- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on how the policy and planning that it has put in place will address reported concerns by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights about "high rates of maternal mortality" and "disparities in access to sexual and reproductive health services" affecting women and girls in remote and rural areas.
Answer
We are not aware of high rates of maternal mortality in remote and rural areas of Scotland, and unfortunately the ICESCR report does not provide any evidence in support of this statement in its report in relation to Scotland or the UK.
All women and girls who are pregnant in any part of Scotland will have the full range of maternity care provided to them. Our Health Boards continue to look to improve the range of maternity and neonatal care that can be provided locally to meet the needs of their rural populations. When specialist maternity or neonatal care is required which cannot safely be delivered locally, women and babies may need to travel to access that care, and we expect Boards to facilitate seamless delivery of this care.
We are also committed to ensuring that women across Scotland have timely access to sexual and reproductive health services, and to information which allows them to make informed decisions about their own sexual and reproductive health. Our Sexual Health and Blood Borne Viruses Action Plan 2023-26 sets out our ambitions to improving the accessibility and availability of contraception services across Scotland. As part of this plan, we have committed to visiting all 14 health boards. During these visits we will be recognising the challenges that boards are facing and the good practice they are delivering. We will also use this time to explore areas for collaboration between boards both nationally and regionally, especially within rural areas.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Richard Lochhead on 17 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to reduce the rate of accidental workplace deaths, in light of reports that Scotland has the highest rate in the UK.
Answer
Health and safety legislation applies to all employers across the UK without exception and is a reserved matter under the authority of the UK Parliament.
It is an employer’s duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their staff and where death or injuries at work occur, there are a range of reserved offences which can be used to hold employers to account, if they are found to be criminally liable.
The Health and Safety Executive states one factor that Scotland’s higher workplace death rate is in part due to more workers in high-risk industries.
The Scottish Government promotes workplace health and safety through its Fair Work policy and supports initiatives like Healthy Working Lives, a Public Health Scotland programme offering resources and training to improve workplace wellbeing.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 17 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to encourage an increase in the uptake and provision of the number of specialty training places for radiology, in light of the figures from the Royal College of Radiologists recent workforce census showing that there is a 25% shortfall in the profession.
Answer
Clinical radiology specialty training programmes have been filled at 100% in Scotland from 2014 to 2024, with 230 resident doctors successfully completing the training in this period.
The Scottish Government continues to invest heavily in radiology training. We are currently funding around 190 specialty training places in clinical radiology, including 78 extra places which have been added since 2014, based on modelling and future workforce need.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 06 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of data from the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Scotland showing that cardiovascular deaths among working-age adults rose by 18% from 2019 to 2023, whether it will match the BHF’s commitment to reducing premature deaths from cardiovascular disease by 25% by 2035.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Risk Factors programme aims to reduce avoidable CVD death by 20% in 20 years. The focus is on improving the identification and management of key risk factors which are; high blood pressure, high cholesterol, raised blood sugars, obesity and smoking.
A key principle of the programme is to extend cardiovascular disease prevention efforts to those we know are at highest risk and particularly underserved by existing models of care.
We have also established a new GP enhanced service from the 2025-26 Reform Fund to support 100,000 patients who are at risk of developing CVD.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to Healthcare Improvement Scotland's Unannounced Inspection Report: Maternity Services Safe Delivery of Care Inspection - Ninewells Hospital, how it plans to support maternity units to ensure that women are receiving acceptable levels of care and are able to maintain dignity at all stages of their care journey.
Answer
The Safe Delivery of Care in acute settings maternity inspections were introduced to ensure that all service users in maternity services receive the highest standard of care, as well as to identify opportunities for learning for all NHS Boards. NHS Boards are expected to address the requirements identified by Healthcare Improvement Scotland during inspections as a priority and within the timescales set out in their Improvement Action Plan. We expect that all NHS Boards will consider the findings in these reports and my officials continue to work with maternity service leaders to ensure that the findings are communicated effectively and to identify any national level actions required to improve care.
