Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government has no part to play in the recruitment of officers for British Transport Police.

The Scottish Government is not delaying the introduction of legislation on buffer zones. We have agreed to work constructively with Ms Gillian Mackay MSP on her forthcoming Member’s Bill.

The First Minister is wholeheartedly committed to addressing the issue of protests and vigils that take place outside of abortion clinics, and will therefore be chairing a summit on abortion on 27 June. The summit will primarily focus on buffer zones, but will also look at what measures can be implemented in the short term to ensure women can access abortion without fear of intimidation or harassment.

ScotRail’s Safety and Security team has been developing options relating to the current ban on consumption of alcohol on trains. I understand that the ScotRail Trains Ltd Board will consider these options shortly and will take account of the range of stakeholder views, including those of Trade Unions and any further representations that are made. I will then consider any recommendation ScotRail provides, giving due cognisance to staff and passenger safety.

Over the course of the last five years, the force has created separate Divisions for specialist officers such as CID. As a national police force, these specialist officers are not bound by traditional geographical borders. Therefore, to provide an accurate breakdown of resource placement in Scotland my officials have requested this information from the British Transport Police and I will write to the member in due course.

Responsibility for the delivery of social care, including the setting and collecting of charges related to social care and support, lies at a local level.

The Scottish Government collects and publishes national data through the Local Financial Returns (LFRs). These are a series of detailed returns that collect final, audited financial data for local authorities in Scotland. The data is published as part of the annual Scottish Local Government Finance Statistics (SLGFS) publication.

The figures provided in the following table relate to all income received relating to customer and client receipts in relation to Social Work services, including Children & Families and Adult Social Care, for the last five years for which data is available.

The Scottish Government is currently working with Public Health Scotland to develop an online platform for members of the public to access information on the average waiting times for a range of treatments within their health board area. We expect the platform to be available this summer.

During the pandemic, the private sector was utilised to provide additional capacity to treat urgent and cancer patients, and this proved to be of great assistance. We remain open to the option of utilising the private sector again to support orthopaedics and other specialties with excessively long waiting lists. However, at present - and for the foreseeable future - the private sector has very limited capacity due to a backlog in their own private patients. There is therefore very limited capacity available for the treatment of NHS patients in these facilities.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-06836 on 8 March 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-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

The pandemic has been the biggest shock our NHS has ever faced. It has necessitated the imposition of Infection Prevention Control measures in order to contain its spread, particularly prior to the vaccination programme being fully rolled out.

These IPC measures, which have recently been deescalated, changed the way GPs see their patients. The Scottish Government wants to see greater availability of face-to-face appointments and is working with the BMA and RCGP to ensure this happens as quickly as possible. However, Covid has not gone away yet, therefore some precautions remain in place. We are clear that where clinically necessary face-to-face consultations will always be available to those who need them.

We must continue to move toward a position where choice is being offered routinely, and the Scottish Government welcomes the GMC’s proposed changes to the Good Medical Practice guidance placing a greater emphasis on shared decision-making between GPs and their patients.

Many GP practices did offer patients video or phone consultations as well as in-person face-to-face consultations before the pandemic changed the balance and we expect a number of patients will wish to continue afterwards with video or phone consultations rather than travel to their GP practice. Ultimately, what is most important is that appointments are agreed through shared decision making, balancing patient choice and clinical judgement.

We continue to explore new ways and approaches to support people to, for example, upload an image of their skin condition for review. This can support people to seek advice in a way that best supports their needs and requirements whilst also ensuring they still have access to a face-to-face appointment.

All GP practices are expected to follow the Infection Prevention and Control Manual for in-person visits as well as their local Health Board's guidance.

NHS Boards understand and communicate with patients the importance of keeping as fit and healthy as possible while waiting for joint replacement surgery. To support patients waiting and recovering from surgery, Boards and partner organisations offer a range of support including pain management, mental health, physiotherapy, access to leisure services, weight management and financial support. Information and advice is also available through online platforms like NHS Inform.

We also work in close partnership with third-sector organisations who provide a wealth of knowledge and care though lived experience which many patients value. Charities such as Versus Arthritis also offer support to those awaiting treatment, including advice, information and practical help to manage the impact of musculoskeletal pain on people’s wellbeing. They also provide peer-led support such as walking groups and tai chi in local areas which enable people to improve their physical fitness and maintain their mental health and quality of life both before and after treatment.