * | 0 | 5 | * | * | 0 | * | * | * | * | * | 0 | 0 | * | 5 | 6 | * | * | 6 | 0 | * | 7 | * | * | 53 |
Fife | * | * | 5 | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | 5 | * | * | 0 | * | * | * | 7 | 7 | * | 9 | 10 | 8 | 88 |
Forth Valley | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | 0 | * | * | 0 | * | 6 | * | * | * | * | 9 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 96 |
Grampian | * | * | * | * | * | 7 | * | * | * | * | 5 | * | 5 | 11 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 17 | 11 | 160 |
Greater Glasgow and Clyde | 5 | * | 5 | 6 | 5 | * | * | 10 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 26 | 25 | 249 |
Highland | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | * | 9 | * | * | * | 9 | * | 7 | 10 | * | 6 | * | 6 | 12 | 20 | 15 | 19 | 154 |
Lanarkshire | * | * | * | * | * | 5 | * | * | * | 5 | * | * | * | 5 | 8 | 5 | * | 7 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 21 | 15 | 12 | 157 |
Lothian | * | 5 | * | * | 5 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 10 | 14 | 9 | 13 | 19 | 28 | 20 | 15 | 18 | 19 | 22 | 45 | 34 | 30 | 376 |
Orkney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | * | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | 0 | 0 | * | 0 | 0 | * | * | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | 0 | * | 0 | 0 | 8 |
Shetland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | 0 | 0 | * | * | * | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Tayside | * | * | * | * | * | 5 | * | * | 0 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 8 | * | 7 | 5 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 6 | 145 |
Western Isles | * | * | 0 | * | * | * | 0 | * | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | * | * | 0 | * | * | * | 0 | 0 | * | * | 18 |
Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | 0 | * | 0 | * | * | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | * | 10 |
Total | 35 | 28 | 26 | 32 | 30 | 44 | 23 | 44 | 39 | 45 | 48 | 41 | 49 | 63 | 65 | 84 | 81 | 68 | 72 | 91 | 85 | 119 | 179 | 163 | 129 | 1683 |
* denotes data which has been suppressed to preserve patient confidentiality
- Asked by: Sarah Boyack, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 26 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many deaths have been reported where the cause of death was sepsis, either on its own or alongside other factors, in each month of the past 10 years.
Answer
I have asked Alison Byrne, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland to respond. Her response is:
Table 1 shows the number of deaths where sepsis was mentioned in the cause of death, either as the underlying cause or a contributory cause, which occurred in Scotland in each month of the past 10 years.
Table 1: Deaths which mention sepsis by month of occurrence, Scotland, 2014 to 2023 [note 1]
Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
2014 | 221 | 207 | 207 | 183 | 193 | 181 | 193 | 213 | 176 | 212 | 187 | 223 |
2015 | 257 | 220 | 200 | 209 | 175 | 209 | 210 | 194 | 184 | 200 | 195 | 225 |
2016 | 229 | 235 | 222 | 174 | 155 | 200 | 191 | 168 | 170 | 174 | 192 | 215 |
2017 | 203 | 179 | 175 | 198 | 165 | 174 | 155 | 178 | 153 | 176 | 177 | 212 |
2018 | 242 | 181 | 214 | 173 | 189 | 153 | 151 | 154 | 163 | 179 | 193 | 183 |
2019 | 198 | 170 | 154 | 162 | 152 | 163 | 154 | 156 | 157 | 168 | 141 | 184 |
2020 | 178 | 167 | 171 | 150 | 154 | 134 | 155 | 153 | 155 | 172 | 160 | 174 |
2021 | 177 | 164 | 170 | 160 | 163 | 158 | 162 | 192 | 183 | 192 | 182 | 224 |
2022 | 199 | 170 | 175 | 186 | 164 | 165 | 176 | 191 | 193 | 215 | 208 | 248 |
2023 | 251 | 230 | 227 | 180 | 179 | 160 | 151 | 169 | 154 | 179 | 164 | 212 |
Note 1: These figures have been determined using ICD-10 codes A40 (streptococcal sepsis) and A41 (other sepsis). This will be an underestimate of the number of deaths involving sepsis. There are a range of conditions involving sepsis which will not lead to a code A40 or A41, for example 'urosepsis' will be coded to N39.0 (urinary tract infection, site not specified). It is not possible to include these codes in the definition of sepsis, as they will include deaths which are not sepsis-related.
- Asked by: Clare Haughey, MSP for Rutherglen, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 August 2025
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 26 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many emergency mental health assessment units are operational (a) nationally and (b) in each NHS board.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of emergency mental health assessment units available nationally or in each Health Board.
This notwithstanding, we can report that all Health Boards have a 24/7 mental health unscheduled care pathway in place for anyone in need of urgent mental health assessment or urgent referral to local mental health services. These pathways enable local mental health clinicians to receive referrals from the national NHS 24 Mental Health Hub and provide advice and support to frontline services such as Police Scotland and the Scottish Ambulance Service. They also avoid the need to attend the Emergency Department unless that is where the person needs to be cared for.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 26 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to conduct a full scale review of the Oral Health Improvement Plan, with the aim of providing higher levels of NHS dentists across the country.
