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This information is available from the Information Services Division Scotland website via the annual continuing care census: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Health-and-Social-Community-Care/NHS-Continuing-Care/Publications/. Table 8 of the census provides details of Category A patients from 2009 until 2015. It details speciality and location of care (hospitals, care homes and other). This census was taken on 31 March 2015 and published on 23 June 2015.

The difficulties practices face in recruiting GPs has been well documented and it is acknowledged that there is no quick or easy solution, nor is this unique to Scotland. However, where there are challenges, heath boards have reassured me that they are managing the situation and are taking the appropriate steps to ensure continuity of service provision in those communities, as it is their responsibility to do. Officials have been asked to keep me informed of progress in all the cases.

Partner and sessional vacancies information is not held centrally as this is a matter for individual GP contractors as employers. Most GP practices are independent contractors who are free to decide (within the context of the services they must provide under contract with their board) exactly how they set up their operations in terms of employing staff. How NHS boards organise the provision of GP services in their area is an operational matter for the board to determine, based on an assessment of local needs.

The Primary Care Workforce Survey 2013, a survey of Scottish general practices and GP out of hours services was published on 24 September 2013 and provided a ‘snapshot’ of vacancies. This survey was the second conducted across the whole of Scotland, the first having been undertaken in 2009. The 2009 survey, however, did not collect data on the primary care service delivered out of hours.

The next survey will be conducted later in 2015 and will not only collect data on the primary care service provided by GPs, nurses and healthcare assistants, 24/7, but will also collect information about the other members of staff employed by GP practices who play a vital role in the delivery of that primary care service including staff such as the practice manager, the receptionists, the cleaning and maintenance staff.

NHSScotland’s participation in the Medical and Surgical Clinical Outcome Review Programme commenced in April 2015 and it was too late to participate in the gastrointestinal bleeding work. NHSScotland is currently involved in the mental health study and will participate fully in the non-invasive ventilation programme later in 2015.

All NHS board chief executives are aware of future participation in the programme and the first topic which Scotland will formally take part in is on mental health care in acute hospitals.

The Scottish Government notes the report and its recommendations with interest and will consider how these can be included in our work on improving patient care in Scotland.

Data on the number of patients registered for the minor ailment service (MAS) for a) 2012-13, b) 2013-14 and c) 2014-15 is published by the Information Services Division of NHS National Services Scotland and is available at:

http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Prescribing-and-Medicines/Community-Dispensing/Minor-Ailment-Service/

Data on the specific eligibility status of individuals registered for MAS is not held centrally.

Classes of patients eligible to register for MAS remain the same as when the service was established in 2006. MAS was designed to, and continues to, allow eligible individuals to register with and use a community pharmacy as the first port of call for the treatment of common illnesses on the NHS in order to address health inequalities and social justice inequities. The Scottish Government has no plans to introduce changes to eligibility for the service.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-26520 on 3 August 2015. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Each NHSScotland board has business continuity plans in place, which are regularly reviewed. Business continuity plans are not published since publication would compromise the effective operation of the plans and the security of other measures detailed within them.

1. Assessment of pharmaceutical care issues;

2. Pharmaceutical care planning for patients with problems identified though the assessment; and

3. Serial prescribing and dispensing at pre-determined intervals for a 24-week, 48-week or 56-week period.

As at 6 July 2015 467,297 patients were registered for CMS. All of these registrations are active.

The ePharmacy programme has provided the necessary infrastructure to connect community pharmacies and GP practices electronically. Almost all community pharmacies and general practices are enabled for services including CMS serial prescribing and dispensing, but early adopters are making much more use of this linkage than those connected more recently. Work is ongoing within the ePharmacy programme to maximise use of these links in order to optimise patient care and GP and pharmacist intervention in the serial prescribing process, including that for CMS.

There are 110,662 key information summary (KIS) patients with anticipatory care plans. It is not currently possible to identify which KIS records have an anticipatory care plan for terminal care without detailed analysis.