Seòmar agus comataidhean

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.

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-committees/written-questions-and-answers

We remain committed to the increasing in the Health and Social Care workforce by 1% over the next 5 years, as outlined within the National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care.

NHS Scotland official workforce statistics published on 06 December 2022 show that staffing levels have increased by over 2,800 permanent whole time equivalent in the last year (or 1.8% of the NHS Scotland workforce) – representing 10 consecutive years of staffing growth.

This information is not held centrally. This is a matter for Skills Development Scotland and NHS Boards.

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) are taking steps to introduce Flying Finish across NHS Boards, to benefit the workforce and the service. Work has already taken place to put in place a national Retire & Return policy within the NHS.

On 30 August 2022 the Interim National Arrangements on Retire & Return was announced, which offers a process that supports retiring employees to return to employment in their health board on a part time basis, should they wish to do so. The process enables retiring employees to continue employment that is suitable to them and the service, taking a person-centred approach which supports and manages the retirement in a tailored and individual way.

Equally Safe at Work is an innovative employer accreditation programme developed by Close the Gap, Scotland’s policy advocacy organisation working on women’s labour market equality. It supports employers to improve their employment practice to advance gender equality at work and prevent violence against women.

Public Health Scotland, NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Dumfries and Galloway and Healthcare Improvement Scotland are taking part in this pilot which commenced in July 2022 and will take approximately one year to complete. A further five Health Boards, NHS Borders, NHS Shetland, NHS Orkney, National Education Scotland and NHS Fife, are part of the shadow group.

In 2019, we published a Neurological Care and Support – a National Framework for Action 2020-25 , with a vision to ensure everyone with a neurological condition can access the care and support they need to live well, on their own terms.

Commitment 12 of the Framework aims to gather better data regarding neurological conditions. The Scottish Epilepsy Register project, funded through the Framework, is focussed on improving data collection and patient safety and driving up standards of care. We are exploring with NHS National Services Scotland proposals to scale up and consolidate the work of the Register, which may ultimately serve as a replicable model for other neurological conditions.

Scottish Burden of Disease data is also available on a number of neurological conditions including epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease: Scottish Burden of Disease (shinyapps.io)

I further refer the member to answer S6W-13707 and S6W-13708 on 23 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-committees/written-questions-and-answers

This work was agreed in February 2020 however was subsequently paused due to capacity issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be further considered by the National Advisory Committee for Neurological Conditions alongside our emerging priorities for implementation of the commitments within the Neurological Care and Support: Framework for Action 2020-2025 .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13716 on 23 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-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Scottish Government has previously invested £180,000 in the development of a national care framework for Huntington’s Disease, with a view to the potential adoption of this approach in other neurological conditions. Our National Advisory Committee for Neurological Conditions will consider whether development of frameworks for additional neurological conditions should be prioritised as part of our ongoing implementation of the commitments within the Neurological Care and Support: Framework for Action 2020-2025 .