Answer
There are currently no plans to conduct a review of the 2018 Oral Health Improvement Plan (OHIP).
The OHIP, which was developed in close collaboration with the dental sector, remains a relevant and important cornerstone of NHS dental services policy in Scotland. Significant progress has been made on the commitments from the OHIP since its publication, including through the introduction of payment reform in November 2023.
We are committed to improving the number of NHS dentists across the country, which is why our Operational Improvement Plan sets out a package of actions to improve the NHS dental workforce, supported by new funding in 2025-26.
Within this we will support the dental workforce pipeline through both the immediate expansion of domestic dental student numbers and the development of an innovative new training package to support international dentists in joining the NHS Scotland workforce.
- Asked by: Clare Haughey, MSP for Rutherglen, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 August 2025
Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 26 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many people in each (a) local authority and (b) NHS board area have accessed distress brief intervention services in each of the last five years.
Answer
Since launch in 2017, over 92,000 people have now been referred to our world-leading Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) programme. DBI is now live in every Health and Social Care Partnership area across Scotland, providing timely support to those in distress and easing pressures on frontline services.
A breakdown of Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) referrals by NHS Board level area for the financial years 2020-21 to 2024-25 is included in the following table. This data is not held at local authority level.
Table 1 – DBI Level 2 Local Referrals Across Scotland by Health Board for Financial Years 2020-21 to 2024-25
Health Board | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 |
NHS Ayrshire & Arran | 23 | 264 | 455 | 861 | 953 |
NHS Dumfries & Galloway | 0 | 85 | 451 | 776 | 702 |
NHS Fife | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 448 |
NHS Forth Valley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 67 |
NHS Grampian | 1,092 | 1,244 | 1,276 | 1,612 | 1,664 |
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde | 22 | 329 | 546 | 4,601 | 5,405 |
NHS Highland | 863 | 888 | 917 | 1,208 | 1,539 |
NHS Lanarkshire | 2,451 | 2,283 | 2,463 | 2,722 | 2,404 |
NHS Lothian | 0 | 65 | 396 | 1,131 | 2,010 |
NHS Orkney | 0 | 7 | 31 | 123 | 40 |
NHS Scottish Borders | 922 | 1,148 | 1,103 | 1,120 | 889 |
NHS Shetland | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 12 |
NHS Tayside | 0 | 0 | 195 | 1,380 | 1,525 |
NHS Western Isles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 |
Source: PHS DBI Level 2 Dataset for all referrals up to 31st March 2024 and from DBI Level 2 Provider Monthly Returns from 1st April 2024.
In addition to local provision, people can access DBI through national routes via NHS 24 and Police Scotland & Scottish Ambulance Service Call Centres. In total, 26,332 referrals have been made through the national pathways across 2020-21 to 2024-25.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 26 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on how many Petroineos workers who were made redundant as a result of the closure of the Grangemouth refinery have, to date, subsequently been offered new employment by Ineos and other firms operating within the Grangemouth petrochemical industrial cluster.
Answer
The Scottish Government is working with Forth Valley College, UK Government, Skills Development Scotland and Petroineos to track workers affected by the closure of the Grangemouth refinery as part of our jointly funded Refinery Skills Intervention which is currently ongoing. Ministers have persistently requested this information from Petroineos but this has not been received despite the business previous commitments to do so.
Our initial evidence shows that workers are being supported into new employment in in-demand industries, including roles with Scottish Power, Forth Ports and Syngenta. However, we do not have exact figures despite asking PetroIneos to share any data on destinations they may have.
The Scottish Government is continuing to do all it can to support workers at the Grangemouth refinery through the funding of training, tailored specifically to their future career needs.
- Asked by: Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP for Edinburgh Western, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 26 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether there has been a review of the guidance released in April 2022 by the National Autism Implementation Team on prescribing ADHD medication to adults following private sector diagnosis, and, if this is not the case, when any such review may take place.
Answer
The NAIT guidance has not been reviewed since publication.
However, we have begun work to look at the issue of shared care agreements for adults with ADHD which would simplify the process for medication to be prescribed by GPs following a private diagnosis.
We will review NAITs’ guidance to reflect the outcome of this work.
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 05 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 26 August 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-38881 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 16 July 2025, what actions Social Security Scotland (SSS) is exploring to strengthen its support for veterans and service members, and whether these will include the establishment of a network of armed forces and veterans champions in SSS.
Answer
Social Security Scotland is committed to delivering services with dignity, fairness and respect for all people, including veterans and service members. This includes activities to advance its equality outcome to improve the service and experiences of diverse clients, including veterans. Progress will be formally reported in the organisation’s Mainstreaming Equality Report in 2027.
Whilst there are no current plans establish a separate internal network of champions for veterans within Social Security Scotland, the organisation already works with the Scottish Government to engage established Veterans Champions Networks, including those based in local authorities across Scotland to address barriers when accessing services.
Social Security Scotland also ensures knowledge and practical skills are embedded for trauma informed approach when delivering services to clients. This enables clients, such as veterans, to receive better support.