We remain committed to continuous improvement in maternity services across Scotland. As part of this, we have commissioned Healthcare Improvement Scotland to develop a set of maternity standards designed to drive improvements in care at a local level, expected to publish in Spring 2026. In parallel, our Scottish Patient Safety Perinatal Improvement Programme continues to work with maternity services across Scotland to drive improvements in care for mothers and babies.
As part of our’ Best Start’ Programme we published the new Pathway of Maternity Care in February 2025. This Pathway illustrates compassionate, individualised, person-centred core maternity care that all women and their babies should receive.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve outcomes from cardiovascular disease, in light of an analysis from British Heart Foundation (BHF) Scotland, which reportedly shows that Scotland has seen the first sustained rise in heart disease deaths in a generation.
Answer
The Scottish Government has launched the Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Risk Factors programme to improve CVD outcomes with an aim to ‘reduce avoidable CVD death by 20% in 20 years’. The focus is on improving the identification and management of key risk factors which are; high blood pressure, high cholesterol, raised blood sugars, obesity and smoking.
We have also established a new GP enhanced service from the 2025-26 Reform Fund to support 100,000 patients who are at risk of developing CVD.
Our Population Health Framework, soon to be published in partnership with COSLA, will support the creation of environments that positively supports health and wellbeing. It will focus on prevention and tackling the building blocks of health—including good early years and education, fair work and income, healthy places, equitable healthcare, and the broader social and economic drivers of ill health.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 17 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what it is doing to ensure the support and safety of youth workers, in light of the reported rise in antisocial behaviour and violent crime among young people.
Answer
The Scottish Government highly values the support provided to young people by youth workers. Violence towards youth workers is unacceptable and all employees, including youth workers, have the right to be safe at work and to feel safe at work.
Through introduction of the Violence Prevention Framework, the Scottish Government continue to take action by funding activities for young people to prevent and reduce harm from violence.
The Scottish Government encourages anyone who experiences antisocial behaviour or violence at work to report the incident immediately to their employer and Police Scotland. Youth workers should be fully supported by their employers to understand their organisation’s policies regarding antisocial behaviour and the support available if situations escalate.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 03 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to recently reported research, which suggests that hundreds of lives could be saved every year with extra cancer scans for women with very dense breasts.
Answer
The Scottish Government, along with the other UK nations, relies on advice about screening programmes from the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent expert advisory group.
We welcome research on the further improvements that can be made to our screening programmes. The UK National Screening Committee is reviewing this evidence as it becomes available. Should a recommendation be made to introduce changes to the screening programme, the organisations that oversee screening will advise Scottish Ministers on how to take that recommendation forward.
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 16 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answer expected on 14 July 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to improve the levels of recruitment and retention in social care, in light of reports that demand for services is increasing and that entry-level jobs in supermarkets can pay more than roles in social care.
Answer
Answer expected on 14 July 2025
- Asked by: Carol Mochan, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 09 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 13 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it will support (a) NHS boards and (b) cancer alliances to develop local and regional long-term workforce plans to meet the radiology and oncology demands that they face.
Answer
We have established the National Oncology Coordination Group to provide a coordinated and collaborative response to immediate and foreseeable service pressures. This group provides rapid real-time assessment of highest risk services and proactively develops risk mitigation proposals, in line with the overall strategic aim for cancer. Officials also meet with Boards’ Cancer Management Teams monthly to identify immediate challenges, explore solutions and share best practice.
The Scottish Government has mobilised an ambitious Oncology Transformation Programme and are working closely with NHS Board and regional leaders from across the country to address longer-term pressures. We have also committed to further funding for Chemotherapy and Acute Oncology services using a phased approach to ensure we build a sustainable workforce. The funding will reach up to £10 million per annum and will support increased regional working, workforce recruitment and maximise capacity across the existing workforce. £6.6 million has been provided in 2025-26 and will support NHS Boards to develop sustainable plans.